A Numerical Investigation of Particle Deposition on a Substrate

TL;DR

This study uses numerical simulations to analyze how particles deposit on substrates in fluid flow, revealing factors that influence deposition patterns and their impact on system performance.

Contribution

It introduces a two-dimensional lattice Boltzmann model to investigate particle deposition on various substrate configurations, including complex porous structures.

Findings

Deposition increases with fluid velocity, particle concentration, and deposition probability.

Multiple substrates cause upstream deposition to be higher, affecting downstream flow.

Flow obstruction due to deposition impacts overall system efficiency.

Abstract

The deposition of nanometer-scale particles is of significant interest in various industrial processes. While these particles offer several advantages, their deposition can have detrimental effects, such as reducing the heat transfer efficiency in nanofluid-based battery cooling systems. In this study, we investigated particle deposition around different square substrate configurations as well as experimentally obtained complex porous structure in a two-dimensional setup. The particles modeled as a concentration field using the lattice Boltzmann method, with a given external flow following a parabolic profile. Our results revealed that particle deposition around a substrate increases with higher fluid velocity, greater particle concentration, and higher deposition probability. Additionally, placing multiple number of substrates in the channel resulted in increased deposition on upstream substrates compared to downstream ones. As particle deposition around upstream substrates increases, it eventually obstructs the flow to downstream regions, thereby affecting the overall system performance. The insights gained from this simplified model of particle deposition will play a crucial role in advancing our understanding of deposition processes in complex systems.