Description and validation of a flexible fiber model, implemented in a general-purpose CFD code

Paper in proceeding, 2013

A flexible fiber model  has been implemented in a general purpose open-source computational fluid dynamics code. The fibers are modeled as chains of cylindrical segments. Each segment is tracked individually and  their equations of motion account for the hydrodynamic forces and torques from the interaction with the fluid, the elastic bending and twisting torques, and the connectivity forces and moments that ensure the fiber integrity. The segment inertia is taken into account and a one-way coupling with the fluid phase is considered. The model is applied to the rotational motion of an isolated fiber in a low segment Reynolds number  shear flow. In the case of a stiff fiber, the computed period of rotation is in good agreement with the one computed using Jeffery's equation for an equivalent spheroid aspect ratio. A qualitative comparison is made with experimental data for flexible fibers. These results show that the implemented model can reproduce the known dynamical behavior of rigid and flexible fibers successfully.