Introduction to

Par ticle Tracing Module

Version 4.3b

Introduction to the Particle Tracing Module

19982013 COMSOL
Protected by U.S. Patents 7,519,518; 7,596,474; and 7,623,991. Patents pending.
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Version:

May 2013

COMSOL 4.3b

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Part No. CM022702

Contents
Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .i
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
The Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Physics List by Space Dimension and Preset Study Type . . . . . . . . 6

Modeling Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
The Model Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Computing Particle Trajectories through a Laminar
Static Mixer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

|i

ii |

Introduction
Particle tracing provides a Lagrangian description of a problem by solving ordinary
differential equations using Newtons law of motion. Newtons law of motion
requires specification of the particle mass, and all forces acting on the particle. The
forces acting on particles can be divided into two categories, those due to external
fields and due to interactions between particles. Forces due to external fields are
typically computed from a finite element model, using the physics interfaces
available in COMSOL Multiphysics.
For each particle, an ordinary differential equation is solved for each component
of the position vector. This means that three ordinary differential equations are
solved for each particle in 3D and two in 2D. At each time step, the forces acting
on each particle are queried from the external fields at the current particle position.
If particle-particle interaction forces are included in the model then they are added
to the total force. The particle position is then updated, and the process repeats
until the specified end time for the simulation is reached. Since the Particle
Tracing Module uses a very general formulation for computing particle
trajectories, the particle tracing user interfaces can be used to model charged
particle motion in electromagnetic fields, large scale planetary and galactic
movement, and particle motion in laminar, turbulent, and multiphase fluid
systems.

The Applications
C HARGED P ARTICLES
Charged particles in the context of this discussion refers to electrons, individual
ions or small ion clusters in electric and magnetic fields. There are three primary
forces that affect such particles:
The electric force, which arises either due to a gradient in the electric

potential or due to a time-varying magnetic vector potential. Particles with

negative charge move in the opposite direction to the electric field and
particles with positive charge move in the direction of the electric field. The
electric force does work on the particles.
The magnetic force, which does no work on the charged particles but can

significantly alter their trajectory. The magnetic force often results in

Introduction

|1

banana orbits for charged particles, causing them to orbit around

magnetic field lines with a distance proportional to their mass.
Collisional forces, which do work on the particles. This corresponds to the

charged particles colliding with a background gas. The higher the

background pressure, the more important the collisional forces.
If the number density of charged species is less than around 1013 1/m3, the effect
of the particles on the fields can be neglected. This allows the fields to be
computed independently from the particle trajectories. The fields are then used to
compute the electric, magnetic, and collisional forces on the particles. The fact
that the particle trajectories can be computed in their own study allows efficient
and computationally inexpensive iterative solver to be used.
If the density of charged particles is suitably high then it may be necessary to
include the Coulomb force which acts between the particles. When
particle-particle interactions are included in a model the computational
requirements increase and scale with the number of particles squared. When
including the Coulomb force, it is often best to start with a small number of
particles, solve the model, and then assess whether or not the effect is important.
Charged particles can acquire significant energy from electric fields, and when they
strike surfaces secondary particles may be ejected. This may be desirable or
undesirable depending on the specific application.

Photomultiplier. A single incident particle enters the modeling domain on the left side. As it strikes the
first electrode, secondary elections are ejected, which are then accelerated to the second electrode. This
process continues across all 8 stages leading to an exponential growth in the electron density.

2 | Introduction

P ARTICLES

IN

F LUIDS

Motion of microscopic and macroscopic sized particles is typically dominated by

the drag force acting on particles immersed in a fluid. There are two phases in the
system: a discrete phase consisting of bubbles, particles, or droplets, and a
continuous phase in which the particles are immersed. In order for the particle
tracing approach to be valid, the system should be a dilute or dispersed flow. This
means that the volume fraction of the discrete phase should be much smaller than
the volume fraction of the continuous phase, generally less than 1%. When the
volume fraction of the particles is not small, the fluid system is categorized as a
dense flow and a different modeling approach is required.
It is important to realize that with the particle tracing approach, particles do not
displace the fluid they occupy.

Sparse Flow
In a sparse flow, the continuous phase affects the motion of the particles but not
vice versa. This is often referred to as oneway coupling. When modeling such
a system, it is usually most efficient to solve for the continuous phase first, then
compute the trajectories of the dispersed phases. For example, in the figure below
the stationary velocity field and pressure were first solved using a stationary study,
and then the particle trajectories were computed in a time-dependent study.

