Finite element‐fictitious boundary methods (FEM‐FBM) for 3D particulate flow

Abstract

Abstract In this paper we discuss numerical simulation techniques using a finite element approach in combination with the fictitious boundary method (FBM) for rigid particulate flow configurations in 3D. The flow is computed with a multigrid finite element solver (FEATFLOW), the solid particles are allowed to move freely through the computational mesh which can be static or adaptively aligned by a grid deformation method allowing structured as well as unstructured meshes. We explain the details of how we can use the FBM to simulate flows with complex geometries that are hard to describe analytically. Stationary and time‐dependent numerical examples, demonstrating the use of such geometries are provided. Our numerical results include well‐known benchmark configurations showing that the method can accurately and efficiently handle prototypical particulate flow situations in 3D with particles of different shape and size. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.