Macroscopic model and numerical simulation of elastic canopy flows

We study the turbulent flow of a fluid over a canopy, that we model as a deformable porous medium. This porous medium is more precisely a carpet of fibres that bend under the hydrodynamic load, hence initiating a fluid-structure coupling at the scale of a fibre's height (honami). The objective of the thesis is to develop a macroscopic model of this fluid-structure interaction in order to perform numerical simulations of this process. The volume averaging method is implemented to describe the large scales of the flow and their interaction with the deformable porous medium. An hybrid approach is followed due to the non-local nature of the solid phase; While the large scales of the flow are described within an Eulerian frame by applying the method of volume averaging, a Lagrangian approach is proposed to describe the ensemble of fibres. The interface between the free-flow and the porous medium is handle with a One-Domain- Approach, which we justify with the theoretical development of a mass- and momentum- balance at the fluid/porous interface. This hybrid model is then implemented in a parallel code written in C$++$, based on a fluid- solver available from the \openfoam CFD toolbox. Some preliminary results show the ability of this approach to simulate a honami within a reasonable computational cost. Prior to implementing a macroscopic model, insight into the small-scale is required. Two specific aspects of the small-scale are therefore studied in details; The first development deals with the inertial deviation from Darcy's law. A geometrical parameter is proposed to describe the effect of inertia on Darcy's law, depending on the shape of the microstructure of the porous medium. This topological parameter is shown to efficiently characterize inertia effects on a diversity of tested microstructures. An asymptotic filtration law is then derived from the closure problem arising from the volume averaging method, proposing a new framework to understand the relationship between the effect of inertia on the macroscopic fluid-solid force and the topology of the microstructure of the porous medium. A second research axis is then investigated. As we deal with a deformable porous medium, we study the effect of the pore-scale fluid-structure interaction on the filtration law as the flow within the pores is unsteady, inducing time-dependent fluidstresses on the solid- phase. For that purpose, we implement pore-scale numerical simulations of unsteady flows within deformable pores, focusing for this preliminary study on a model porous medium. Owing to the large displacements of the solid phase, an immersed boundary approach is implemented. Two different numerical methods are compared to apply the no-slip condition at the fluid-solid interface: a diffuse interface approach and a sharp interface approach. The objective is to find the proper method to afford acceptable computational time and a good reliability of the results. The comparison allows a cross-validation of the numerical results, as the two methods compare well for our cases. This numerical campaign shows that the pore-scale deformation has a significant impact on the pressure drop at the macroscopic scale. Some fundamental issues are then discussed, such as the size of a representative computational domain or the form of macroscopic equations to describe the momentum transport within a soft deformable porous medium

Inertial Sensitivity of Porous Microstructures

Fluid flows through porous media are subject to different regimes, ranging from linear creeping flows to unsteady, chaotic turbulence. These different flow regimes at the pore scale have repercussions at larger scales, with the macroscale drag force experienced by a fluid moving through the medium becoming a nonlinear function of the average velocity beyond the creeping flow regime. Accurate prediction of the transition between different flow regimes is an important challenge with repercussions onto many engineering applications. Here, we are interested in the first deviation from Darcy’s law, when inertia effects become sizeable. Our goal is to define a Reynolds number, ReC, so that the inertial deviation occurs when ReC∼1 for any microstructure. The difficulty in doing so is to reduce the multiple length scales characterizing the geometry of the porous structure to a single length scale, $\ell$. We analyze the problem using the method of volume averaging and identify a length scale in the form \ell=C_\lambda\sqrt{\nicefrac{K_\lambda}{\epsilon_\beta}}, with $C_\lambda$ a parameter that indicates the sensitivity of the microstructure to inertia. The main advantage of this definition is that an explicit formula for $C_\lambda$ is given; $C_\lambda$ is computed from a creeping flow simulation in the porous medium; and ReC can be used to predict the transition to a non-Darcian regime more accurately than by using Reynolds numbers based on alternative length scales. The theory is validated numerically with data from flow simulations for a variety of microstructures

Pressure drop for inertial flows in elastic porous media

The effect of the porosity and of the elastic properties of anisotropic solid skeletons saturated by a fluid is studied for flows displaying unsteady inertial effects. Insight is achieved by direct numerical simulations of the Navier-Stokes equations for model porous media, with inclusions which can oscillate with respect to their reference positions because of the presence of a restoring elastic force modeled by a spring. The numerical technique is based on the immersed boundary method, to easily allow for the displacement of pores of arbitrary shapes and dimensions. Solid contacts are elastic. The parameters examined include the local Reynolds number, Red , based on the mean velocity through the reference unit cell and the characteristic size of the inclusions, the direction of the macroscopic forcing pressure gradient, the reduced frequency, f ∗ , ratio of the flow frequency to the natural frequency of the spring-mass system, and the reduced mass, m∗ , ratio of the solid to the fluid density. Results demonstrate the effect of these arameters, and permit to determine the filtration laws useful for the subsequent macroscopic modeling of these flows through the volume averaged Navier-Stokes equations

Anisotropic Curie temperature materials

Existence of anisotropic Curie temperature materials [E. R. Callen, Phys. Rev. 124, 1373 (1961)] is a longstanding prediction - materials that become paramagnetic along certain crystal directions at a lower temperature while remaining magnetically ordered in other directions up to a higher temperature. Validating Callen's theory, we show that all directions within the basal plane of monoclinic Fe7S8 single crystals remain ordered up to 603 K while the hard c-axis becomes paramagnetic at 225 K. Materials with such a large directional dependence of Curie temperature opens the possibility of uniquely new devices and phenomena

