A smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) formulation of a two-phase mixture model and its application to turbulent sediment transport

Abstract

A Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) formulation and implementation of the classical two-phase mixture model are reported, with a particular focus on the turbulent sediment transport and the sediment disturbances generated by moving equipment operating near or on the seabed. In the mixture model, the fluid-particle system is considered to be an equivalent medium whose evolution is described by a set of equations for the mixture continuity and momentum conservation, with the particle volume fraction being tracked by a transport equation. The governing equations are adapted to a Lagrangian, weakly-compressible SPH framework, the turbulence is modeled by a Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes approach, and adaptive boundary conditions for shear stress and turbulent quantities are implemented to account for laminar or turbulent local flow conditions. The complex rheological behavior of clay sediment/water mixtures is modeled using a volume fraction, shear rate-dependent viscosity which accounts for the existence of a yield stress. Hence, the proposed work encompasses several challenging modeling aspects: turbulence, non-Newtonian fluid behavior, sediment transport, and fluid-structure interactions. It is then illustrated on diverse cases of interest: a fluid-particle mixture column release, its subsequent turbulent transport and return to a hydrostatic equilibrium, the settling of particle clouds and two cases of particle-driven gravity currents, and their comparisons with available results. Finally, SPH simulation results for the disturbance of a bed of clay sediment/water mixture induced by a moving plate are reported and compared with experiments performed in our laboratory. The proposed SPH two-phase mixture model agrees well with the existing results considered in this study.