Numerical investigation of drag property for fluid flow through random arrays of elliptical cylinders

In this work, the drag force correlation specific for fixed random arrays of elliptical cylinders is formulated under Re = 0.1–100 using Lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) and discrete element method (DEM). The LBM-DEM model is validated by comparing with experimental and simulation data. To achieve this, first, a new simple drag force correlation format is developed, containing modified permeability (K′) and inertial terms (α, λ). Then the effects of elliptical cylinder shape (Ar) on K′, α, and λ for random arrays of elliptical cylinders are studied, where Ar ranges from 0.3 to 1.0; and by curve-fitting the simulation results, the correlations of K′, α and λ are formulated as a function of Ar. One can obtain the reliable drag force correlation between the fluid and elliptical cylinders in a fixed random array via specifying K′, α and λ for a given Ar and then plugging them in the proposed format.