Gravity-driven clustering of inertial particles in turbulence

Abstract

We report a new kind of particle clustering caused purely by gravity, discovered in our simulation of particle-laden turbulence. Clustering in a vertical strip pattern forms when strong gravity acts on heavy particles. This phenomenon is explained by the skewness of the flow velocity gradient in the gravitational direction experienced by particles, which causes horizontal convergence of particles.

References in corpus (2)

• Clustering of particles falling in a turbulent flow
• Persistence Problem in Two-Dimensional Fluid Turbulence

Cited by in corpus (4)

• The effect of Reynolds number on inertial particle dynamics in isotropic turbulence. Part II: Simulations with gravitational effects
• Inhomogeneous distribution of droplets in cloud turbulence
• Effect of gravity on clustering patterns and inertial particle attractors in Kinematic Simulation
• Effect of energy spectrum law on clustering patterns for inertial particles subjected to gravity in Kinematic Simulation