Anisotropic mean flow enhancement and anomalous transport of finite-size spherical particles in turbulent flows

Abstract

We investigate the influence of dispersed solid spherical particles on the largest scales of the turbulent Arnold-Beltrami-Childress (ABC) flow. The ABC flow is an ideal instance of a complex flow: it does not have solid boundaries, but possesses an inhomogeneous and three-dimensional mean shear. By tuning the parameters of the suspension, we show that particles deviate towards quasi-straight trajectories and exhibit anomalous transport. In doing this, they enhance the mean-flow energy and modulate the largest scales of the flow towards an anisotropic and quasi two-dimensional state.