A Numerical Study of Aeolian Sand Particle Flow Incorporating Granular Pseudofluid Optimization and Large Eddy Simulation

Abstract

A numerical investigation of aeolian sand particle flow in atmospheric boundary layer is performed with a Eulerian–Eulerian granular pseudofluid model. In this model, the air turbulence is modelled with a large eddy simulation, and a kinetic–frictional constitutive model incorporating frictional stress and the kinetic theory of granular flow is applied to describe the interparticle movement. The simulated profiles of streamwise sand velocity and sand mass flux agree well with the reported experiments. The quantitative discrepancy between them occurs near the sand bed surface, which is due to the difference in sand sample, but also highlights the potential of the present model in addressing near-surface mass transport. The simulated profiles of turbulent root mean square (RMS) particle velocity suggest that the interparticle collision mainly account for the fluctuation of sand particle movement.