Abstract
Simulating the rheological behaviors of polymer solutions is intrinsically a multi-scale problem. To study the macroscopic and microscopic characteristics in the fluid flow of dilute polymer solutions, we designed a multi-scale solver, which couples the Brownian Configuration Fields with the macroscopic hydrodynamic governing equations. Numerical simulation results using the multi-scale solver exhibited good accordance with the macroscopic only approach. Through a scalar field D we also quantitatively studied the flow behaviours in 2D planar channels, and analyzed the correlation between the molecular distribution and the macroscopic fluid flow in polymer solutions. Our results verified the correctness of the solver, which could provide valuable guidance for multi-scale simulations of complex fluids based on OpenFOAM.
Highlights
IntroductionPolymer solutions are frequently used in the production of fibers, films, glues, lacquers, paints, and other items made of polymer materials
Polymer solutions are frequently used in the production of fibers, films, glues, lacquers, paints, and other items made of polymer materials. It is of great scientific significance and application values to make an in-depth study of the dynamics and the rheological characteristics of the polymer solutions through numerical simulation
The Brownian configuration field (BCF) method provides a new perspective to study the rheological characteristics of polymer solutions using a multi-scale numerical solver
Summary
Polymer solutions are frequently used in the production of fibers, films, glues, lacquers, paints, and other items made of polymer materials. It is of great scientific significance and application values to make an in-depth study of the dynamics and the rheological characteristics of the polymer solutions through numerical simulation. Simulating the rheological behaviors of polymer solutions is intrinsically a multi-scale problem. Numerical approaches for simulating polymer solutions fall into three categories: the macroscopic, the microscopic and the micro-macro multi-scale methods. In a macroscopic only simulation, the constitutive equation (CE) that relates the viscoelastic stress to the deformation history can be derived from the continuum mechanics. One solves the constitutive model together with the conservation laws of mass and momentum to predict velocity and stress fields in complex flows
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