Sedimentation and Flow Through Porous Media: Simulating Dynamically Coupled Discrete and Continuum Phases

摘要

We describe a method to address efficiently problems of two-phase flow in theregime of low particle Reynolds number and negligible Brownian motion. One ofthe phases is an incompressible continuous fluid and the other a discreteparticulate phase which we simulate by following the motion of singleparticles. Interactions between the phases are taken into account using locallydefined drag forces. We apply our method to the problem of flow through randommedia at high porosity where we find good agreement to theoretical expectationsfor the functional dependence of the pressure drop on the solid volumefraction. We undertake further validations on systems undergoing gravityinduced sedimentation.