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Lattice Boltzmann simulation of turbulence-induced flocculation of cohesive sediment

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Abstract

Both the floc formation and floc breakup of cohesive sediment are affected by turbulent shear which is recognized as one of the most important parameters, and thus, on the settling and transport of cohesive sediment. In this study, the development of floc characteristics at early stage and steady-state of flocculation were investigated via a three-dimensional lattice Boltzmann numerical model for turbulence-induced flocculation. Simulations for collision and aggregation of various size particles, floc growth, and breakup in isotropic and homogenous turbulent flows with different shear stresses were conducted. Model results for the temporal evolution of floc size distribution show that the normalized floc size distributions is time-independent during early stage of flocculation, and at steady-state, shear rate has no effect on the shape of normalized floc size distribution. Furthermore, the size, settling velocity, and effective density of flocs at the non-equilibrium flocculation stage do not change significantly for shear stresses in the range 0–0.4 N m−2. The relationships between floc size and settling velocity established during floc growth stages and that during steady-states are different.

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Acknowledgments

Whoever supported the early stage of this manuscript should also be acknowledged. The revision of this manuscript during the period of the first author’s visiting at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, College of William and Mary, was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant no. 50909071) and the Science Fund for Creative Research Groups of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51021004).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Hydraulic Engineering Simulation and Safety, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 30072, China

    Jin-Feng Zhang, Qing-He Zhang & Guang-Quan Qiao

  2. Department of Physical Sciences, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, School of Marine Science, College of William and Mary, Gloucester Point, VA, 23062, USA

    Jerome P.-Y. Maa

Authors
  1. Jin-Feng Zhang
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  2. Qing-He Zhang
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  3. Jerome P.-Y. Maa
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  4. Guang-Quan Qiao
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Correspondence to Jin-Feng Zhang.

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Responsible Editor: Andrew James Manning

This article is part of the Topical Collection on the 11th International Conference on Cohesive Sediment Transport

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Zhang, JF., Zhang, QH., Maa, J.PY. et al. Lattice Boltzmann simulation of turbulence-induced flocculation of cohesive sediment. Ocean Dynamics 63, 1123–1135 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10236-013-0646-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10236-013-0646-9

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