Self-similar clustering of inertial particles in homogeneous turbulence

Abstract

It is shown by direct numerical simulation that the preferential concentration of small heavy particles in homogeneous isotropic developed turbulence has a self-similar multi-scale nature when the particle relaxation time is within the inertial time scales of the turbulence. This is shown by the pair correlation function of the particle distribution extending over the entire inertial range, and the probability density function of the volumes of particle voids taking a power-law form. This self-similar multi-scale nature of particle clustering cannot be explained only by the centrifugal effect of the smallest-scale (i.e. the Kolmogorov scale) eddies, but also by the effect of co-existing self-similar multi-scale coherent eddies in the turbulence at high Reynolds numbers. This explanation implies that the preferential concentration of particles takes place even when the relaxation time of particles is much larger than the Kolmogorov time, provided it is smaller than the longest time scale of the turbulence, since even the largest-scale eddies bring about particle clustering.