Heavy Particle Clustering in Turbulent Flows

Abstract

Distributions of heavy particles suspended in incompressible turbulent flows are investigated by means of high-resolution direct numerical simulations. It is shown that particles form fractal clusters in the dissipative range, with properties independent of the Reynolds number. Conversely, in the inertial range, the particle distribution is not scale-invariant. It is however shown that deviations from uniformity depends only on a rescaled contraction rate, and not on the local Stokes number given by dimensional analysis. Particle distribution is characterized by voids spanning all scales of the turbulent flow; their signature on the coarse-grained mass probability distribution is an algebraic behavior at small densities.