Statistical theory of turbulent incompressible multimaterial flow

Abstract

Interpenetrating motion of incompressible materials is considered. ''Turbulence'' is defined as any deviation from the mean motion. Accordingly a nominally stationary fluid will exhibit turbulent fluctuations due to a single, slowly moving sphere. Mean conservation equations for interpenetrating materials in arbitrary proportions are derived using an ensemble averaging procedure, beginning with the exact equations of motion. The result is a set of conservation equations for the mean mass, momentum and fluctuational kinetic energy of each material. The equation system is at first unclosed due to integral terms involving unknown one-point and two-point probability distribution functions. In the mean momentum equation, the unclosed terms are clearly identified as representing two physical processes. One is transport of momentum by multimaterial Reynolds stresses, and the other is momentum exchange due to pressure fluctuations and viscous stress at material interfaces. Closure is approached by combining careful examination of multipoint statistical correlations with the traditional physical technique of kappa-epsilon modeling for single-material turbulence. This involves representing the multimaterial Reynolds stress for each material as a turbulent viscosity times the rate of strain based on the mean velocity of that material. The multimaterial turbulent viscosity is related to the fluctuational kinetic energy kappa, and the rate of fluctuational energy dissipation epsilon, for each material. Hence a set of kappa and epsilon equations must be solved, together with mean mass and momentum conservation equations, for each material. Both kappa and the turbulent viscosities enter into the momentum exchange force. The theory is applied to (a) calculation of the drag force on a sphere fixed in a uniform flow, (b) calculation of the settling rate in a suspension and (c) calculation of velocity profiles in the pneumatic transport of solid particles in a pipe.