DS-SEDICOMP
Physics of settling particles in a fluid and characterization of the microstructural composition of a granular bed
2023 - 2025
How should the settling velocity of a heterometric suspension be formulated, and what influence does settling segregation have on the microstructural composition of a granular bed?
The physics of hydro-morpho-sedimentary dynamics is a multi-scale problem:
1) particle scale (particle, flocs, fluid-particle and particle-particle interaction...),
2) process scale (flocculation, erosion, transport, fall...) and,
3) systemic scale (estuaries, coastal seas, littorals...).
From a physical point of view, hydro-morpho-sedimentary dynamics can be seen as a combination of multi-individual processes (flocculation, erosion, transport, fall, deposition, consolidation...), each carrying its own complexities and therefore only describable at the particle scale. The DS-SEDCOMP project focuses on describing these processes, with two main objectives: 1) explain the physical origins of the change in settling velocity for a heterometric suspension, and 2) understand the microstructural composition of granular layers resulting from particle size segregation during the settling process. We investigate these processes by means of a coupled DEM-CFD modeling and via the Particle Image Velocimetry technique.
The ambition of DS-SEDCOMP is to propose rheological laws and/or phenomenological models based on realistic physics, enabling us to break with, revisit and/or reformulate the (semi-)empirical approaches used for system-scale modeling.
Contacts scientifiques :
Patrick Mutabaruka (DYNECO-DHYSED), Benoît Gaurier (RDT-LHYMAR)
Financement :
DS-IFREMER