Fluid-Particle Interactions and Resuspension in Simple Shear Flow

The lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) is used to simulate the particle resuspension process in a two-dimensional simple shear flow. At first, the lift force on a single disk-shaped particle attached at the channel wall is computed. It is found that when the particle is allowed to freely move in the viscous fluid, the resulting lift force is smaller than that when the particle is constrained to be stationary. The bulk properties of fluids with particles suspended under various concentrations are numerically calculated. The results agree reasonably well with analytical results by Batchelor when the volume fraction is lower than 50%. The resuspension process of a group of particles (up to 500) is simulated at different particle-to-fluid density ratios. It is found that the height and shape of particle bed depend on the particle density ratio and flow conditions. Interactions of groups of particles as well as the final shape of the bedform of the particles were studied during this resuspension process. Finally, the pressure distribution and flow above the bedform of particles was examined. The results obtained agree well with those observed in naturally occurring bedforms of sediments.