Nonlinear Thermo-Mechanical Full Coupling of Aluminum Oxide Particles Transport in Electrolytic Bath Using Lattice Boltzmann Method

A three-dimensional numerical model has been developed to quantify the predominant phenomena roles on dynamics alumina particles between an electrolytic bath and the vicinity of gas bubbles. At the particle scale, the bath, regarded as turbulent flow, was modeled by a steady plane shear flow and solved using a lattice Boltzmann method. The coupling between the fluid and particle phases is carried out using an immersed boundary method to tackle the interface. This numerical scheme resolves the hydrodynamic perturbation induced by the alumina particles, and hence their interactions are described by Lagrangian particle tracking. The hydrodynamic effects combined with mechanical and thermal responses on the computation of the fluid system's stress intensity factors were investigated. An excellent convergence and accuracy were achieved for the transport and interaction of the alumina particle model.