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Experimental study of particle clusters in wall turbulence

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 August 2025

Wangbin Chen Open the ORCID record for Wangbin Chen [Opens in a new window] ,
Guohua Wang Open the ORCID record for Guohua Wang [Opens in a new window]  and
Xiaojing Zheng Open the ORCID record for Xiaojing Zheng [Opens in a new window]
Wangbin Chen
Affiliation:
Center for Particle-Laden Turbulence, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, PR China
Guohua Wang*
Affiliation:
Center for Particle-Laden Turbulence, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, PR China
Xiaojing Zheng
Affiliation:
Research Center for Applied Mechanics, Xidian University, Xi’an 710071, PR China
*
Corresponding author: Guohua Wang, ghwang@lzu.edu.cn
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Abstract

In this study, the statistical properties and formation mechanisms of particle clusters that consider the influence of particle–wall interactions in particle-laden wall turbulence are systematically investigated through wind tunnel experiments. In the experiments, two particle release modes, including particle top-releasing mode (Case 1) and particle locally laying mode (Case 2), were adopted to establish varying conditions with different particle–wall interaction strengths. The Voronoï diagram method was employed to identify the particle clusters, and the impact of particle–wall interactions on the characteristics of the clusters was analysed. The results indicate that particle–wall interaction is the predominant factor in the formation of particle clusters in the near-wall region. Under Case 1 and Case 2, the maximum concentration of particles in the clusters could reach nearly five times the average particle concentration; however, the clusters with large particle numbers ($N_C\gt 5$) in Case 1 tended to form near the wall and the vertical velocities of these clusters were greater than the average velocities of all particles. In contrast, under Case 2, clusters with large particle numbers exhibited a higher probability of occurrence further from the wall and the vertical velocities of these clusters were lower than the average velocity of all particles. Furthermore, this study found that the presence of particle clusters in these flows significantly alters the flow field properties surrounding them, implying that a region of high strain and low vorticity constitutes an essential but non-sufficient condition for the generation of particle clusters in wall turbulence.

JFM classification

Multiphase and Particle-laden Flows: Particle/fluid flow Turbulent Flows: Turbulent boundary layers

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JFM Papers
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Journal of Fluid Mechanics , Volume 1017 , 25 August 2025 , A17
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© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press

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