arXiv subjects

Rodney O. Fox

Publications and source records attributed to Rodney O. Fox.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

A robust high-resolution algorithm for quadrature-based moment methods applied to high-speed polydisperse multiphase flows

A high-resolution Eulerian method for simulating high-speed polydisperse granular multiphase flows has been developed. The governing equations include a compressible gas that is coupled to mass-based moment equations for a polydisperse granular flow derived from the generalized population balance equation. The model includes effects from particle collisions, drag, convective heat transfer, particle-fluid-particle pressure, and finite-size particle force terms. The mass moment integrals are closed using the generalized quadrature method of moments to allow for continuous size distributions. The governing equations are solved by using high-resolution reconstruction schemes and results from decoupled Riemann problems for the gas and particles as each quadrature node. Success of the technique is demonstrated through a variety of numerical experiments including polydisperse multiphase Riemann shock-tube problems, shock--particle-curtain interactions, dust layer dispersal, dust layer dispersal by shock waves, and dispersal of spherical particle shells by high-pressure gas.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2025

Turbulence transport in moderately dense gas--particle compressible flows

This study employs three-dimensional particle-resolved simulations of planar shocks passing through a suspension of stationary solid particles to study wake-induced gas-phase velocity fluctuations, termed pseudo-turbulence. Strong coupling through interphase momentum and energy exchange generates unsteady wakes and shocklets in the interstitial space between particles. A Helmholtz decomposition of the velocity field shows that the majority of pseudo-turbulence is contained in the solenoidal component from particle wakes, whereas the dilatational component corresponds to the downstream edge of the particle curtain where the flow chokes. One-dimensional phase-averaged statistics of pseudo-turbulent kinetic energy (PTKE) are quantified at various stages of flow development. Reduction in PTKE is observed with increasing shock Mach number due to decreased production, consistent with single-phase compressible turbulence. The anisotropy in Reynolds stresses is found to be relatively constant through the curtain and consistent over all the conditions simulated. Analysis of the budget of PTKE shows that the majority of turbulence is produced through drag and balanced by viscous dissipation. The energy spectra of the streamwise gas-phase velocity fluctuations reveal an inertial subrange that begins at the mean interparticle spacing and decays with a power law of $-5/3$ and steepens to $-3$ at scales much smaller than the particle diameter. A two-equation model is proposed for PTKE and its dissipation. The model is implemented within a hyperbolic Eulerian-based two-fluid model and shows excellent agreement with the particle-resolved simulations.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2021

Conditional moment methods for polydisperse cavitating flows

The dynamics of cavitation bubbles are important in many flows, but their small sizes and high number densities often preclude direct numerical simulation. We present a computational model that averages their effect on the flow over larger spatiotemporal scales. The model is based on solving a generalized population balance equation (PBE) for nonlinear bubble dynamics and explicitly represents the evolving probability density of bubble radii and radial velocities. Conditional quadrature-based moment methods (QBMMs) are adapted to solve this PBE. A one-way-coupled bubble dynamics problem demonstrates the efficacy of different QBMMs for the evolving bubble statistics. Results show that enforcing hyperbolicity during moment inversion (CHyQMOM) provides comparable model-form accuracy to the traditional conditional method of moments and decreases computational costs by about ten times for a broad range of test cases. The CHyQMOM-based computational model is implemented in MFC, an open-source multi-phase and high-order-accurate flow solver. We assess the effect of the model and its parameters on a two-way coupled bubble screen flow problem.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2020

QBMMlib: A library of quadrature-based moment methods

QBMMlib is an open source Mathematica package of quadrature-based moment methods and their algorithms. Such methods are commonly used to solve fully-coupled disperse flow and combustion problems, though formulating and closing the corresponding governing equations can be complex. QBMMlib aims to make analyzing these techniques simple and more accessible. Its routines use symbolic manipulation to formulate the moment transport equations for a population balance equation and a prescribed dynamical system. However, the resulting moment transport equations are unclosed. QBMMlib trades the moments for a set of quadrature points and weights via an inversion algorithm, of which several are available. Quadratures then closes the moment transport equations. Embedded code snippets show how to use QBMMlib, with the algorithm initialization and solution spanning just 13 total lines of code. Examples are shown and analyzed for linear harmonic oscillator and bubble dynamics problems.

physics.comp-ph↗

arXiv2007

Numerical simulation of spray coalescence in an eulerian framework : direct quadrature method of moments and multi-fluid method

The scope of the present study is Eulerian modeling and simulation of polydisperse liquid sprays undergoing droplet coalescence and evaporation. The fundamental mathematical description is the Williams spray equation governing the joint number density function f(v, u; x, t) of droplet volume and velocity. Eulerian multi-fluid models have already been rigorously derived from this equation in Laurent et al. (2004). The first key feature of the paper is the application of direct quadrature method of moments (DQMOM) introduced by Marchisio and Fox (2005) to the Williams spray equation. Both the multi-fluid method and DQMOM yield systems of Eulerian conservation equations with complicated interaction terms representing coalescence. In order to validate and compare these approaches, the chosen configuration is a self-similar 2D axisymmetrical decelerating nozzle with sprays having various size distributions, ranging from smooth ones up to Dirac delta functions. The second key feature of the paper is a thorough comparison of the two approaches for various test-cases to a reference solution obtained through a classical stochastic Lagrangian solver. Both Eulerian models prove to describe adequately spray coalescence and yield a very interesting alternative to the Lagrangian solver.

math.NA↗