Shape evolution of numerically obtained subaqueous barchan dunes

Carlos A. Alvarez and Erick M. Franklin
Phys. Rev. E 101, 012905 – Published 21 January 2020
PDFHTMLExport Citation

Abstract

In the realm of granular bedforms, barchan dunes are strong attractors that can be found in rivers, terrestrial deserts, and other planetary environments. These bedforms are characterized by a crescentic shape, which, although robust, presents different scales according to the environment they are in, their length scale varying from the decimeter under water to the kilometer on Mars. In addition to the scales of bedforms, the transport of grains presents significant differences according to the nature of the entraining fluid, so that the growth of barchans is still not fully understood. Given the smaller length and time scales of the aquatic case, subaqueous barchans are the ideal object to study the growth of barchan dunes. In the present paper, we reproduce numerically the experiments of Alvarez and Franklin [Phys. Rev. E 96, 062906 (2017); Phys. Rev. Lett. 121, 164503 (2018)] on the shape evolution of barchans from their initiation until they have reached a stable shape. We computed the bed evolution by using the computational fluid dynamics–discrete element method, where we coupled the discrete element method with large eddy simulation for the same initial and boundary conditions of experiments, performed in a closed-conduit channel where initially conical heaps evolved to single barchans under the action of a water flow in a turbulent regime. Our simulations captured well the evolution of the initial pile toward a barchan dune in both the bedform and grain scales, with the same characteristic time and lengths observed in experiments. In addition, we obtained the local granular flux and the resultant force acting on each grain, the latter not yet previously measured nor computed. This shows that the present method is appropriate for numerical computations of bedforms, opening new possibilities for accessing data that are not available from current experiments.

  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
8 More
  • Received 3 October 2019
  • Revised 9 December 2019

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.101.012905

©2020 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Fluid DynamicsCondensed Matter, Materials & Applied Physics

Authors & Affiliations

Carlos A. Alvarez* and Erick M. Franklin

  • School of Mechanical Engineering, UNICAMP–University of Campinas, Rua Mendeleyev, 200, Campinas, SP, Brazil

  • *calvarez@fem.unicamp.br
  • Author to whom all correspondence should be addressed: franklin@fem.unicamp.br

Article Text (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand

Supplemental Material (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand

References (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand
Issue

Vol. 101, Iss. 1 — January 2020

Reuse & Permissions
Access Options
Author publication services for translation and copyediting assistance advertisement

Authorization Required


×
×

Images

×

Sign up to receive regular email alerts from Physical Review E

Log In

Cancel
×

Search


Article Lookup

Paste a citation or DOI

Enter a citation
×