title: Clustering of finite-size particles in turbulence.
abstract: We investigate experimentally the spatial distributions of heavy and neutrally buoyant particles of finite size in a fully turbulent flow. Because their Stokes number (i.e., the ratio of the particle viscous relaxation time to a typical flow time scale) is close to unity, one may expect both classes of particles to aggregate in specific flow regions. This is not observed. Using a Voronoï analysis we show that neutrally buoyant particles sample turbulence homogeneously, whereas heavy particles do cluster. These results show that several dimensionless numbers are needed in the modeling (and understanding) of the behavior of particles entrained by turbulent motions.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Physique, ENS de Lyon, UMR CNRS 5672, Université de Lyon, France. lionel.fiabane@ens-lyon.org
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fiabane
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zimmermann
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Volk
authors.forename: J-F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Pinton
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bourgoin
mesh_terms: D003102:Colloids / Q000737:chemistry*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D008956:Models, Chemical; D017711:Nonlinear Dynamics; D010316:Particle Size; D012212:Rheology / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D003102:Colloids