Two- and three-dimensional Direct Numerical Simulation of particle-laden gravity currents

In this numerical study, we are interested in the prediction of a mono-disperse dilute suspension particle-laden flow in the typical lock-exchange configuration. The main originality of this work is that the deposition of particles is taken into account for high Reynolds numbers up to 10 000, similar to the experimental ones. Unprecedented two- and three-dimensional Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS) are undertaken with the objective to investigate the main features of the flow such as the temporal evolution of the front location, the sedimentation rate, the resulting streamwise deposit profiles, the wall shear velocity as well as the complete energy budget calculated without any approximations for the first time. It is found that the Reynolds number can influence the development of the current front. Comparisons between the 2D and 3D simulations for various Reynolds numbers allow us to assess which quantities of interest for the geoscientist could be evaluated quickly with a 2D simulation. We find that a 2D simulation is not able to predict accurately the previously enumerated features obtained in a 3D simulation, with maybe the exception of the sedimentation rate for which a qualitative agreement can be found. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.