Katarina Gustavsson

A numerical method for simulations of rigid fiber suspensions

In this paper, we present a numerical method designed to simulate the challenging problem of the dynamics of slender fibers immersed in an incompressible fluid. Specifically, we consider microscopic, rigid fibers, that sediment due to gravity. Such fibers make up the micro-structure of many suspensions for which the macroscopic dynamics are not well understood. Our numerical algorithm is based on a non-local slender body approximation that yields a system of coupled integral equations, relating the forces exerted on the fibers to their velocities, which takes into account the hydrodynamic interactions of the fluid and the fibers. The system is closed by imposing the constraints of rigid body motions. The fact that the fibers are straight have been further exploited in the design of the numerical method, expanding the force on Legendre polynomials to take advantage of the specific mathematical structure of a finite-part integral operator, as well as introducing analytical quadrature in a manner possible only for straight fibers. We have carefully treated issues of accuracy, and present convergence results for all numerical parameters before we finally discuss the results from simulations including a larger number of fibers.

A conservative level set method for contact line dynamics

A new model for simulating contact line dynamics is proposed. We apply the idea of driving contact-line movement by enforcing the equilibrium contact angle at the boundary, to the conservative level set method for incompressible two-phase flow [E. Olsson, G. Kreiss, A conservative level set method for two phase flow, J. Comput. Phys. 210 (2005) 225-246]. A modified reinitialization procedure provides a diffusive mechanism for contact-line movement, and results in a smooth transition of the interface near the contact line without explicit reconstruction of the interface. We are able to capture contact-line movement without loosing the conservation. Numerical simulations of capillary dominated flows in two space dimensions demonstrate that the model is able to capture contact line dynamics qualitatively correct.

Gravity induced sedimentation of slender fibers

Gravity induced sedimentation of slender, rigid fibers in a highly viscous fluid is investigated by large scale numerical simulations. The fiber suspension is considered on a microscopic level and the flow is described by the Stokes equations in a three dimensional periodic domain. Numerical simulations are performed to study in great detail the complex dynamics of a cluster of fibers. A repeating cycle is identified. It consists of two main phases: a densification phase, where the cluster densifies and grows, and a coarsening phase, during which the cluster becomes smaller and less dense. The dynamics of these phases and their relation to fluctuations in the sedimentation velocity are analyzed. Data from the simulations are also used to investigate how average fiber orientations and sedimentation velocities are influenced by the microstructure in the suspension. The dynamical behavior of the fiber suspension is very sensitive to small random differences in the initial configuration and a number of realizations of each numerical experiment are performed. Ensemble averages of the sedimentation velocity and fiber orientation are presented for different values of the effective concentration of fibers and the results are compared to experimental data. The numerical code is parallelized using the Message Passing Instructions (MPI) library and numerical simulations with up 800 fibers can be run for very long times which is crucial to reach steady levels of the averaged quantities. The influence of the periodic boundary conditions on the process is also carefully investigated.

Numerical 2D models of consolidation of dense flocculated suspensions

A mathematical 2D model for a consolidation process of a highly concentrated, flocculated suspension is developed. The suspension is treated as a mixture of a fluid and solid particles by an Eulerian two-phase fluid model. The suspension is characterized by constitutive relations correlating the stresses, interaction forces, and inter-particle forces to concentration and velocity gradients. This results in three empirical material functions: a permeability, a non-Newtonian viscosity and a non-reversible particle interaction pressure. Parameters in the models are fitted to experimental data. A simulation program using finite difference methods both in time and space is applied to one and two dimensional test cases. The effect of different viscosity models as well as the effect of shear on consolidation rate is studied. The results show that a shear thinning viscosity model yields a higher consolidation rate compared to a model that only depends on the volume fraction. It is also concluded that the size of the viscosity influences the time scale of the process and that the expected effect of shear on the process is not weil reproduced with any of the models.

A model for peak formation in the two-phase equations

We present a hyperbolic-elliptic model problem related to the equations of two-phase fluid flow. The model problem is solved numerically, and properties of its solution are presented. The model equ ...

Numerical Study of a Viscous Consolidation Model

In this paper we present a mathematical model and a numerical study of a one dimensional consolidation process of a flocculated suspension. The suspension is treated as a mixture of fluid and small, solid particles forming larger aggregates called floes. The mathematical model is based on a macroscopic description of the process, so both phases are treated as separate interpenetrating continua. Each phase is kept track of by a scalar volume fraction field, 1, which indicates the proportion of the total volume occupied by particles. Equations for conservation of mass and momentum are formulated for each phase. Furthermore the suspension is characterized by constitutive relations correlating experimental data to three material junctions: permeability, viscosity and a particle interaction pressure, yield pressure. These functions will be described in more details in section 6.