Effect of wall-collision models on the transport of rigid, elongated non-spherical particles in a turbulent channel flow using an Euler/Lagrange approach

The present contribution focuses on an extended modelling of elongated, non-spherical particle transport in wall-bounded, particle-laden flows. A turbulent channel flow is considered using a point-particle Euler/Lagrange framework, with the fluid phase computed by a numerically filtered, scale-resolving approach. The developed method for inertial fibres was implemented in OpenFOAM Ⓡ , neglecting two-way coupling. Particle tracking with respect to translation and rotation is conducted in different frames of reference which are transformed through the use of quaternions, so that the fibre centroid position and orientation are known along their trajectory. Aerodynamic resistance coefficients for drag, lift, and torque are taken from correlations dependent on fibre orientation at an aspect ratio of five. Wall collisions of fibres are treated with an extended hard-body collision model that includes fibre orientation and the actual contact point. By solving the impulse equations with the parameters for restitution ratio and Coulomb friction coefficient the momentum loss was modelled. The flow validation was carried out against DNS data for a turbulent channel. Particular consideration was focused on the fibre-wall interactions, comparing the extended model with reduced approaches, such as centre-of-gravity specular reflection and spherical particle wall collision for the same equivalent diameter. The results highlight the important role of realistic wall-collision modelling. Accounting for the actual fibre-wall contact point leads to significantly different predictions of near-wall mean concentration, particle flux, and orientation profiles. In particular, fibre tilting during wall interactions enhances wall contact, increasing collision rates and modifying rebound angles compared to simplified models.