A Micro-layer Model for the Lubrication Effect Near Collisions of Immersed Particles

A micro-layer model is proposed to account for the lubrication effect of liquid layer near collisions of immersed particles at moderate particle Reynolds number.This new model is to allow determination of the pressure profile within the micro-layer including the fluid inertia and viscosity.Then a correction based on the micro-layer model is applied to unsteady 3-D direct simulation of a particle approaching another one.The simulation is based on a modified immersed boundary method with direct force scheme.The quantitative agreement between numerical and experimental results validates the model presented in the study.The simulation results show that the fluid is squeezed prior to contact.When a particle approaches a flat wall or another particle,the lubrication force,obtained by integrating the pressure profile over the particle surface,is increased and prevents the particle from approaching.The model predicts that the velocity of approaching particle starts to decrease when separation distance of particles is less than 0.1dp,where dp is the particle diameter.