Lattice Boltzmann simulation of shear-induced particle migration in plane Couette-Poiseuille flow: Local ordering of suspension

The shear-induced migration of concentrated non-Brownian monodisperse suspensions in combined plane Couette-Poiseuille (C-P) flows is studied using a lattice Boltzmann simulation. The simulations are mainly performed for a particle volume fraction of phi(bulk) = 0.4 and H/a = 44.3, 23.3, where H and a denote the channel height and radius of suspended particles, respectively. The simulation method is validated in two simple flows, plane Poiseuille and plane Couette flows. In the Poiseuille flow, particles migrate to the mid-plane of the channel where the local concentration is close to the limit of random-close-packing, and a random structure is also observed at the plane. In the Couette flow, the particle distribution remains in the initial uniform distribution. In the combined C-P flows, the behaviors of migration are categorized into three groups, namely, Poiseuille-dominant, Couette-dominant, and intermediate regimes, based on the value of a characteristic force, G, where G denotes the relative magnitude of the body force (P) against the wall-driving force (C). With respect to the Poiseuille-dominant regime, the location of the maximum concentration is shifted from the midplane to the lower wall moving in the same direction as the external body force, when G decreases. With respect to the Couette-dominant regime, the behavior is similar to that of a simple shear flow with the exception that a slightly higher concentration of particles is observed near the lower wall. However, with respect to the intermediate value of G, several layers of highly ordered particles are unexpectedly observed near the lower wall where the plane of maximum concentration is located. The locally ordered structure is mainly due to the lateral migration of particles and wall confinement. The suspended particles migrate toward a vanishingly small shear rate at the wall, and they are consequently layered into highly ordered two-dimensional structures at the high local volume fraction. Published by AIP Publishing.