Modèle macroscopique et simulation numérique des écoulements de canopée élastique

On étudie l'écoulement turbulent d'un fluide sur une canopée, que l'on modélise comme un milieu poreux déformable. Ce milieu poreux est en fait composé d'un tapis de fibres susceptibles de se courber sous la charge hydrodynamique du fluide, et ainsi de créer un couplage fluide-structure à l'échelle d'une hauteur de fibre (honami). L'objectif de la thèse est de développer un modèle macroscopique de cette interaction fluide-structure, afin d'en réaliser des simulations numériques. Une approche numérique de simulation aux grandes échelles est donc mise en place pour capturer les grandes structures de l'écoulement et leur couplage avec les déformations du milieu poreux. Pour cela nous dérivons les équations régissant la grande échelle, au point de vue du fluide ainsi que de la phase solide. À cause du caractère non-local de la phase solide, une approche hybride est proposée. La phase fluide est décrite d'un point de vue Eulerien, tandis que la description de la dynamique de la phase solide nécessite une représentation Lagrangienne. L'interface entre le fluide et le milieu poreux est traitée de manière continue. Cette approche de l'interface fluide/poreux est justifiée par un développement théorique sous forme de bilan de masse et de quantité de mouvement à l'interface. Ce modèle hybride est implémenté dans un solveur écrit en C++, à partir d'un solveur fluide disponible dans la librairie CFD \openfoam. Un préalable nécessaire à la réalisation d'un tel modèle macroscopique est la connaissance des phénomènes de la petite échelle en vue de les modéliser. Deux axes sont explorés concernant cet aspect. Le premier consiste à étudier les effets de l'inertie sur la perte de charge en milieu poreux. Un paramètre géométrique est proposé pour caractériser la sensibilité d'une microstructure poreuse à l'inertie de l'écoulement du fluide dans ses pores. L'efficacité de ce paramètre géométrique est validée sur une diversité de microstructures et le caractère général du paramètre est démontré. Une loi asymptotique est ensuite proposée pour modéliser les effets de l'inertie sur la perte de charge, et comprendre comment celle-ci évolue en fonction de la nature de la microstructure du milieu poreux. Le deuxième axe d'étude de la petite échelle consiste à étudier l'effet de l’interaction fluide-structure à l'échelle du pore sur la perte de charge au niveau macroscopique. Comme les cas présentent de grands déplacements de la phase solide, une approche par frontières immergées est proposée. Ainsi deux méthodes numériques sont employées pour appliquer la condition de non-glissement à l'interface fluid/solide: l'une par interface diffuse, l'autre par reconstitution de l'interface. Cela permet une validation croisée des résultats et d'atteindre des temps de calcul acceptables tout en maîtrisant la précision des résultats numériques. Cette étude permet de montrer que l'interaction fluide-structure à l'échelle du pore a un effet considérable sur la perte de charge effective au niveau macroscopique. Des questions fondamentales sont ensuite abordées, telles que la taille d'un élément représentatif ou la forme des équations de transport dans un milieu poreux souple.We study the turbulent flow of a fluid over a canopy, that we model as a deformable porous medium. This porous medium is more precisely a carpet of fibres that bend under the hydrodynamic load, hence initiating a fluid-structure coupling at the scale of a fibre's height (honami). The objective of the thesis is to develop a macroscopic model of this fluid-structure interaction in order to perform numerical simulations of this process. The volume averaging method is implemented to describe the large scales of the flow and their interaction with the deformable porous medium. An hybrid approach is followed due to the non-local nature of the solid phase; While the large scales of the flow are described within an Eulerian frame by applying the method of volume averaging, a Lagrangian approach is proposed to describe the ensemble of fibres. The interface between the free-flow and the porous medium is handle with a One-Domain- Approach, which we justify with the theoretical development of a mass- and momentum- balance at the fluid/porous interface. This hybrid model is then implemented in a parallel code written in C++, based on a fluid- solver available from the \openfoam CFD toolbox. Some preliminary results show the ability of this approach to simulate a honami within a reasonable computational cost. Prior to implementing a macroscopic model, insight into the small-scale is required. Two specific aspects of the small-scale are therefore studied in details; The first development deals with the inertial deviation from Darcy's law. A geometrical parameter is proposed to describe the effect of inertia on Darcy's law, depending on the shape of the microstructure of the porous medium. This topological parameter is shown to efficiently characterize inertia effects on a diversity of tested microstructures. An asymptotic filtration law is then derived from the closure problem arising from the volume averaging method, proposing a new framework to understand the relationship between the effect of inertia on the macroscopic fluid-solid force and the topology of the microstructure of the porous medium. A second research axis is then investigated. As we deal with a deformable porous medium, we study the effect of the pore-scale fluid-structure interaction on the filtration law as the flow within the pores is unsteady, inducing time-dependent fluidstresses on the solid- phase. For that purpose, we implement pore-scale numerical simulations of unsteady flows within deformable pores, focusing for this preliminary study on a model porous medium. Owing to the large displacements of the solid phase, an immersed boundary approach is implemented. Two different numerical methods are compared to apply the no-slip condition at the fluid-solid interface: a diffuse interface approach and a sharp interface approach. The objective is to find the proper method to afford acceptable computational time and a good reliability of the results. The comparison allows a cross-validation of the numerical results, as the two methods compare well for our cases. This numerical campaign shows that the pore-scale deformation has a significant impact on the pressure drop at the macroscopic scale. Some fundamental issues are then discussed, such as the size of a representative computational domain or the form of macroscopic equations to describe the momentum transport within a soft deformable porous medium