Searcharxiv⌕ Search
Home/Archive/arXiv

arXiv · 2004.10256

Scalar absorption by particles advected in a turbulent flow

A. Sozza·M. Cencini·F. De Lillo·G. Boffetta
View original source ↗Read source document ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

We investigate the effects of turbulent fluctuations on the Lagrangian statistics of absorption of a scalar field by tracer particles, as a model for nutrient uptake by suspended non-motile microorganisms. By means of extensive direct numerical simulations of an Eulerian-Lagrangian model we quantify, in terms of the Sherwood number, the increase of the scalar uptake induced by turbulence and its dependence on the Peclet and Reynolds numbers. Numerical results are compared with classical predictions for a stationary shear flow extended here to take into account the presence of a restoring scalar flux. We find that mean field predictions agree with numerical simulations at low Peclet numbers but are unable to describe the large fluctuations of local scalar uptake observed for large Peclet numbers. We also study the role of velocity fluctuations in the local uptake by looking at the temporal correlation between local shear and uptake rate and we find that the latter follows fluid velocity fluctuations with a delay given by Kolmogorov time scale. The relevance of our results for aquatic microorganisms is also discussed.

Explore related subjects

physics.flu-dyn

Keep this discovery

BibTeXRIS

A. Sozza, M. Cencini, F. De Lillo, G. Boffetta. 2020-04-21. Scalar absorption by particles advected in a turbulent flow. https://doi.org/10.1103/5.074303

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related papers

arXiv2026

Correlative effects of induced magnetic field-buoyancy on reactive solute dispersion dynamics in couple-stress fluids

We investigate the dispersion of a reactive solute in a couple-stress fluid flowing between two parallel plates under the combined effects of pressure-driven flow, buoyancy, and an induced magnetic field. The model incorporates first-order heterogeneous reactions at both channel walls alongside a bulk reaction. Using Mei's multiscale homogenization technique accurate to third order, we develop a higher-order asymptotic formulation to determine the effective longitudinal dispersion coefficient and concentration field. Analytical predictions are complemented by Brownian dynamics simulations and finite-difference solutions, while the Aris method of moments quantifies transient mean displacement, spatial variance, and effective dispersivity. The hydrodynamic analysis reveals a singular branch in the velocity solution when the Hartmann number equals half the couple-stress parameter and identifies a characteristic quarter-power scaling between the Hartmann number and couple-stress parameter, separating couple-stress- and magnetically dominated regimes. The model recovers classical Taylor-dispersion behavior in the non-reactive Newtonian limit and agrees well with experimental measurements. Couple-stress rheology and magnetic damping suppress shear-induced dispersion, whereas buoyancy enhances dispersion through additional transverse velocity gradients. A distinct saturation regime of the dispersion coefficient emerges with an increasing couple-stress parameter, while unequal wall absorption induces persistent transverse asymmetry, and stronger absorption enhances solute removal near the source. Numerical and stochastic results validate the analytical framework while resolving higher-order concentration structures and particle-scale wall adsorption.

physics.flu-dyn↗
arXiv2026

DiffSWE2d: a differentiable Shallow Water Equations solver for end-to-end flood and tsunami modelling

Solving inverse and optimisation problems with traditional shallow water equations (SWE) solvers can be computationally expensive, particularly when gradients with respect to model inputs or parameters must be estimated through repeated forward simulations. In this paper, we introduce DiffSWE2d, an open-source differentiable shallow water equations solver for end-to-end flood and tsunami modelling implemented in PyTorch. By leveraging automatic differentiation, DiffSWE2d represents the time-marching physics as a differentiable computational graph, enabling gradients to be propagated directly through the numerical solver. We validate the solver against two established benchmark cases and demonstrate its application to tsunami waveform inversion, showing its ability to infer model inputs through gradient-based optimisation. DiffSWE2d provides a flexible framework for integrating physics-based hydrodynamic modelling with modern optimisation and machine learning methods. The source code and reproducible examples are publicly available at: https://github.com/ZhonghouXu/DiffSWE2d

physics.flu-dyn↗
arXiv2026

Low inertia limit of elasto-inertial turbulence

Pipe and channel flows of viscoelastic fluids display chaotic dynamics at unusually low speeds, a phenomenon referred to as elasto-inertial turbulence, EIT. First reported in experiments a century ago, recent theoretical studies and model computations predict a variety of scenarios for the phenomenon's origin, ranging from hoop stress modes to center modes and to Tollmien-Schlichting waves. Lacking experimental confirmation, the relevant scenario in actual flows of polymer solutions remains unknown. We here determine the transition threshold of EIT in pipe experiments, covering three decades in elasticity number. Across this entire parameter range, the transition features center mode structures at onset. Eventually the instability diverges at a lower inertia (upper elasticity) limit, which is a robust signature of this center mode scenario. Finally, we report the first experimental observation of a traveling wave in viscoelastic pipe flow, and the sequences of localized structures found, are in excellent agreement with a center mode traveling wave, the "arrowhead" solution, discovered in model simulations.

physics.flu-dyn↗