Numerical simulations of aggregate breakup in bounded and unbounded turbulent flows

Abstract

Breakup of small aggregates in fully developed turbulence is studied by means of direct numerical simulations in a series of typical bounded and unbounded flow configurations, such as a turbulent channel flow, a developing boundary layer and homogeneous isotropic turbulence. The simplest criterion for breakup is adopted, whereas aggregate breakup occurs when the local hydrodynamic stress $\sigma \sim {\epsilon }^{1/2}$, with $\epsilon$ being the energy dissipation at the position of the aggregate, overcomes a given threshold ${\sigma }_{\mathrm{cr}}$, which is characteristic for a given type of aggregates. Results show that the breakup rate decreases with increasing threshold. For small thresholds, it develops a universal scaling among the different flows. For high thresholds, the breakup rates show strong differences between the different flow configurations, highlighting the importance of non-universal mean-flow properties. To further assess the effects of flow inhomogeneity and turbulent fluctuations, theresults are compared with those obtained in a smooth stochastic flow. Furthermore, we discuss the limitations and applicability of a set of independent proxies.

arXiv comment15 pages, 12 figures, Refinded discussion in Section 2.1, results unchanged

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