Numerical investigation of particle saltation in the bed-load regime

This paper numerically investigates particle saltation in a turbulent channel flow having a rough bed consisting of 2–3 layers of densely packed spheres.In this study,we combined three the state-of-the-art technologies,i.e.,the direct numerical simulation of turbulent flow,the combined finite-discrete element modelling of the deformation,movement and collision of the particles,and the immersed boundary method for the fluid-solid interaction.Here we verify our code by comparing the flow and particle statistical features with the published data and then present the hydrodynamic forces acting on a particle together with the particle coordinates and velocities,during a typical saltation.We found strong correlation between the abruptly decreasing particle stream-wise velocity and the increasing vertical velocity at collision,which indicates that the continuous saltation of large grain-size particles is controlled by collision parameters such as particle incident angle,local rough bed packing arrangement,and particle density,etc.This physical process is different from that of particle entrainment in which turbulence coherence structures play an important role.Probability distribution functions of several important saltation parameters and the relationships between them are presented.The results show that the saltating particles hitting the windward side of the bed particles are more likely to bounce off the rough bed than those hitting the leeside.Based on the above findings,saltation mechanisms of large grain-size particles in turbulent channel flow are presented.

An improved particle tracking velocimetry(PTV) technique to evaluate the velocity field of saltating particles

Velocity is a key parameter characterizing the movement of saltating particles. High-speed photography is an efficient method to record the velocity. But, manually determining the relevant information from these photographs is quite laborious. However, particle tracking velocimetry（PTV） can be used to measure the instantaneous velocity in fluids using tracer particles. The tracer particles have three basic features in fluids： similar movement patterns within a small region, a uniform particle distribution, and high particle density. Unfortunately, the saltation of sand particles in air is a stochastic process, and PTV has not yet been able to accurately determine the velocity field in a cloud of blowing sand. The aim of the present study was to develop an improved PTV technique to measure the downwind（horizontal） and vertical velocities of saltating sand. To demonstrate the feasibility of this new technique, we used it to investigate two-dimensional saltation of particles above a loose sand surface in a wind tunnel. We analyzed the properties of the saltating particles, including the probability distribution of particle velocity, variations in the mean velocity as a function of height, and particle turbulence. By automating much of the analysis, the improved PTV method can satisfy the requirement for a large sample size and can measure the velocity field of blowing sand more accurately than previously-used techniques. The results shed new light on the complicated mechanisms involved in sand saltation.