Simulation of Fluid-Particle suspension using the Immersed Boundary Method

The Immersed Boundary Method (IBM) is a numerical technique for simulating fluid-structure interactions. It handles complex solid-fluid interactions by embedding boundaries in a fluid domain and using interpolation for fluid forces. IBM finds applications in bioengineering, aerospace, and biomechanics, enabling the study of physiological processes, aerodynamics, and biomechanical interactions. With the aim to model such flows, this work proposed to extend the Signed Distance Function Immersed Boundary Method (sdfibm) developed by Chenguang [1], which is bases on OpenFOAM v6. The suggested pyramid decomposition approach and signed distance field representation of the solid shape enable precise calculation of the volume fraction field generated by solids overlapping with a random unstructured fluid mesh. The present work emphasizes on analyses of two-dimensional study of flow past a circular cylinder and three-dimensional simulation of flow past a sphere. The study is done at different Particle Reynolds number between 0.1 and 100. The work is also extended for suspension of particles to analyse the flow between the interstices between particles in the suspension. The Immersed Boundary Method algorithm developed by Shirgaokar [2], implemented in CFDEM opensource simulator is also explored to solve flow around single particle and suspension of particles.

1. C. Zhang, sdfibm: a signed distance field based discrete forcing immersed boundary method in OpenFOAM, Computer Physics Communications, 255, 107 370, 2020.

2. Shirgaokar et al, A new mathematical formulation and fast algorithm for fully resolved simulation of self-propulsion, Journal of Computational Physics, 228, pp.2366-2390, 2009.