Particle-resolved simulations of shock-induced flow through particle clouds at different Reynolds numbers

This study investigates the Reynolds-number dependence of shock-induced flow through stationary particle clouds at 10% volume fraction, using ensemble-averaged results from three-dimensional particle-resolved large eddy simulations. The advantage of using large eddy simulations to study this problem is that they capture the strong velocity shears and flow separation caused by the no-slip condition at the particle surfaces. The shock particle cloud interaction produces a reflected shock wave, whose strength increases with decreasing particle Reynolds number. This results in important changes to the flow field that enters the particle cloud. The results show an approximate proportionality between the mean flow velocity and the flow fluctuation magnitudes. Maximum particle drag forces are in excellent agreement with previous inviscid studies, and we complement these results with statistics of time-averaged particle forces as well as the variation of temporal oscillations. The results of this work provide a basis for development of improved simplified dispersed flow models.