Numerical study of concentrated fluid–particle suspension flow in a wavy channel

The particle migration effects and fluid–particle interactions occurring in the flow of highly concentrated fluid–particle suspension in a spatially modulated channel have been investigated numerically using a finite volume method. The mathematical model is based on the momentum and continuity equations for the suspension flow and a constitutive equation accounting for the effects of shear‐induced particle migration in concentrated suspensions. The model couples a Newtonian stress/shear rate relationship with a shear‐induced migration model of the suspended particles in which the local effective viscosity is dependent on the local volume fraction of solids. The numerical procedure employs finite volume method and the formulation is based on diffuse‐flux model. Semi‐implicit method for pressure linked equations has been used to solve the resulting governing equations along with appropriate boundary conditions. The numerical results are validated with the analytical expressions for concentrated suspension flow in a plane channel. The results demonstrate strong particle migration towards the centre of the channel and an increasing blunting of velocity profiles with increase in initial particle concentration. In the case of a stenosed channel, the particle concentration is lowest at the site of maximum constriction, whereas a strong accumulation of particles is observed in the recirculation zone downstream of the stenosis. The numerical procedure applied to investigate the effects of concentrated suspension flow in a wavy passage shows that the solid particles migrate from regions of high shear rate to low shear rate with low velocities and this phenomenon is strongly influenced by Reynolds numbers and initial particle concentration. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

胶结砂砾石层面直剪试验及破坏行为细观研究

本文采用宏观试验和细观模拟相结合的方法研究胶结砂砾石层面在剪切过程中的破坏行为．首先进行了不同法向应力作用下的胶结砂砾石层面直剪试验,获得了不同的剪切面破坏特征：随着法向应力的不断增加,剪切破坏面凹凸起伏程度、骨料脱落现象越发明显．其次为了深入探究层面破坏现象,按照室内试验采用的骨料级配粒径建立细观颗粒数值模型,结合物理试验对模型进行参数标定,并进行数值模型的层面直剪模拟和细观分析．结果表明,数值模型可以再现宏观直剪试验层面破坏特征;法向应力越大,层面区域颗粒发生错动和翻转的数量越多;层面破坏方式为颗粒间的张拉和剪切混合破坏,裂隙均集中在层面位置,随着法向应力的增加,裂隙的集中区域逐渐由“面”向“带”转变．     

Calibration of granular material parameters for DEM modelling and numerical verification by blade-granular material interaction

The discrete element method (DEM) is a promising approach to model blade-granular material interactions. The accuracy of DEM models depends on the model parameters. In this study, a calibration process was developed to determine the parameter values. The particle size was the same as the real material and the particle shape was modelled using two spherical particles rigidly clumped together to form a single grain. Laboratory shear tests and compressions tests were used to determine the material internal friction angle and stiffness, respectively. These tests were replicated numerically using DEM models with different sets of particle friction coefficients and particle stiffness values. The shear test results are found to be dependent on both the particle friction coefficient and the particle stiffness. The compression test results show that it is only dependent on the particle stiffness. The combination of shear test and compression test results can be used to determine a unique set of particle friction and particle stiffness values. The calibration process was validated experimentally and numerically by modelling a blade moving through granular material. Results show that the forces acting on the blade can be accurately modelled with DEM and the maximum error is found to be 26%. The relative particle-blade displacements were used to predict the position and shape of the shear lines in front of the blade. A good qualitative correlation was achieved between the experiments and the DEM simulations.     

Brownian dynamics simulation for suspensions of oblong-particles under shear flow

Computer simulations of the shear flow for the suspensions of oblong-particles were performed using nonequilibrium Brownian Dynamics (BD). The model particle is a rigid body made up of linearly connected spheres with the interparticle potential of a repulsive Lennard-Jones potential. The length-over-width ratios of the oblong-particles used in the present calculations are 5/3 and 3. In the concentrated suspensions high orientation is easily induced by shear at low shear rates. The systems of the oblong-particles exhibit the structural transition that causes the significant change in the rheological properties at high shear rates. Furthermore, the dependence of the length-over-width ratio of the particle is examined. Received: 16 June 1997 Accepted: 3 February 1998     

Particle Collision Rate in Turbulent Flow

An analytical model for determining the particle collision rate in a turbulent flow with account for the effects of shear and the gravity force is presented. The model is tested by comparison with the results of direct numerical calculations performed for isotropic turbulence, the near-axis zone of a plane channel, a flow with uniform shear, and a binary mixture of particles with different densities.     

