Settling of a particle pair through a sharp, miscible density interface

David Deepwell, Raphael Ouillon, Eckart Meiburg, and Bruce R. Sutherland
Phys. Rev. Fluids 6, 044304 – Published 20 April 2021
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Abstract

We perform numerical simulations to examine settling and fluid transport by a pair of particles passing through a thin density interface of a two-layer fluid. As the particles settle through the interface, they deform the interface and carry upper layer fluid into the lower layer. This increased buoyancy hinders the particle settling such that the trailing particle collides with the leading particle at strong stratification and when the particles are nearly vertically aligned. When descending into the lower layer, the upper layer fluid detaches from the particles, returning upward within a wake whose width is on the order of two particle diameters. Due to the added buoyancy and the returning wake, particle settling is hindered and the trailing particle separates away from the leading particle when aligned within or near the wake of the leading particle. Meanwhile, the trailing particle re-entrains fluid detached from the leading particle. Consequently, the transport of upper layer fluid into the lower layer increased by up to 40% in the case of weak stratification.

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  • Received 23 September 2020
  • Accepted 30 March 2021

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevFluids.6.044304

©2021 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Fluid Dynamics

Authors & Affiliations

David Deepwell1,*, Raphael Ouillon2, Eckart Meiburg3, and Bruce R. Sutherland1

  • 1Department of Physics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2E1, Canada
  • 2Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
  • 3Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA

  • *deepwell@ualberta.ca

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Issue

Vol. 6, Iss. 4 — April 2021

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