Interparticle forces and lift on a particle attached to a solid boundary in suspension flow

The lattice Boltzmann method is used to simulate the shear flow field around a stationary particle attached to a solid boundary. One or more freely flowing (suspended) particles are introduced in the flow and are allowed to move, subject to the gravity force and the induced hydrodynamic force. Periodic conditions on the side boundaries assure that the same number of particles always remains in the computational domain. The total force exerted on the stationary particle is computed during the whole simulation process and resolved as the drag and lift components. By comparing these components of the hydrodynamic force before and after the freely flowing particles are introduced in the flow field, we determine the effect of suspended particles on a stationary particle. The results show that, even in the absence of particle collisions, the hydrodynamic force developed on the stationary particle is significant enough to induce the resuspension process if this particle were free to move. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics.