Numerical simulation of dilute polymeric fluids with memory effects in the turbulent flow regime

Abstract

We address the numerical challenge of solving the Hookean-type time-fractional Navier–Stokes–Fokker–Planck equation, a history-dependent system of PDEs defined on the Cartesian product of two d-dimensional spaces in the turbulent regime. Due to its high dimensionality, the non-locality with respect to time, and the resolution required to resolve turbulent flow, this problem is highly demanding.

To overcome these challenges, we employ the Hermite spectral method for the configuration space of the Fokker–Planck equation, reducing the problem to a purely macroscopic model. Considering scenarios for available analytical solutions, we prove the existence of a Hermite scaling parameter, which exactly reproduces the analytical polymer stress tensor. With this choice, the macroscopic system is equivalent to solving the coupled micro-macro system. We apply second-order time integration and extrapolation of the coupling terms, achieving, for the first time, convergence rates for the fully coupled time-fractional system independent of the order of the time-fractional derivative.

Our efficient implementation of the numerical scheme allows turbulent simulations of dilute polymeric fluids with memory effects in two and three dimensions. Numerical simulations show that memory effects weaken the drag-reducing effect of added polymer molecules in the turbulent flow regime.