Comet tail plot of particle trajectories through a laminar static mixer (colored). In addition, Poincar maps
show the deviation of particle trajectories from their initial position (blue & red).

Introduction

|3

Dilute Flow
In a dilute flow the continuous phase affects the motion of the particles, and the
particle motion in turn disrupts the continuous phase. This is often referred to as
twoway coupling. In order to model this effect the continuous phase and
disperse phase must be computed simultaneously. Thus, the computational
demand is significantly higher when modeling dilute flows than sparse flows.

Dispersed Flow
In addition to the effects mentioned above, particle-particle interactions may also
need to be taken into account. This is often referred to as four-way coupling.
Particleparticle interactions may be included in models but the following
limitations apply:
Hard sphere collisions are not supported. Forces must vary continuously

with respect to the distance between particles as in, for example, the
Coulomb force between charged particles.
The computation time scales as the number of particles squared. This is

because every particle interacts with every other particle over all distances.
There is no way to implement a cut-off scheme, where particles only see
other particles within a certain radius.
If the particle-particle interaction law is highly nonlinear, it may be necessary

to use a very small time step. This is particularly true if the Lennard-Jones
option is selected.

Modeling Advection and Diffusion

Continuum methods have one major drawback when it comes to modeling the
advection and diffusion of a particulates in a fluid. The higher the Pclet number,
the more numerically unstable the method becomes. The Pclet number is the
ratio of the rate of advection to the rate of diffusion. In general, continuum
methods cannot handle systems where the Pclet number is above around 1000.
In typically microfluidic systems, for 100 nm diameter particles in water at room
temperature, the Pclet number is on the order of 108. Handling such a large
Pclet number with continuum methods is clearly not possible. Particle
trajectories, on the other hand, are computed in a Lagrangian reference frame,
removing the restriction of the Pclet number. The Pclet number can be
anything from 0 to infinity without introducing numerical instabilities. Advection
is added to the particles via the drag force. Diffusion is added to particles by adding
a Brownian force. If the background velocity field is zero then particle motion will
be purely diffusive (zero Pclet number). If the Brownian force is neglected and
the background velocity is nonzero, the motion will be pure advection (infinite
Pclet number).

4 | Introduction

M ATHEMATICAL P ARTICLE TRACING

Particle tracing is also of interest in cases where the particles are neither charged
nor immersed on a fluid. Mechanical systems may be modeled using a particle
based approach, with the equations of motion specified by Newtons second law,
a Lagrangian or a Hamiltonian. Often it is easier to write down an expression for
the Lagrangian or Hamiltonian for particles rather than deriving the equations of
motion. The Hamiltonian formulation solves for both the particle position and the
particle momentum.

Motion of stars in a galaxy using the user defined particle-particle interaction option.

Introduction

|5

Physics List by Space Dimension and Preset Study Type

PHYSICS

ICON

TAG

SPACE
DIMENSION

AVAILABLE PRESET
STUDY TYPE

cpt

3D, 2D, 2D
axisymmetric

time dependent

fpt

3D, 2D, 2D
axisymmetric

time dependent

pt

3D, 2D, 2D
axisymmetric

time dependent

AC/DC
Charged Particle Tracing
Fluid Flow
Particle Tracing for Fluid Flow
Mathematics
Mathematical Particle Tracing

C HARGED P ARTICLE TRACING

The Charged Particle Tracing user interface ( ) is found under the AC/DC
branch in the Model Wizard, and can be used to model the trajectories of ions and
electrons. There are predefined forces for the electric force, magnetic force, and
elastic collision force. In addition, you can model particle-particle interaction
using the Coulomb force.

P ARTICLE TRACING

FOR

F LUID F LOW

The Particle Tracing for Fluid Flow user interface ( ), found under the Fluid
Flow branch in the Model Wizard, computes the motion of particles in a
background fluid. Particle motion can be driven by drag, gravity, and electric,
magnetic, and acoustophoretic forces. User-defined forces can also be added. It is
also possible to compute the particle mass and temperature as well as
particle-particle interactions.

