Numerical simulations of particles dynamics in a Plane-Circular Couette flow

We present a numerical study on the dynamics of small inertial particles in a flow generated between sliding conveyor belts with a combination of linear and curved regions, i.e. by combining two classical flow geometries: a plane-Couette flow and a (curved) circular Couette region. We explore the situation where the outer belt is fixed and only the inner one is moving and quantify the torque and drag at a Reynolds number of Re_i = 900. We model the motion of the particles by considering the particle inertia, added mass and drag, with one-way coupling. The effect of sudden curvature of the flow geometry on the clustering of particles near the walls and within the Taylor-vortices will be discussed. We then present results on the effect of changing particle-to-fluid density ratio on their acceleration statistics and preferential concentration statistics.