Methods for incorporating particle rearrangement into compaction using thermodynamic approaches

This paper presents a novel, yet thermodynamically consistent, model of the isothermal compaction of loose granular material based on the principle of maximum dissipation rate. The method is first tested out on a simple version of the Bingham model and a hard particle model of rate-independent granular flow where it is seen that only the dissipation function and dilatancy rule are required in either case and the procedures are identical. This hard particle model is subsequently modified by the introduction of damage. Yield surface and flow rules are produced that are broadly in accordance with experimental findings. The key to the above modification is the concept of a dilatancy rule with two contributions. (1) A shear induced negative dilatancy, where any shear deformation has a tendency to produce densification. (2) Under many circumstances, this is countered by positive dilatancy such as at the critical state where the two mechanisms balance. This modification uses the idea that the first contribution is encouraged by microscopic damage local to the particle contacts that might permit compaction to occur under hydrostatic pressure alone. A mechanism is postulated whereby shear stresses operating at the microscopic level, while cancelling out at the macroscopic level, might occur with low levels of damage but produce no overall shear strains.     

Experimental study on wheel-soil interaction mechanics using in-wheel sensor and particle image velocimetry part II. Analysis and modeling of shear stress of lightweight wheeled vehicle

Wheeled vehicle mobility on loose sand is highly subject to shear deformation of sand around the wheel because the shear stress generates traction force of the wheel. The main contribution of this paper is to improve a shear stress model for a lightweight wheeled vehicle on dry sand. This work exploits two experimental approaches, an in-wheel sensor and a particle image velocimetry that precisely measure the shear stress and shear deformation generated at the interaction boundary. Further, the paper improves a shear stress model. The model proposed in this paper considers a force chain generated inside the granular media, boundary friction between the wheel surface and sand, and velocity dependency of the friction. The proposed model is experimentally validated, and its usefulness is confirmed through numerical simulation of the wheel traction force. The simulation result confirmed that the proposed model calculated the traction force with an accuracy about 70%, whereas the conventional one overestimated the force, and its accuracy was 13% at the best.     

Viscoelastic plastic rheological model for particle filled polymer melts

A viscoelastic plastic model for suspension of small particles in polymer melts has been developed. In this model, the total stress is assumed to be the sum of stress in the polymer matrix and the filler network. A nonlinear viscoelastic model along with a yield criterion were used to represent the stresses in the polymer matrix and the filler network, respectively. The yield function is defined in terms of differential equations with an internal parameter. The internal parameter models the evolution of structure changes during floc rupture and restoration. The theoretical results were obtained for steady and oscillatory shear flow and compared with experimental data for particle filled thermoplastic melt. The experimental data included the steady state shear strress over a wide range of shear rates, the transient stress in a start up shear flow, stress relaxation after cessation of a steady state shear flow, the step shear and the oscillatory shear flow at various amplitudes.     

A fast non‐Fickian particle‐tracking diffusion simulator and the effect of shear on the pollutant diffusion process

This paper presents a fast method for the generation of non‐Fickian particle paths within a particle‐tracking pollutant diffusion model based on a Fourier spectral representation of fractional Brownian motion (fBm), a generalization of ordinary Brownian motion. Correlated diffusive components in a particle‐tracking algorithm are modelled using fBm increments that have long‐range correlations over numerous spatial and/or temporal scales; hence producing non‐Fickian diffusion. A fast algorithm to generate fBm and its increment by using its power spectral density S(f) in a fast Fourier transform algorithm is given. A general equation for the scaling of fBm within a velocity flow field with simple linear shear is presented. An initial numerical study of the nature of fBm shear dispersion has been conducted by incorporating fBm increments into a non‐Fickian particle‐tracking algorithm. It is shown that the effect of simple (i.e. linear) shear on the diffusion process is to produce enhanced diffusive phenomena with the longitudinal spreading of the plume scaling with exponent ∼1+H, where H is the Hurst exponent used to describe fBm. Finally, a more complex shear zone at the entrance of a coastal bay model is investigated using both a traditional particle‐tracking method and the fBm‐based method. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A self-similar behavior for the relative viscosity of concentrated suspensions of rigid spheroids

