A direct-forcing fictitious domain method for particulate flows

A direct-forcing fictitious domain (DF/FD) method for the simulation of particulate flows is reported. The new method is a non-Lagrange-multiplier version of our previous DLM/FD code and is obtained by employing a discrete δ-function in the form of bi(tri-) function to transfer explicitly quantities between the Eulerian and Lagrangian nodes, as in the immersed boundary method. Due to the use of the collocation-point approach for the rigidity constraint and the integration over the particle domain, the Lagrangian nodes are retracted a little from the particle boundary. Our method in case of a prescribed velocity on the boundary is verified via the comparison to the benchmark results on the flow over a fixed cylinder in a wide channel and to our spectral-element results for a channel with the width of four cylinder diameters. We then verify our new method for the case of the particulate flows through various typical flow situations, including the sedimentation of a circular particle in a vertical channel, the sedimentation of a sphere in a vertical pipe, the inertial migration of a sphere in a circular Poiseuille flow, the behavior of a neutrally-buoyant sphere in Couette flow, and the rotation of a prolate spheroid in Couette flow. The accuracy and robustness of the new method are fully demonstrated, in particular for the case of relatively low Reynolds numbers and the neutrally-buoyant case.     

Material point method applied to multiphase flows

The particle-in-cell method (PIC), especially the latest version of it, the material point method (MPM), has shown significant advantage over the pure Lagrangian method or the pure Eulerian method in numerical simulations of problems involving large deformations. It avoids the mesh distortion and tangling issues associated with Lagrangian methods and the advection errors associated with Eulerian methods. Its application to multiphase flows or multi-material deformations, however, encounters a numerical difficulty of satisfying continuity requirement due to the inconsistence of the interpolation schemes used for different phases. It is shown in Section 3 that current methods of enforcing this requirement either leads to erroneous results or can cause significant accumulation of errors. In the present paper, a different numerical method is introduced to ensure that the continuity requirement is satisfied with an error consistent with the discretization error and will not grow beyond that during the time advancement in the calculation. This method is independent of physical models. Its numerical implementation is quite similar to the common method used in Eulerian calculations of multiphase flows. Examples calculated using this method are presented.     

Eulerian–Lagrangian multiscale methods for solving scalar equations – Application to incompressible two-phase flows

The present article proposes a new hybrid Eulerian–Lagrangian numerical method, based on a volume particle meshing of the Eulerian grid, for solving transport equations. The approach, called Volume Of Fluid Sub-Mesh method (VOF-SM), has the advantage of being able to deal with interface tracking as well as advection–diffusion transport equations of scalar quantities. The Eulerian evolutions of a scalar field could be obtained on any orthogonal curvilinear grid thanks to the Lagrangian advection and a redistribution of particles on the Eulerian grid. The Eulerian concentrations result from the projection of the volume and scalar informations handled by the particles. The particle velocities are interpolated from the Eulerian velocity field. The VOF-SM method is validated on several scalar interface tracking and transport problems and is compared to existing schemes within the literature. It is finally coupled to a Navier–Stokes solver and applied to the simulation of two free-surface flows, i.e. the two-dimensional buckling of a viscous jet during the filling of a square mold and the three-dimensional dam-break flow in a tank.     

Three-dimensional non-free-parameter lattice-Boltzmann model and its application to inviscid compressible flows

In this Letter, a three-dimensional (3D) lattice-Boltzmann model is presented following the non-free-parameter lattice-Boltzmann method of Qu et al. [K. Qu, C. Shu, Y.T. Chew, Phys. Rev. E 75 (2007) 036706]. A simple function, which satisfies the zeroth- through third-order moments of the Maxwellian distribution function, is introduced to replace the Maxwellian distribution function as the continuous equilibrium distribution function in 3D space. The function is then discretized to discrete-velocity directions via a 25-point Lagrangian interpolation polynomial. To simulate compressible flows with shock waves, an implicit-explicit finite-difference scheme based on the total variation diminishing flux limitation is adopted to solve the discrete Boltzmann-BGK equation in order to capture the shock waves in compressible flows with a finite number of grid points. The model is validated by its application to some typical inviscid compressible flows ranging from 1D to 3D, and the numerical results are found to be in excellent agreement with the analytical solutions and/or other numerical results.     