M ATHEMATICAL P ARTICLE TRACING

The Mathematical Particle Tracing user interface ( ) gives access to the
underlying mathematical formalism on which the Charged Particle Tracing and
Particle Tracing for Fluid Flow interfaces are built. The Mathematical Particle
Tracing interface also allows for specification of particle motion in terms of either
a Lagrangian or Hamiltonian. Often it is easier to write down an expression for
the Lagrangian or Hamiltonian for particles rather than deriving the equations of

6 | Introduction

motion. The Hamiltonian formulation solves for both the particle position and the
particle momentum, so the number of degrees of freedom doubles when the
Hamiltonian formulation is activated.

Boundar y Conditions
There are six different options available for the boundary conditions for particles
when they make contact with a wall: Bounce, Freeze, Stick, Disappear, Diffuse
scattering, and General reflection.
The Freeze option (default) fixes
the particle position and velocity
at the instant a wall is struck. So,
the particle position no longer
changes after contact with the
wall, and the particle velocity
remains at the same value as
when the particle struck the wall.
This boundary condition is
typically used to recover the
velocity or energy distribution of
charged particles at the instant
contact was made with the wall.
The Bounce option specularly
reflects from the wall such that
the particle momentum is
conserved. This option is
typically used when tracing
microscopic particles in a fluid.
The Stick option fixes the
particle position at the instant
the wall is struck. The particle
velocity is set to zero. This can
be used if the velocity or energy
of the particles striking a wall is
not of interest.
The Disappear option means
that the particle is not displayed
once it has made contact with
Introduction

|7

the wall. This option should be used if display of the particle location after contact
with the wall is not of interest.
The Diffuse scattering option bounces particles off a wall according to Knudsens
cosine law. That is, the probability a particle bouncing off the surface in a given
direction within a solid angle d is given by cos(q)d, where q is the angle between
the direction of the particle and the wall normal. The total particle momentum is
conserved.
The General reflection option allows an arbitrary velocity to be specified after a
particle makes contact with the wall. This can either be done in Cartesian
coordinates or in the tangent-normal coordinate system. The velocity components
can be functions of the incident particle velocity, energy or any other quantity.
Note that the total momentum of the particle is not necessarily conserved with this
option.
The above boundary conditions for the particles striking the wall can be
conditional based on either an expression or a probability. The Probability option
applies the boundary condition with a certain probability. The Evaluation
expression option only applies the boundary condition if the expression evaluates
to something nonzero.

S ECONDARY P ARTICLES
Secondary particles can be introduced into the modeling domain when a primary
particle strikes the wall. It is possible to specify the Number of secondary particles
per incident particle as well as their initial velocity. The initial velocity can either
be User defined, Isotropic hemisphere, which releases the secondary particles with
a constant speed and hemispherical velocity direction with the north pole directed
in the normal direction away from the wall, or Reflection of primary particle.

Par t i c l e R e l e a s e M e c h a n i s m s
There are several ways to release particles, either from a grid, by selecting specific
domains, or on specific boundaries. In each case the number of particles and the
release frequency can be specified. There are also specific options available for the
specific release features, described below.

8 | Introduction

R ELEASE F ROM

A GRID

Particles can be released from a

grid which may either be regular
or graded. In addition to the
initial coordinates of the
particles the initial velocity and
times to release the particles may
be specified. There are also three
predefined initial velocity
distributions available to release
particles with a Maxwellian,
Isotropic Constant Speed, or
Isotropic Hemispherical
distribution function.

R ELEASE F ROM

D OMAIN

Particles can be released from a domain according to the mesh associated with the
model geometry or according to an arbitrary expression.

Introduction

|9

When the particle release is

Mesh based, there is an option
to specify the Refinement
factor. The higher this factor,
the more particles are released
from within each mesh
element. When the particle
release is Density based, the
release of particles is weighted
according to a user defined
expression. This is the most
flexible option for releasing
particles because the weighting
function can be an analytic
expression, a random function,
or even the solution to a partial
differential equation.

I NLET
The inlet feature allows for particles to be released from boundaries. Both release
options for the Release from domain feature are available, as well as an additional
option to release particles uniformly from a selected boundary.

10 | Introduction

Modeling Tools
The Particle Tracing Module provides a wide range of specialized modeling tools
to assist in extracting specific quantities of interest.

