Publications

Statistics of particle time-temperature histories

Hewson, John C.; Lignell, David O.; Sun, Guangyuan S.

Particles in non - isothermal turbulent flow are subject to a stochastic environment tha t produces a distribution of particle time - temperature histories. This distribution is a function of the dispersion of the non - isothermal (continuous) gas phase and the distribution of particles relative to that gas phase. In this work we extend the one - dimensional turbulence (ODT) model to predict the joint dispersion of a dispersed particle phase and a continuous phase. The ODT model predicts the turbulent evolution of continuous scalar fields with a model for the cascade of fluctuations to smaller sc ales (the 'triplet map') at a rate that is a function of the fully resolved one - dimens ional velocity field . Stochastic triplet maps also drive Lagrangian particle dispersion with finite Stokes number s including inertial and eddy trajectory - crossing effect s included. Two distinct approaches to this coupling between triplet maps and particle dispersion are developed and implemented along with a hybrid approach. An 'instantaneous' particle displacement model matches the tracer particle limit and provide s an accurate description of particle dispersion. A 'continuous' particle displacement m odel translates triplet maps into a continuous velocity field to which particles respond. Particles can alter the turbulence, and modifications to the stochastic rate expr ession are developed for two - way coupling between particles and the continuous phase. Each aspect of model development is evaluated in canonical flows (homogeneous turbulence, free - shear flows and wall - bounded flows) for which quality measurements are ava ilable. ODT simulations of non - isothermal flows provide statistics for particle heating. These simulations show the significance of accurately predicting the joint statistics of particle and fluid dispersion . Inhomogeneous turbulence coupled with the in fluence of the mean flow fields on particles of varying properties alter s particle dispersion. The joint particle - temperature dispersion leads to a distribution of temperature histories predicted by the ODT . Predictions are shown for the lower moments an d the full distributions of the particle positions, particle - observed gas temperatures and particle temperatures. An analysis of the time scales affecting particle - temperature interactions covers Lagrangian integral time scales based on temperature autoco rrelations, rates of temperature change associated with particle motion relative to the temperature field and rates of diffusional change of temperatures. These latter two time scales have not been investigated previously; they are shown to be strongly in termittent having peaked distributions with long tails. The logarithm of the absolute value of these time scales exhibits a distribution closer to normal. A cknowledgements This work is supported by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) under their Counter - Weapons of Mass Destruction Basic Research Program in the area of Chemical and Biological Agent Defeat under award number HDTRA1 - 11 - 4503I to Sandia National Laboratories. The authors would like to express their appreciation for the guidance provi ded by Dr. Suhithi Peiris to this project and to the Science to Defeat Weapons of Mass Destruction program.