Diffusion-Based Coarse Graining in Hybrid Continuum-Discrete Solvers: Theoretical Formulation and A Priori Tests

Coarse graining is an important ingredient in many multi-scale continuum-discrete solvers such as CFD--DEM (computational fluid dynamics--discrete element method) solvers for dense particle-laden flows. Although CFD--DEM solvers have become a mature technique that is widely used in multiphase flow research and industrial flow simulations, a flexible and easy-to-implement coarse graining algorithm that can work with CFD solvers of arbitrary meshes is still lacking. In this work, we proposed a new coarse graining algorithm for continuum--discrete solvers for dense particle-laden flows based on solving a transient diffusion equation. Via theoretical analysis we demonstrated that the proposed method is equivalent to the statistical kernel method with a Gaussian kernel, but the current method is much more straightforward to implement in CFD--DEM solvers. \textit{A priori} numerical tests were performed to obtain the solid volume fraction fields based on given particle distributions, the results obtained by using the proposed algorithm were compared with those from other coarse graining methods in the literature (e.g., the particle centroid method, the divided particle volume method, and the two-grid formulation). The numerical tests demonstrated that the proposed coarse graining procedure based on solving diffusion equations is theoretically sound, easy to implement and parallelize in general CFD solvers, and has improved mesh-convergence characteristics compared with existing coarse graining methods. The diffusion-based coarse graining method has been implemented into a CFD--DEM solver, the results of which are presented in a separate work (R. Sun and H. Xiao, Diffusion-based coarse graining in hybrid continuum-discrete solvers: Application in CFD-DEM solvers for particle laden flows)

Diffusion-Based Coarse Graining in Hybrid Continuum-Discrete Solvers: Applications in CFD-DEM

In this work, a coarse-graining method previously proposed by the authors in a companion paper based on solving diffusion equations is applied to CFD-DEM simulations, where coarse graining is used to obtain solid volume fraction, particle phase velocity, and fluid-particle interaction forces. By examining the conservation requirements, the variables to solve diffusion equations for in CFD-DEM simulations are identified. The algorithm is then implemented into a CFD-DEM solver based on OpenFOAM and LAMMPS, the former being a general-purpose, three-dimensional CFD solver based on unstructured meshes. Numerical simulations are performed for a fluidized bed by using the CFD-DEM solver with the diffusion-based coarse-graining algorithm. Converged results are obtained on successively refined meshes, even for meshes with cell sizes comparable to or smaller than the particle diameter. This is a critical advantage of the proposed method over many existing coarse-graining methods, and would be particularly valuable when small cells are required in part of the CFD mesh to resolve certain flow features such as boundary layers in wall bounded flows and shear layers in jets and wakes. Moreover, we demonstrate that the overhead computational costs incurred by the proposed coarse-graining procedure are a small portion of the total costs in typical CFD-DEM simulations as long as the number of particles per cell is reasonably large, although admittedly the computational overhead of the coarse graining often exceeds that of the CFD solver. Other advantages of the present algorithm include more robust and physically realistic results, flexibility and easy implementation in almost any CFD solvers, and clear physical interpretation of the computational parameter needed in the algorithm. In summary, the diffusion-based method is a theoretically elegant and practically viable option for CFD-DEM simulations

The impacts of air-pollution motivated automobile consumption tax adjustments of China

A concomitant of the rapid development of the automobile industry in China is the serious air pollution and carbon dioxide emission. There are various regulation instruments to reduce the air pollution from automobile sources. China government chooses a small-displacement oriented consumption tax as well as fuel tax to alleviate the worse air pollution. This paper evaluates the effects of both policy instruments on fuel consumption and social welfare. Our empirical results show that fuel tax decreases the total sale of new cars, which leads to a decline of total consumption of fuel from the new cars, but does not change the sale distribution over various fuel efficiency models; while consumption tax adjustment results in a skewed sale distribution toward more efficient new cars but increases the total consumption of fuel due to an enlarged sale. The effects of these two taxes on pollution depend on our assumption about the average fuel efficiency of outside goods. On the other hand, consumption tax leads to less social welfare loss; in particular, consumer surplus decreases in an order of magnitude less than that caused by fuel tax. Fuel tax actually transfers more welfare from private sector to the government.China auto industry, welfare analysis, tax incidence, BLP model, tax progressivity