Grain-scale computations of barchan dunes

Author(s)

Lima, Nicolao C. ; Assis, Willian R. ; Alvarez, Carlos A. ; Franklin, Erick M.

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Physics of Fluids; v. 34, n. 12, p. 15-pg., 2022-12-01.

Abstract

Barchans are crescent-shaped dunes commonly found in diverse environments and scales: from the 10-cm-long barchans found under water to the 1-km-long barchans on Mars, passing by the 100-m-long dunes on Earth's deserts. Although ubiquitous in nature, there is a lack of grain-scale computations of the growth and evolution of those bedforms. In this paper, we investigate the values of grain properties (coefficients of sliding friction, rolling friction, and restitution) necessary to carry out numerical simulations of subaqueous barchans with CFD-DEM (computational fluid dynamics-discrete element method), and how the values of those coefficients change the barchan dynamics. We made use of LES (large eddy simulation) for the fluid, varied the coefficients of sliding friction, rolling friction, and restitution in the DEM, and compared the outputs with experiments. We show (i) for the case of glass spheres, the values of coefficients for correctly obtaining the dune morphology, timescales, trajectories of individual grains, and forces experienced by grains; (ii) the LES meshes allowing computations of bedload while capturing the main disturbances of the fluid flow; (iii) how different values of coefficients affect the morphology of barchans; and (iv) that spheres with higher coefficients of rolling friction can be used for simulating barchans consisting of angular grains. Our results represent a significant step for performing simulations that capture, at the same time, details of the fluid flow (large eddies) and grains' motion (individual particles). Published under an exclusive license by AIP Publishing. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 18/14981-7 - Modeling of dense granular flows: experiments, numerical simulations and stability analyses
• Grantee: Erick de Moraes Franklin
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Young Investigators Grants - Phase 2
• FAPESP's process: 19/20888-2 - CFD-DEM simulations of fluidized beds
• Grantee: Nicolao Cerqueira Lima
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• FAPESP's process: 19/10239-7 - Bed-load instabilities: granular dynamics and interaction with the fluid flow
• Grantee: Willian Righi Assis
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate (Direct)