A viscosity model for suspensions of rigid particles with predictive capability over a wide range of particle volume fraction and shear conditions is of interest to quantify the transport of suspensions in fluid flow models. We study the shear viscosity of suspensions and focus on the effect of particle aspect ratio and shear conditions on the rheological behavior of suspensions of rigid bi-axially symmetric ellipsoids (spheroids). We propose a framework that forms the basis to microscopically parameterize the evolution of the suspension microstructures and its effect on the shear viscosity of suspensions. We find that two state variables, the intrinsic viscosity in concentrated limit and the self-crowding factor, control the state of dispersion of the suspension. A combination of these two variables is shown to be invariant with the imposed shear stress (or shear rate) and depends only on the particle aspect ratio. This self-similar behavior, tested against available experimental and numerical data, allows us to derive a predictive model for the relative viscosity of concentrated suspensions of spheroids subjected to low (near zero) strain rates. At higher imposed strain rates, one needs to constrain one of the state variables independently to constrain the state of dispersion of the suspension and its shear dynamic viscosity. Alternatively, the obtained self-similar behavior provides the means to estimate the state variables from the viscosity measurements made in the laboratory, and to relate them to microstructure rearrangements and evolution occurring during deformation.     

Bimodal model of slurry viscosity with application to coal-slurries. Part 2. High shear limit behavior

It is shown that in a truly bimodal coal-water slurry the hydrodynamic interactions between the coarse particles impose on the fine fraction a shear rate higher than that applied externally by the viscometer walls. A semi-empirical function of the coarse volume fraction is obtained for this correction factor to the applied shear rate. The derivation of this shear correction factor is based on lubrication concepts and introduces the maximum packing fraction,ø _m, at which flow can take place.ø _m is obtainable from a simple dry packing experiment. It is shown that the contribution of the coarse particles to the viscosity rise can be successfully described by a viscosity model employing the same concepts used to derive the shear correction factor. The bimodal model is applied in the high shear limit to polymodal coal slurries with a continuous particle size distribution. In the model, the contribution of the coarse particles to the viscosity rise is taken from separate viscosity measurements for the coarse coal particles, while the contribution to the viscosity of the fine coal particles is taken to be that given by the measured viscosity of colloidal suspensions of monomodal rigid spheres. It is shown that there is a ratio of coarse to fine fraction volumes in the continuous size distribution, corresponding to a specific separating particle size, for which the measured viscosities of the polymodal slurries match almost perfectly over the whole solids volume fraction range with the viscosity values obtained using the bimodal approach. The match is found to be relatively insensitive to the precise value of the separating particle size.     

Shear thickening in electrically-stabilized colloidal suspensions

A theory is presented for the onset of shear thickening in colloidal suspensions of particles, stabilized by an electrostatic repulsion. Based on an activation model, a critical shear stress can be derived for the onset of shear thickening in dense suspensions for a constant potential and a constant charge approach of the spheres. Unlike previous models, the total interaction potential is taken into account (sum of attraction and repulsion). The critical shear stress is related to the maximum of the total interaction potential scaled by the free volume per particle. A comparison with experimental investigations shows the applicability of the theory.     

Scaling granular material with polygonal particles in discrete element modeling

Despite advancements in computational resources, the discrete element method (DEM) still requires considerable computational time to solve detailed problems, especially when it comes to the large-scale models. In addition to the geometry scale of the problem, the particle shape has a dramatic effect on the computational cost of DEM. Therefore, many studies have been performed with simplified spherical particles or clumps. Particle scaling is an approach to increase the particle size to reduce the number of particles in the DEM. Although several particle scaling methods have been introduced, there are still some disagreements regarding their applicability to certain aspects of problems. In this study, the effect of particle scalping on the shear behavior of granular material is explored. Real granular particles were scanned and imported as polygonal particles in the direct shear test. The effect of particle size distribution, particle angularity, and the amount of scalping were investigated. The results show that particle scalping can simulate the correct shear behavior of the model with significant improvement in computational time. Also, the accuracy of the scalping method depends on the particle angularity and particle size range.     

The flow structure of dilute gas-particle suspensions behind a shock wave moving along a flat surface

The asymptotic and numerical investigations of shock-induced boundary layers in gas-particle mixtures are presented.The Saffman lift force acting on a particle in a shear flow istaken into account.It is shown that particle migration across the boundary layer leads tointersections of particle trajectories.The corresponding modification of dusty gas model isproposed in this paper.The equations of two-phase sidewall boundary layer behind a shock wave moving at aconstant speed are obtained by using the method of matched asymptotic expansions.Themethod of the calculation of particle phase parameters in Lagrangian coordinates isdescribed in detail.Some numerical results for the case of small particle concentration aregiven.     

