arXiv subjects

Adolfo Vázquez-Quesada

Publications and source records attributed to Adolfo Vázquez-Quesada.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Concentration Matters: Enhancing Particle Settling in Narrow Tilted Channels

Particles are known to sediment faster in containers with tilted walls than in vertical ones, a phenomenon known as the Boycott effect. In this work, we investigate how the tilt angle influences sedimentation in narrow channels across different particle volume fractions. Using particle-resolved computational fluid dynamics simulations, we reveal that there exists a concentration-dependent optimal tilt angle that maximizes sedimentation rates. Furthermore, at large tilt angles, the flow profiles across the channel deviate from the classical parabolic shape. We show that these non-parabolic profiles can be accurately captured by a one-dimensional Brinkman model, providing a predictive framework for understanding and tuning sedimentation in tilted geometries. Our findings demonstrate the potential to control and optimize particle settling by adjusting the channel tilt according to particle concentration, opening new possibilities for design in industrial and laboratory processes.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2025

Integral fractional viscoelastic models in SPH: LAOS simulations versus experimental data

The rheological behaviour of a polymer was investigated by performing numerical simulations in complex flow and comparing them to experiments. For our simulations, we employed a Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics scheme, utilizing an integral fractional model based on the K-BKZ framework. The results are compared with experiments performed on melt-state isotactic polypropylene under medium and large amplitude oscillatory shear. The numerical results are in good agreement with the experimental data, and the model is able to capture and predict both the linear and the non-linear viscoelastic behaviours of the polymer melt. Results show that equipping SPH with an integral fractional model is promising approach for the simulation of complex polymeric materials under realistic conditions.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2025

A semi-analytical solution for the lubrication force between two spheres approaching in viscoelastic fluids described by the Oldroyd-B model under small Deborah numbers

Viscoelastic fluids play a critical role in various engineering and biological applications, where their lubrication properties are strongly influenced by relaxation times ranging from microseconds to minutes. Although the lubrication mechanism for Newtonian fluids is well-established, its extension to viscoelastic materials - particularly under squeezing flow conditions - remains less explored. This study presents a semi-analytical solution for the lubrication force between two spheres approaching in a Boger fluid under small Deborah numbers. Unlike previous works that assumed a Newtonian velocity field, we derive the velocity profile directly from the mass-momentum conservation and Oldroyd-B constitutive equations using lubrication theory and order-of-magnitude analysis techniques. Under steady-state conditions, viscoelasticity induces a marginal increase in the surface-to-surface normal force as a result of the increased pressure required to overcome the original resistance from the first normal-stress difference. Transient analyses reveal that the normal lubrication force is bounded by two Newtonian plateaus and is nonsymmetric as the spheres approach or separate. Our findings highlight the role of viscoelasticity in improving load capacity and provide new insight for modelling dense particle suspensions in Boger fluids, where short-range interactions dominate.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2014

A multiblob approach to colloidal hydrodynamics with inherent lubrication

This work presents an intermediate resolution model of the hydrodynamics of colloidal particles based on a mixed Eulerian-Lagrangian formulation. The particle is constructed with a small set of overlapping Peskin's Immersed Boundary kernels (blobs) which are held together by springs to build up a particle impenetrable core. Here, we used 12 blobs placed in the vertexes of an icosahedron with an extra one in its center. Although the particle surface is not explicitly resolved, we show that the short-distance hydrodynamic responses (flow profiles, translational and rotational mobilities, lubrication, etc) agree with spherical colloids and provide consistent effective radii. A remarkable property of the present multiblob model is that it naturally presents a "divergent" lubrication force at finite inter-particle distance. This permits to resolve the large viscosity increase at dense colloidal volume fractions. The intermediate resolution model is able to recover highly non-trivial (many-body) hydrodynamics using small particles whose radii are similar to the grid size $h$ (in the range $[1.6-3.2]\,h$). Considering that the cost of the embedding fluid phase scales like the cube of the particle radius, this result brings about a significant computational speed-up. Our code Fluam works in Graphics Processor Units (GPU's) and uses Fast Fourier Transform for the Poisson solver, which further improves its efficiency.

cond-mat.soft↗