Numerical study of particle-induced Rayleigh-Taylor instability: Effects of particle settling and entrainment

In this study, we investigate Rayleigh-Taylor instability in which the density stratification is caused by the suspension of particles in liquid flows using the conventional single-phase model and Euler-Lagrange (EL) two-phase model. The single-phase model is valid only when the particles are small and number densities are large, such that the continuum approximation applies. The present single-phase results show that the constant settling of the particle concentration restricts the lateral development of the vortex ring, which results in a decrease of the rising speed of the Rayleigh-Taylor bubbles. The EL model enables the investigation of particle-flow interaction and the influence of particle entrainment, resulting from local non-uniformity in the particle distribution. We compare bubble dynamics in the single-phase and EL cases, and our results show that the deviation between the two cases becomes more pronounced when the particle size increases. The main mechanism responsible for the deviation is particle entrainment, which can only be resolved in the EL model. We provide a theoretical argument for the small-scale local entrainment resulting from the local velocity shear and non-uniformity of the particle concentration. The theoretical argument is supported by numerical evidence. Energy budget analysis is also performed and shows that potential energy is released due to the interphase drag and buoyant effect. The buoyant effect, which results in the transformation of potential energy into kinetic energy and shear dissipation, plays a key role in settling enhancement. We also find that particle entrainment increases the shear dissipation, which in turn enhances the release of potential energy. (C) 2016 AIP Publishing LLC.