An adaptive method for computing invariant manifolds in non-autonomous, three-dimensional dynamical systems

We present a computational method for determining the geometry of a class of three-dimensional invariant manifolds in non-autonomous (aperiodically time-dependent) dynamical systems. The presented approach can be also applied to analyse the geometry of 3D invariant manifolds in three-dimensional, time-dependent fluid flows. The invariance property of such manifolds requires that, at any fixed time, they are given by surfaces in R³. We focus on a class of manifolds whose instantaneous geometry is given by orientable surfaces embedded in R³. The presented technique can be employed, in particular, to compute codimension one (invariant) stable and unstable manifolds of hyperbolic trajectories in 3D non-autonomous dynamical systems which are crucial in the Lagrangian transport analysis. The same approach can also be used to determine evolution of an orientable ‘material surface’ in a fluid flow. These developments represent the first step towards a non-trivial 3D extension of the so-called lobe dynamics — a geometric, invariant-manifold-based framework which has been very successful in the analysis of Lagrangian transport in unsteady, two-dimensional fluid flows. In the developed algorithm, the instantaneous geometry of an invariant manifold is represented by an adaptively evolving triangular mesh with piecewise C² interpolating functions. The method employs an automatic mesh refinement which is coupled with adaptive vertex redistribution. A variant of the advancing front technique is used for remeshing, whenever necessary. Such an approach allows for computationally efficient determination of highly convoluted, evolving geometry of codimension one invariant manifolds in unsteady three-dimensional flows. We show that the developed method is capable of providing detailed information on the evolving Lagrangian flow structure in three dimensions over long periods of time, which is crucial for a meaningful 3D transport analysis.     

Metric-based mesh adaptation for 2D Lagrangian compressible flows

In this paper, we present a method to compute compressible flows in 2D. It uses two steps: a Lagrangian step and a metric-based triangular mesh adaptation step. Computational mesh is locally adapted according to some metric field that depends on physical or geometrical data. This mesh adaptation step embeds a conservative remapping procedure to satisfy consistency with Euler equations. The whole method is no more Lagrangian.After describing mesh adaptation patterns, we recall the metric formalism. Then, we detail an appropriate remapping procedure which is first-order and relies on exact intersections.We give some hints about the parallel implementation. Finally, we present various numerical experiments which demonstrate the good properties of the algorithm.     

Intermediate shocks in three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic bow-shock flows with multiple interacting shock fronts

Simulation results of three-dimensional (3D) stationary magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) bow-shock flows around perfectly conducting spheres are presented. For strong upstream magnetic field a new complex bow-shock flow topology arises consisting of two consecutive interacting shock fronts. It is shown that the leading shock front contains a segment of intermediate 1-3 shock type. This is the first confirmation in 3D that intermediate shocks, which were believed to be unphysical for a long time, can be formed and can persist for small-dissipation MHD in a realistic flow configuration.     

Simulations of MHD flows with moving interfaces

We report on the numerical simulation of a two-fluid magnetohydrodynamics problem arising in the industrial production of aluminium. The motion of the two non-miscible fluids is modeled through the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations coupled with the Maxwell equations. Stabilized finite elements techniques and an arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian formulation (for the motion of the interface separating the two fluids) are used in the numerical simulation. With a view to justifying our strategy, details on the numerical analysis of the problem, with a special emphasis on conservation and stability properties and on the surface tension discretization, as well as results on tests cases are provided. Examples of numerical simulations of the industrial case are eventually presented.     

An analytical-based method for studying the nonlinear evolution of localized vortices in planar homogenous shear flows

Recent experimental and numerical studies have shown that the interaction between a localized vortical disturbance and the shear of an external base flow can lead to the formation of counter-rotating vortex pairs and hairpin vortices that are frequently observed in wall bounded and free turbulent shear flows as well as in subcritical shear flows. In this paper an analytical-based solution method is developed. The method is capable of following (numerically) the evolution of finite-amplitude localized vortical disturbances embedded in shear flows. Due to their localization in space, the surrounding base flow is assumed to have homogeneous shear to leading order. The method can solve in a novel way the interaction between a general family of unbounded planar homogeneous shear flows and any localized disturbance. The solution is carried out using Lagrangian variables in Fourier space which is convenient and enables fast computations. The potential of the method is demonstrated by following the evolved structures of large amplitude disturbances in three canonical base flows, including simple shear, plane stagnation (extensional) and pure rotation flows, and a general case. The results obtained by the current method for plane stagnation and simple shear flows are compared with the published results. The proposed method could be extended to other flows (e.g. geophysical and rotating flows) and to include periodic disturbances as well.     

