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The drag force on a spherical intruder in dense granular shear flows is studied using discrete element method simulations. Three regimes of the intruder dynamics are observed depending on the magnitude of the drag force (or the corresponding intruder velocity) and the flow inertial number: a fluctuation-dominated regime for small drag forces; a viscous regime for intermediate drag forces; and an inertial (cavity formation) regime for large drag forces. The transition from the viscous regime (linear force-velocity relation) to the inertial regime (quadratic force-velocity relation) depends further on the inertial number. Despite these distinct intruder dynamics, we find a quantitative similarity between the intruder drag in granular shear flows and the Stokesian drag on a sphere in a viscous fluid for intruder Reynolds numbers spanning five orders of magnitude. Beyond this first-order description, a modified Stokes drag model is developed that accounts for the secondary dependence of the drag coefficient on the inertial number and the intruder size and density ratios. When the drag model is coupled with a segregation force model for intruders in dense granular flows, it is possible to predict the velocity of gravity-driven segregation of an intruder particle in shear flow simulations.
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Stochastic models for capturing dispersion in particle-laden flows
This study provides a detailed account of stochastic approaches that may be utilized in Eulerian–Lagrangian simulations to account for neighbour-induced drag force fluctuations. The frameworks examined here correspond to Langevin equations for the particle position (PL), particle velocity (VL) and fluctuating drag force (FL). Rigorous derivations of the particle velocity variance (granular temperature) and dispersion resulting from each method are presented. The solutions derived herein provide a basis for comparison with particle-resolved direct numerical simulation. The FL method allows for the most complex behaviour, enabling control of both the granular temperature and dispersion. A Stokes number $$St_F$$ is defined for the fluctuating force that relates the integral time scale of the force to the Stokes response time. Formal convergence of the FL scheme to the VL scheme is shown for $$St_F \gg 1$$ . In the opposite limit, $$St_F \ll 1$$ , the fluctuating drag forces are highly inertial and the FL scheme departs significantly from the VL scheme.
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- PAR ID:
- 10233028
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Fluid Mechanics
- Volume:
- 903
- ISSN:
- 0022-1120
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1017/jfm.2020.625
