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 modulate the largest scales of the flow toward an anisotropic, quasi-two-dimensional and more energetic state. In this regime, particles move along quasistraight trajectories and exhibit anomalous transport.