Flow–Structure Interaction Mechanism under Coriolis Conditions

Abstract

The Coriolis effect in centrifuge modeling of flow–structure interaction has not been well understood, and thus this paper presents numerical simulations to address this issue. The results indicate that the Coriolis acceleration obviously regulated the flow–structure interaction pattern. The maximum total impact force was amplified by approximately 2 times, and the force was distributed along the entire barrier surface when changing the Coriolis acceleration direction from acting at the slope to acting away from the slope. Reducing the flow velocity by 30%–40% decreased the amplification ratio by approximately 14%–29%. The alteration of the microcontact condition and the energy consumption of the dry granular flow was the main influence mechanism of the Coriolis acceleration on the flow’s impact behavior. The influence of the Coriolis effect on the viscous flow impact was completely different from that exerted on frictional flows. This discrepancy resulted from the intrinsic flow mobility determined by the material characteristics. Some practical discussions about centrifuge modeling of flow–structure interaction are made as well as some suggestions for future work.