Evaluation of numerical strategies for large eddy simulation of particulate two-phase recirculating flows

Predicting particle dispersion in recirculating two-phase flows is a key issue for reacting flows and a potential application of large eddy simulation (LES) methods. In this study, Euler/Euler and Euler/Lagrange LES approaches are compared in the bluff body configuration from Borée et al. [J. Borée, T. Ishima, I. Flour, The effect of mass loading and inter-particle collisions on the development of the polydispersed two-phase flow downstream of a confined bluff body, J. Fluid Mech. 443 (2001) 129–165] where glass beads are injected into a complex recirculating flow. These tests are performed for non-reacting, non-evaporating sprays but are mandatory validations before computing realistic combustion chambers. Two different codes (one explicit and compressible and the other implicit and incompressible) are also tested on the same configuration. Results show that the gas flow is well predicted by both codes. The dispersed phase is also well predicted by both codes but the Lagrangian approach predicts root-mean-square values more accurately than the Eulerian approach. The effects of mesh, solvers and numerical schemes are discussed for each method.     

A momentum exchange-based immersed boundary-lattice Boltzmann method for simulating incompressible viscous flows

A momentum exchange-based immersed boundary-lattice Boltzmann method is presented in this Letter for simulating incompressible viscous flows. This method combines the good features of the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) and the immersed boundary method (IBM) by using two unrelated computational meshes, an Eulerian mesh for the flow domain and a Lagrangian mesh for the solid boundaries in the flow. In this method, the non-slip boundary condition is enforced by introducing a forcing term into the lattice Boltzmann equation (LBE). Unlike the conventional IBM using the penalty method with a user-defined parameter or the direct forcing scheme based on the Navier–Stokes (NS) equations, the forcing term is simply calculated by the momentum exchange of the boundary particle density distribution functions, which are interpolated by the Lagrangian polynomials from the underlying Eulerian mesh. Numerical examples show that the present method can provide very accurate numerical results.     

Investigation of turbulence models for computation of swirling flows

Different turbulence models were studied in application to calculation of swirling flows. The differential models of turbulent viscosity considering streamline curvature and the method of detached eddy simulation were used. Weakly and strongly swirling flows were considered at the example of concentrated vortex in a tube, swirling flow in a diffuser, and vortex breakdown through an abrupt expansion. The RANS models with correction to flow swirling represented well the experimental data for the weakly swirling flows. In case of strongly swirling flows, it was more correct to use the method of detached eddy simulation.     

Lagrangian turbulence in nonstationary 2-D flows

Lagrangian particle transport in nonstationary 2-D flows is studied both analytically and numerically. Analytic expressions for the diffusion coefficients are obtained for the adiabatic regime. Numerical estimates of the diffusion coefficients are found to agree with the theoretical results.     

Nonlinear instability of elementary stratified flows at large Richardson number

Elementary stably stratified flows with linear instability at all large Richardson numbers have been introduced recently by the authors [J. Fluid Mech. 376, 319-350 (1998)]. These elementary stratified flows have spatially constant but time varying gradients for velocity and density. Here the nonlinear stability of such flows in two space dimensions is studied through a combination of numerical simulations and theory. The elementary flows that are linearly unstable at large Richardson numbers are purely vortical flows; here it is established that from random initial data, linearized instability spontaneously generates local shears on buoyancy time scales near a specific angle of inclination that nonlinearly saturates into localized regions of strong mixing with density overturning resembling Kelvin-Helmholtz instability. It is also established here that the phase of these unstable waves does not satisfy the dispersion relation of linear gravity waves. The vortical flows are one family of stably stratified flows with uniform shear layers at the other extreme and elementary stably stratified flows with a mixture of vorticity and strain exhibiting behavior between these two extremes. The concept of effective shear is introduced for these general elementary flows; for each large Richardson number there is a critical effective shear with strong nonlinear instability, density overturning, and mixing for elementary flows with effective shear below this critical value. The analysis is facilitated by rewriting the equations for nonlinear perturbations in vorticity-stream form in a mean Lagrangian reference frame. (c) 2000 American Institute of Physics.     

