Sedimentation instabilities: Impact of the fluid compressibility and viscosity
Abstract
The effect of an interstitial fluid on the mixing of sedimenting grains is studied numerically in a closed rectangular Hele-Shaw cell. We investigate the impact of the fluid compressibility and fluid viscosity on the dynamics and structures of the granular Rayleigh-Taylor instability. First we discuss the effect of the fluid compressibility on the initial fluid pressure evolution and on the dynamics of the particles. Here, the emerging patterns do not seem highly affected by the compressibility change studied. To characterize the patterns and motion the combined length of the particle trajectories in relation to the movement of the center of mass is analyzed, and the separation of particle pairs is measured as a function of the fluid viscosity.
- Publication:
-
Physical Review E
- Pub Date:
- November 2010
- DOI:
- Bibcode:
- 2010PhRvE..82e1302N
- Keywords:
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- 45.70.-n;
- 45.50.-j;
- 47.11.-j;
- Granular systems;
- Dynamics and kinematics of a particle and a system of particles;
- Computational methods in fluid dynamics