S PECIAL VARIABLES
The particle tracing user interfaces define a number of special variables, some of
which can only be used during results processing. These variables can be found in
the Particle statistics plot group during results processing, as shown below:

An example of variables available from the particle statistics menu and available
with the Mathematical Particle Tracing interface.
The following variables are defined:
Particle index. Each particle is assigned a unique index starting from 1 up to

the total number of particles. This expression can be passed into a function,
which can create, for example, random forces that are unique for each
particle.
Particle release feature. If there are multiple release features in a model, it is

useful to be able to visualize how the particles mix together based on their
initial release position. The Particle release feature variable takes a numeric
value, starting at 1, which is unique to each release feature.
The release time of a given particle. This works for both primary and

secondary particles and thus allows for extraction of the time at which
particles were released into the modeling domain.
The time at which a particle stopped at a boundary.

There are also variables that are only available during results processing and can
only be evaluated using the Global Evaluation node under Derived Values.
Total number of particles. The total number of particles released may not be

known in advance, especially in models that include secondary particle

emission.
Modeling Tools

| 11

 Total number of particles in selection. If a selection has been applied to the

Particle data set, the number of particles in that selection can be evaluated.
Transmission probability. Often the transmission probability is the main

quantity of interest in a particle tracing model. The Transmission probability

variable is available on domains, boundaries, or combinations of both.

M ONTE C ARLO M ODELING

It is possible to add forces on particles which are stochastic. In the Particle Tracing
for Fluid Flow interface, the Drag Force and Brownian Force features potentially
include random contributions. When these features are included in a model, it
may be necessary to solve the problem multiple times and take some kind of
statistical average of the results. Each time the model is solved, a new set of
random numbers, which are used to compute the force, should be generated. The
Brownian Force feature has a parameter called Additional input argument to
random number generator. This value can be set by a parameter, which can then
be set in a parametric sweep.
All three particle tracing interfaces contain a velocity reinitialization feature. This
allows for general purpose Monte Carlo modeling, since the velocity vector can be
discretely changed at each timestep according to some logical expression. The
Charged Particle Tracing interface exploits this functionality in the Elastic
Collision Force feature. The collision probability between the charged particles
and background gas are determined by the collision frequency. If a collision
should occur, the charged particle has its velocity vector reinitialized according to
an elastic collision with isotropic scattering. This provides an accurate description
of a charged particle interacting with a background gas.

12 | Modeling Tools

Brownian motion for particles all starting at a single point. They diffuse outwards. Top left t = 0 s, top
right, t = 10 s, lower left t = 30 s and lower right t = 100 s.

A UXILIARY D EPENDENT VARIABLES

AND

R ESIDENCE T IME

Auxiliary dependent variables can be used to help keep track of things like
residence time, particle trajectory length, integrated shear rate etc. When an
Auxiliary Dependent Variable feature is added to the physics interface an
additional ordinary differential equation (ODE) is solved for each particle.
The residence time can also be computed in a different way, by setting the Store
particle status data property to On. This creates variables for the particle release
time and the particle stop time (the time when a particle left the modeling
domain). The residence time is then simply the difference between the two.

Modeling Tools

| 13

R e s u l t s P ro c e s s i n g To o l s

P ARTICLE D ATA S ET
The Particle data set
is automatically created when solving a model containing
one of the Particle Tracing Module interfaces, provided that the Generate default
plots option is selected in the Study. Selections may be added to the particle data
set which allows, for example, the number or fraction of particles in a given
domain or on a given boundary to be computed during results processing.

P ARTICLE TRAJECTORY P LOTS

A Particle Trajectories plot is
created automatically when a Study
solving for a particle tracing
interface is computed. There are
options to set the particle
trajectories to be rendered as Lines
or Tubes. It is also possible to
render the particles as points or
comet tails, in which case only the
location of the particles at the
selected output time is shown. For
models where the number of output
times is small, an interpolation
option is available that will create
smoother looking particle trajectory
plots.

14 | Modeling Tools

POINCAR M APS

AND

P HASE PORTRAITS

Poincar maps are available in both 2D

and 3D . This plot type is useful to
visualize the particle trajectories in a plot that represents the position of the
particles in a section that is usually transversal to the particle trajectories. The
Poincar map represents the particle trajectories in a space dimension that is one
dimension lower than the original particle space..

Phase portraits
are available as a 2D plot type under More Plots. Use a Phase
Portrait plot to visualize large data sets of particle trajectories. The traditional use
of a phase portrait is to plot the particle position on the x-axis and the particle
velocity on the y-axis. Each dot in the xy-plane represents a particle.

Modeling Tools

| 15

P ARTICLE E VALUATION
Information about expressions
and variables along particle
trajectories can be written to the
Results Table using the Particle
Evaluation
option under
Derived values . Once the
data has been written to the
results table it can be
manipulated and plotted
accordingly. There are options
to only write data to the table for
a fraction or a specific number of
particles.

