Algorithm for direct numerical simulation of emulsion flow through a granular material

A multipole-accelerated 3D boundary-integral algorithm capable of modelling an emulsion flow through a granular material by direct multiparticle-multidrop simulations in a periodic box is developed and tested. The particles form a random arrangement at high volume fraction rigidly held in space (including the case of an equilibrium packing in mechanical contact). Deformable drops (with non-deformed diameter comparable with the particle size) squeeze between the particles under a specified average pressure gradient. The algorithm includes recent boundary-integral desingularization tools especially important for drop–solid and drop–drop interactions, the Hebeker representation for solid particle contributions, and unstructured surface triangulations with fixed topology. Multipole acceleration, with two levels of mesh node decomposition (entire drop/solid surfaces and “patches”), is a significant improvement over schemes used in previous, purely multidrop simulations; it remains efficient at very high resolutions ( 10 4 – 10 5 triangular elements per surface) and has no lower limitation on the number of particles or drops. Such resolutions are necessary in the problem to alleviate lubrication difficulties, especially for near-critical squeezing conditions, as well as using ∼ 10 4 time steps and an iterative solution at each step, both for contrast and matching viscosities. Examples are shown for squeezing of 25–40 drops through an array of 9–14 solids, with the total volume fraction of 70% for particles and drops. The flow rates for the drop and continuous phases are calculated. Extensive convergence testing with respect to program parameters (triangulation, multipole truncation, etc.) is made.