Direct numerical simulation of vortex structures and particle dispersion in turbulent free shear flows

In order to provide references for the study of jets from combustor and associated industrial applications, direct numerical simulation was employed to study a three-dimensional temporally evolving plane mixing layer laden with particles in the upper region initially. The coherent structures in the mixing layer between two parallel streams were simulated using a pseudo-spectral method. Particles with different Stokes numbers were traced using the Lagrangian approach based on one-way coupling between the continuous and the dispersed phases. Both the large-scale vortex structures and the particle dispersion patterns with different Stokes numbers were investigated. The results clearly showed that particle dispersion is closely related to the large-scale organized structures and the three-dimensionality. Particles with Stokes number of the order of unity were found to have the largest concentration on the outer edges of the large-scale vortex structures, and the variation of particle concentration along the spanwise direction increased with the development of the three-dimensionality, which was mainly due to the presence of the streamwise large-scale structures. When the counter-rotating "rib" large-scale vortices paired, part of the particles were thrown out from the high concentration area in the upper region to the lower region of the mixing layer and finally developed into a "mushroom" pattern of the particle distribution along the spanwise direction.