Simulation of fibre suspension flow with shear-induced migration (Q1574244)

The authors carry out a theoretical and numerical investigation of fibre migration in a complex field. This in some ways is a pioneering work in this challenging research area. There are, for example, no sophisticated models for fiber migration, and here the authors generalize the known diffusive fluid model used for suspension of spheres. The successful simulation of fibre suspension flows depends on the constitutive equation selected, and on the numerical method used. Here the transversely isotropic fluid model of Phan-Thien and Graham models are modified and combined with Flogar-Tucker's model. With respect to numerical method, a hybrid of Brownian configuration field method and discrete adaptive split stress method is used. The method developed has been applied to particle migration in Couette flow and in plane Poiseuille flow. In the case of Couette flow, the predictions compare favorably with experimental results. Unfortunately, there are no experimental results for fibre suspensions in Poiseuille flow.