A novel multiphase DNS framework for the simulation of particulate flows in a micro-channel

Ananda Subramani Kannana, Vasileios Naserentinb,c, Andreas Markb, Dario Maggioloa, Gaetano Sardinaa, Srdjan
Sasica and Henrik Stroma

a
Department of Mechanics and Maritime Sciences, Division of fluid dynamics, Chalmers University of
Technology, Göteborg, 412 96, Sweden. Email: ananda@chalmers.se
b
Fraunhofer-Chalmers Centre, Chalmers Science Park, Göteborg, 41288, Sweden.
c
Department of Chemical Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, 54124, Greece.

In this paper we present a computational framework for the evaluation of weakly rarefied particulate flows in an
unbounded domain. Such flow scenarios are of particular interest to physico-chemical applications that deal with
the transport of particles in a rarefied flow (where particle and molecular length scales are comparable), such as
particulate matter (PM) removal in exhaust gas. A high mitigation of PM emissions is desired as per EU norms
and this can be accomplished by smarter technologies that have been designed ground-up based on the
underlying physical laws that govern particulate flows in such small conduits. In this paper, we evaluate these
complex particle-fluid interactions (that affect PM capture) in an unbounded domain within a continuum
framework using a multiphase Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) technique based on the hybrid immersed
boundary method [1].
The stochastic transport of PM is described by implementing a Brownian force model in the generalized
Langevin equation. However, the momentum transfer between the fluid and the particle in a continuum DNS
framework by definition includes the total hydrodynamic force, and conventional Brownian force models are
therefore not strictly valid. We assess the apparent diffusivities of the transported PM obtained with our
technique and compare these with the Einstein relation [2] in order to establish the range of validity for various
formulations of the current model. Our preliminary results show that the previously available models for the
stochastic transport need to be modified when used to fully resolve the diffusion of PM in unbounded domains.

References -

[1] A. Mark, B.G.M. van Wachem, Derivation and validation of a novel implicit second-order accurate
immersed boundary method, Journal of Computational Physics, 227, pp. 6660-6680, 2008

[2] Einstein, A. On the motion of small particles suspended in liquids at rest required by the molecular-kinetic
theory of heat, Ann. der Physik, 17, pp. 549-560, 1905

Figure 1- Brownian diffusion of a 400 nm particle in an unbounded domain