Simulating shear behavior of a sandy soil under different soil conditions

Understanding of soil shear behavior is very important in the field of agricultural machinery and soil dynamics. In this study, a discrete element model was developed using a simulation tool, Particle Flow Code in Three Dimensions (PFC^3D). The model simulates direct shear tests of soil and predicts soil shear behavior, in terms of shear forces and displacements. To determine and calibrate model parameters (stiffness of particles, strength and stiffness of bond between particles), laboratory direct shear tests were conducted to examine effects of soil moisture content and bulk density on shear behaviors of a sandy soil. Three soil moisture levels (0.02%, 13.0%, and 21.5%) and four bulk density levels (0.99, 1.28, 1.36, and 1.50 Mg/m³) were used in the tests. The test results showed that in general drier and denser soil conditions produced higher shear forces. Based on the test results, the bond strengths of the model particles were determined from soil cohesion and internal friction angle. The model particle stiffness was calibrated based on the yield forces from the tests. The calibrated particle stiffness varied from 1.0 × 10³ to 8.2 × 10³ N/m, depending on soil moisture and density levels. The bond stiffness calibrated was 1.0 × 10⁷ Pa/m for all soil conditions.     

A cell model theory of the shear viscosity of a concentrated suspension of interacting spheres in a non-Newtonian fluid

A theoretical approach to the shear viscosity of concentrated suspensions of small particles in a non-Newtonian fluid has been developed using a cell theory model involving particle-particle interaction. The cell theory of Frankel and Acrivos was first generalized to power-law fluid matrices without particle interaction. Particle-particle interaction was then taken into consideration. The theory suggests that the flow behavior of such systems at low shear rates is chiefly dependent upon non-hydrodynamics interparticle interaction such as van der Waals—London and electrostatic forces which induce flocculation and yield stresses. The flow properties at high shear rates are determined by hydrodynamics interaction essentially dependent upon particle concentration and shape.     

土的工程力学性质的颗粒流模拟

基于颗粒流理论,引入不同的颗粒接触连接本构模型,分别建立了砂土和粘性土的颗粒流模型．通过颗粒流数值模型试验,对砂土和粘性土的室内平面应变试验及其剪切带形成和发展进行了数值模拟,分别对比了不同围压下颗粒流试样与室内试验的应力应变关系曲线,基本再现了砂土和粘性土试样应力．应变关系．通过砂土和粘性土PFC试样剪切带模拟表明,当围压较小时试样内部颗粒位移量小而且分布范围较广,当围压增大时,试样内部颗粒位移量也增大,而且发生较大位移颗粒的分布范围趋于集中,同时随着围压的增大试样内部形成明显的剪切带．无论砂土还是粘性土的PFC试样,随着围压的增加剪切带的形状趋于集中,而且剪切带宽度在减小．在围压很小时,试样内形成大的破坏区域,在围压较大时出现明显的线破坏区．这些规律基本与室内试验结果相似。     

The Dilute Rheology of Swimming Suspensions: A Simple Kinetic Model

A simple kinetic model is presented for the shear rheology of a dilute suspension of particles swimming at low Reynolds number. If interparticle hydrodynamic interactions are neglected, the configuration of the suspension is characterized by the particle orientation distribution, which satisfies a Fokker-Planck equation including the effects of the external shear flow, rotary diffusion, and particle tumbling. The orientation distribution then determines the leading-order term in the particle extra stress in the suspension, which can be evaluated based on the classic theory of Hinch and Leal (J Fluid Mech 52(4):683–712, 1972), and involves an additional contribution arising from the permanent force dipole exerted by the particles as they propel themselves through the fluid. Numerical solutions of the steady-state Fokker-Planck equation were obtained using a spectral method, and results are reported for the shear viscosity and normal stress difference coefficients in terms of flow strength, rotary diffusivity, and correlation time for tumbling. It is found that the rheology is characterized by much stronger normal stress differences than for passive suspensions, and that tail-actuated swimmers result in a strong decrease in the effective shear viscosity of the fluid.     

Mechanism of shear attenuation near the interface under combined compression and shear impact loading

We investigate the compressional/shear coupling plastic wave propagation characteristics analytically for ideal elastic–plastic materials in both stress and particle velocity spaces, focusing on the shear wave attenuation near the interface occurring in pressure–shear plate impact experiments. The results show that the shear attenuation is strongly associated with the wave propagation characteristics of the coupling waves. In the stress space, as the shear stress increases, an adjustment of the stress components is observed and the final stress state along the wave path is a combined pure shear- and hydrostatic pressure-state. In the particle velocity space, the wave structures with different loading and maximal transverse particle velocity are obtained. The maximal transverse particle velocity varies with the longitudinal velocity and forms a boundary line. Once the loading transverse velocity exceeds this line, a transverse particle velocity discontinuity occurs at the impact interface. If the bonding strength is sufficiently high, there will be a shear band in the target in the extreme vicinity of the interface.