O PERATIONS

ON

P ARTICLE D ATA

It is possible to set the source data set for the Integration

, Average ,
Maximum
and Minimum
to be a Particle
data set. This allows
operations to be performed on the particle data set, to compute average particle
velocity, maximum energy, and so on.

H ISTOGRAMS
Statistical information about the behavior of the particles is often best visualized
with a histogram. The histogram sorts the value of a variable into a specified
number of bins. The most obvious application of the histogram is that it allows for
visualization of the velocity and energy distribution function of a set of particles.

F ILTERS
Visualizing the trajectory of systems with a very large number of particles can
consume a lot of computer resources and often particles obscure one another. It
is possible to filter the type of particle and the number of particles which should

16 | Modeling Tools

be rendered. To do this, right click the Particle Trajectories plot type and choose
Filter.

The Particle type can be set to render Primary particles, Secondary particles, All,
or a Logical expression.
If particles are obscuring one another or the burden on the graphics card is very
high, the number of particles rendered can be reduced by changing the Particles
to render option. A Fraction of the total number of particles to render or the total
Number of particles to render can be set.

Modeling Tools

| 17

The Model Library

To open any Particle Tracing Module model, select View>Model Library
from
the main menu in COMSOL Multiphysics. In the Model Library window that
opens, expand the Particle Tracing Module folder and browse or search the
contents of the folders. Click Open Model and PDF to open both the model in
COMSOL Multiphysics and a PDF to read background theory including the
step-by-step instructions to build it.
Due to the fact that the Particle Tracing Module enhances the capabilities of other
modules, some of the models utilizing the particle tracing interfaces are placed in
the Model Library folders for other products. The following modules have
additional particle tracing example models:

AC/DC M ODULE
Magnetic Lens
Multipactor
Quadrupole Mass Filter
Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer

CFD M ODULE
Micromixer
Thermophoresis

A COUSTICS M ODULE
Acoustic Levitator

P LASMA M ODULE
Ion energy Distribution Function

The Model Library is updated on a regular basis by COMSOL in order to add new
models and to improve existing models. Choose View>Model Library Update
( ) to update the model library.

18 | The Model Library

The MPH-files in the COMSOL model libraries can have two formatsFull
MPH-files or Compact MPH-files

Full MPH-files include all meshes and solutions. In the Model Library these

models appear with the

icon. If the MPH-files size exceeds 25MB, a tip
with the text Large file and the file size appears when you position the
cursor at the models node in the Model Library tree.
Compact MPH-files include all settings for the model but have no built

meshes and solution data to save space on the DVD (a few compact
MPH-files have no solutions for other reasons). You can open these models
to study the settings and to mesh and re-solve the models. It is also possible
to download the full versionswith meshes and solutionsof most of these
models through Model Library Update. In the Model Library these models
appear with the
icon. If you position the cursor at a compact model in
the Model Library window, a No solutions stored message appears. If a full
MPH-file is available for download, the corresponding nodes context menu
includes a Model Library Update item.

The Model Library

| 19

Computing Particle Trajectories through a Laminar Static

Mixer
This section takes you through the modeling stages of computing particle
trajectories based on a computed velocity field. In static mixers, also called
motionless or in-line mixers, a fluid is pumped through a pipe containing
stationary blades. This mixing technique is particularly well suited for laminar flow
mixing because it generates only small pressure losses in this flow regime. This
example studies the flow in a twisted-blade static mixer. It evaluates the mixing
performance by calculating the trajectory of suspended particles through
the mixer..

M o d e l W i z a rd
1 Go to the Model Wizard window. Click Next

2 In the Add physics tree, select Fluid Flow>Single-Phase Flow>Laminar Flow

.
3 Click the Add Selected
4 Click Next

button.

