Impact of trailing wake drag on the statistical properties and dynamics of finite-sized particle in turbulence

We study by means of an Eulerian–Lagrangian model the statistical properties of velocity and acceleration of a neutrally-buoyant finite-sized particle in a turbulent flow statistically homogeneous and isotropic. The particle equation of motion, besides added mass and steady Stokes drag, keeps into account the unsteady Stokes drag force–known as Basset–Boussinesq history force–and the non-Stokesian drag based on Schiller–Naumann parametrization, together with the finite-size Faxén corrections. We focus on the case of flow at low Taylor–Reynolds number, Reλ≃31Reλ≃31, for which fully resolved numerical data which can be taken as a reference are available [Homann H., Bec J. Finite-size effects in the dynamics of neutrally buoyant particles in turbulent flow. J Fluid Mech 651 (2010) 81–91]. Remarkably, we show that while drag forces have always minor effects on the acceleration statistics, their role is important on the velocity behavior. We propose also that the scaling relations for the particle velocity variance as a function of its size, which have been first detected in fully resolved simulations, does not originate from inertial-scale properties of the background turbulent flow but it is likely to arise from the non-Stokesian component of the drag produced by the wake behind the particle. Furthermore, by means of comparison with fully resolved simulations, we show that the Faxén correction to the added mass has a dominant role in the particle acceleration statistics even for particles whose size attains the integral scale.

► Finite-sized particles in turbulence are studied via an Eulerian–Lagrangian model.
► The modeling accounts for Faxen corrections, for the trailing wake-drag and for the history force.
► Comparison of the model against resolved numerical simulations is performed.
► We find drag has minor effects on acceleration statistics, but is important on the velocity behavior.
► We conclude that the added mass Faxen correction controls acceleration statistics.