Analyzing the Simulation Results

The solid particles have migrated in the shear flow, moving away from the rotating inner wall. The particle volume fraction ranges from a minimum of 0.37 near the inner wall up to a maximum of 0.615 at the outer wall.

The volume fraction results are a good match with the experimental values across the inner region. In the outer region, the simulation results are low because of the coarse mesh that is used in this tutorial. The use of a finer mesh would capture the migration of particles in more detail.

The strong pressure gradient that develops in the first few seconds of the simulation drives the initial surge of particle migration. The example below illustrates the pressure distribution after one second of physical time:

The pressure distribution gradually settles down to a low pressure with a small radial gradient. At the end of the simulation, after 500 seconds of physical time, the phase particle pressure distribution appears as shown:

The particle phase pressure varies from about 34 at the inner wall to 22 at the outer wall. This gentle gradient indicates that the particle migration has slowed and the volume fraction distribution is stabilizing.

The oil velocity profile settles into a steady state after approximately 300 seconds. In this steady state, the oil velocity decreases with radial distance across the fluid region; this radial variation creates the fluid shear that causes the solid particle migration.

At 500 seconds, the Normal Relative Viscosity is up to 65 at the maximum volume fraction of about 0.615.