Tracking birth of vortex in flows

In order to avoid undesired effects from vortices in many industrial processes, it is important to know the set of operating parameters at which the flow does not have recirculation. The map of these conditions in the parameter space is called vortex-free operating window. Here, we propose an efficient way to construct such window automatically without expensively checking every possible flow states. The proposed technique is based on tracking a path in the parameter space at which the local kinematic condition at a stagnation point for vortex birth is satisfied. This multiparameter continuation is performed by solving an augmented Navier–Stokes system. In the augmented system, the birth condition and the governing equations was represented in Galerkin’s finite element context. We used the proposed method in two important coating flows with free surfaces: single-layer slot coating and forward roll coating.     

Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian formulation for two-dimensional flows using dynamic meshes with edge swapping

The dynamic modification of the computational grid due to element displacement, deformation and edge swapping is described here in terms of suitably-defined continuous (in time) alterations of the geometry of the elements of the dual mesh. This new interpretation allows one to describe all mesh modifications within the arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian framework, thus removing the need to interpolate the solution across computational meshes with different connectivity. The resulting scheme is by construction conservative and it is applied here to the solution of the Euler equations for compressible flows in two spatial dimensions. Preliminary two dimensional numerical simulations are presented to demonstrate the soundness of the approach. Numerical experiments show that this method allows for large time steps without causing element invalidation or tangling and at the same time guarantees high quality of the mesh elements without resorting to global re-meshing techniques, resulting in a very efficient solver for the analysis of e.g. fluid-structure interaction problems, even for those cases that require large mesh deformations or changes in the domain topology.     

Simulation of viscous flows with undulatory boundaries. Part I: Basic solver

A numerical method for the simulation of viscous flows with undulatory walls and free surfaces is presented. The simulation domain is discretized by a boundary-fitted and time-dependent grid. The Navier–Stokes equations, subject to fully nonlinear kinematic and dynamic boundary conditions at the free surface and no-slip boundary condition at the wall, are simulated by a hybrid pseudo-spectral and finite difference method in space and a semi-implicit fractional-step method in time. The performance of the method is demonstrated by a series of test cases including flows over wavy boundaries, various surface waves, and interaction between vortices and free surfaces. Validation by convergence test and extensive comparisons with previous theoretical, experimental, and numerical studies indicate the accuracy and efficiency of the method. Finally, a simulation example of turbulence and free surface interaction is presented. Results show that the rich features of the free surface such as surface waves, splats, anti-splats, dimples, and scars are captured accurately. Characteristic vortical structures and variation of turbulence statistics in the near-surface region are also elucidated.     

An immersed boundary method based on discrete stream function formulation for two- and three-dimensional incompressible flows

An immersed boundary method is proposed in the framework of discrete stream function formulation for incompressible flows. In order to impose the non-slip boundary condition, the forcing term is determined implicitly by solving a linear system. The number of unknowns of the linear system is the same as that of the Lagrangian points representing the body surface. Thus the extra cost in force calculation is negligible if compared with that in the basic flow solver. In order to handle three-dimensional flows at moderate Reynolds numbers, a parallelized flow solver based on the present method is developed using the domain decomposition strategy. To verify the accuracy of the immersed-boundary method proposed in this work, flow problems of different complexity (decaying vortices, flows over stationary and oscillating cylinders and a stationary sphere, and flow over low-aspect-ratio flat-plate) are simulated and the results are in good agreement with the experimental or computational data in previously published literatures.     

典型自由面流动问题的SPH-ALE数值模拟

应用基于黎曼解的SPH-ALE方法对两种典型自由面流动问题进行数值模拟,并提出一种一阶核函数修正压力计算方法,通过对临近边界的水粒子压力进行核积分,近似估算固壁边界压力.给出不同时刻的流场压力分布及自由液面演化过程,将计算结果与相关的试验值及数值解进行对比,分析结果表明：SPH-ALE方法较传统SPH方法在流场压力计算精度上有较大的改进,在处理强非线性自由面流动问题时能够达到较高的精度.