Investigation on forces exerted on a sediment particle in current and wave boundary layer through 3D lattice Boltzmann simulation

The 3-D lattice Boltzmann method is applied to evaluate the forces exerted on a stationary spherical particle in current and wave boundary layer flow in order to analyze the forces contributing to the incipient motion of the sediment particle. Results indicate that for current, the forces reach statistically steady finally at a relative low particle Reynolds number (less than 40). The streamwise drag force is the main driven force while the effect of the spanwise force can be ignored. The reason that results in the phenomenon is also discussed. As for the wave, the cyclical nature of the flow makes the evolution of drag and lift forces become quasi-periodic. The streamwise drag force is still the main driven force, but it changes direction with the flow. Meanwhile, the spanwise vorticity and the pressure around the particle show asymmetric distribution. The influence of spanwise force on the particle can not be neglected.