5 Find the Studies subsection. In the tree, select Preset Studies>Stationary

6 Click Finish

20 | Computing Particle Trajectories through a Laminar Static Mixer

Global Definitions and Definitions

1 In the Model Builder window, right-click Global Definitions and choose
Parameters .
2 In the table, enter the following settings:

Geo metr y
The mixer geometry is quite complicated so start by importing it from a file.
1 In the Model Builder window, under Model 1 right-click Geometry 1
choose Import .

and

2 In the Import settings window, locate the Import section.

3 Click the Browse button.
4 Browse to the models Model Library folder and double-click the file
laminar_mixer_particle.mphbin. The location of the files used in this exercise
varies based on your installation. For example, if the installation is on your hard
drive, the file path might be similar to C:\Program
Files\COMSOL43b\models\.
5 Click the Import button. You should see the geometry appear in the Graphics
window as shown below.
Computing Particle Trajectories through a Laminar Static Mixer

| 21

Mate rials
1 In the Model Builder window, under Model 1 right-click Materials and choose
Material
.
2 In the Material settings window, locate the Material Contents section.
3 In the table, enter the following settings:

22 | Computing Particle Trajectories through a Laminar Static Mixer

P hy s i c s i n t e r f a c e s
Now add an expression for the inflow velocity which is parabolic.
1 In the Model Builder window, expand the Model 1>Laminar Flow node.
2 Right-click Laminar Flow and choose Inlet.
3 From the main menu select View>Selection List.
4 Select Boundary 23 only then right click to confirm the selection.
5 In the Inlet settings window, locate the Velocity section.
6 In the U0 edit field, type 2*(1-(x^2+z^2)/ra^2)*u_mean.
The boundary condition which was just added was rather complicated but
necessary to get a fully developed flow profile. The CFD, Microfluidics and Plasma
modules all have a special Laminar Inflow boundary condition which ensures

Computing Particle Trajectories through a Laminar Static Mixer

| 23

laminar flow. It is not necessary to enter a complicated expression for the velocity
profile, just the average velocity of flowrate.
7 Click back on the Model Builder tab.
8 Right-click Laminar Flow and choose Outlet.
9 Click on the Selection List tab and select Boundary 20 only. Right click to
confirm the selection.

Me sh
The mesh needs to be quite fine to ensure that the particle motion is accurate
through the modeling domain. In this case, take care to ensure that the mesh is
fine on the mixing blades.
1 In the Model Builder window, under Model 1 right-click Mesh 1 and choose
More Operations>Free Triangular
.
2 Click the Wireframe Rendering button on the Graphics toolbar.
3 Click on the Selection List tab and select Boundaries 5, 1618, and 5355 only.
4 Right-click Model 1>Mesh 1>Free Triangular 1 and choose Size

5 In the Size settings window, locate the Element Size section.

6 From the Calibrate for list, choose Fluid dynamics.
7 From the Predefined list, choose Extremely fine.
8 In the Model Builder window, under Model 1>Mesh 1 click Size.
9 In the Size settings window, locate the Element Size section.
10From the Predefined list, choose Extremely fine.
11Click the Custom button.
12Locate the Element Size Parameters section. In the Resolution of curvature edit
field, type 0.15.
13In the Model Builder window, right-click Mesh 1 and choose More
Operations>Free Triangular
.
14Select Boundary 23 only.
15Right-click Model 1>Mesh 1>Free Triangular 2 and choose Size
16In the Size settings window, locate the Element Size section.
17From the Calibrate for list, choose Fluid dynamics.
18From the Predefined list, choose Extra fine.

24 | Computing Particle Trajectories through a Laminar Static Mixer

19In the Model Builder window, right-click Mesh 1 and choose Free
Tetrahedral
.
20In the Settings window, click Build All

Study
1 In the Model Builder window, right-click Study 1 and choose Compute

M o d e l W i z a rd
Now that the fluid velocity has been computed, add a physics interface and a new
study to compute the particle trajectories.
1 In the Model Builder window, right-click Model 1 and choose Add Physics.
2 Go to the Model Wizard window.
3 In the Add physics tree, select Fluid Flow>Particle Tracing for Fluid Flow
4 Click Add Selected
5 Click Next

6 Find the Studies subsection. In the tree, select Preset Studies for Selected
Physics>Time Dependent.
7 Click Finish

P hy s i c s i n t e r f a c e s
1 In the Model Builder window, expand the Particle Tracing for Fluid Flow node.
2 Right-click Model 1>Particle Tracing for Fluid Flow and choose Drag Force.
3 Select Domain 1 only.
4 In the Drag Force settings window, locate the Drag Force section.
5 From the u list, choose Velocity field (spf/fp1).
6 From the list, choose Dynamic viscosity (spf/fp1).
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The goal is to release particles in a way where they are more dense where the
velocity field is higher. To do this you use the Density option for the particles
Initial Position.
7 In the Model Builder window, right-click Particle Tracing for Fluid Flow and
choose Inlet.
8 Select Boundary 23 only.
9 In the Inlet settings window, locate the Initial Position section.
10From the Initial position list, choose Density.
11In the N edit field, type 3000.
12In the edit field, type spf.U.
13Locate the Initial Velocity section. From the u list, choose Velocity field
(spf/fp1).
14Right-click Particle Tracing for Fluid Flow and choose Outlet.
15Select Boundary 20 only.
16In the Model Builder window click on Model 1>Particle Tracing for Fluid
Flow>Particle Properties 1.
17In the Particle Properties settings window, locate the Particle Properties section.
18In the dp edit field, type 5E-7[m].

Study 2
1 In the Model Builder window, expand the Study 2 node, then click Step 1: Time
Dependent
.
2 In the Time Dependent settings window, locate the Physics and Variables
Selection section.
3 In the Solve For column, deactivate the Laminar Flow interface by clicking on
the green check . It will turn into a red cross
indicating that the Laminar
Flow is not going to be solved for in this study.
4 Expand the Values of Dependent Variables section. Select the Values of
variables not solved for check box.
5 From the Method list, choose Solution.
6 From the Study list, choose Study 1, Stationary.
7 Locate the Study Settings section. Click the Range button
8 Go to the Range dialog box.

26 | Computing Particle Trajectories through a Laminar Static Mixer

9 In the Step edit field, type 0.2.

10In the Stop edit field, type 5.
11Click the Replace button. The Study settings should look like this:

12In the Model Builder window, right-click Study 2 and choose Compute.

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Results
By default you end up in the Particle Trajectories (fpt) node after the model has
finished solving.
1 In the Particle Trajectories (fpt) settings window, click to expand the Color
Legend section.
2 From the Position list, choose Bottom.
3 In the Model Builder window, expand the Particle Trajectories (fpt) node, then
click Particle Trajectories 1.
4 In the Particle Trajectories settings window, locate the Coloring and Style
section.
5 Find the Line style subsection. From the Type list, choose Line.
6 Find the Point style subsection. From the Type list, choose None.
7 In the Model Builder window, expand the Results>Particle Trajectories
(fpt)>Particle Trajectories 1 node, then click Color Expression 1.
8 In the Color Expression settings window, click Replace Expression
in the
upper-right corner of the Expression section. From the menu, choose Laminar
Flow>Shear rate (spf.sr).
9 Click the Plot button

28 | Computing Particle Trajectories through a Laminar Static Mixer

10Click Zoom Extents in the Graphics toolbar.

Now create a new Particle data set with a selection at the outlet so the transmission
probability can be evaluated.
1 In the Model Builder window, expand the Results>Data Sets node.
2 Right-click Particle 1 and choose Duplicate

3 Right-click Results>Data Sets>Particle 2 and choose Add Selection.

4 In the Selection settings window, locate the Geometric Entity Selection section.
5 From the Geometric entity level list, choose Boundary.
6 Select Boundary 20 only.
7 In the Model Builder window, under Results right-click Derived Values and
choose Global Evaluation.
8 In the Global Evaluation settings window, locate the Data section.
9 From the Data set list, choose Particle 2.
10From the Time selection list, choose Last.
11Click Replace Expression
in the upper-right corner of the Expression
section. From the menu, choose Particle Tracing for Fluid Flow>Particle
statistics>Transmission probability (fpt.alpha).
12Click the Evaluate button
0.81 and 0.83.

. The transmission probability should be between

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One useful way of visualizing how to particles mix is to use a Poincar plot. The
Poincar plot places a colored dot for each particles at the location at which the
particle passes through a cut plane (known as a Poincar section).
1 In the Model Builder window, under Results right-click Data Sets and choose
Cut Plane
.
2 In the Cut Plane settings window, locate the Data section.
3 From the Data set list, choose Particle 1.
4 Locate the Plane Data section. From the Plane list, choose xz-planes.
5 In the y-coordinates edit field, type 0.006.
6 Select the Additional parallel planes check box.
7 In the Distances edit field, type 0.006 0.016 0.026 0.036 0.042.
8 Click the Plot button

9 In the Model Builder window, right-click Results and choose 3D Plot Group.
10In the 3D Plot Group settings window, locate the Data section.
11From the Data set list, choose Particle 1.
12Click to expand the Color Legend section. From the Position list, choose
Bottom.
13Right-click Results>3D Plot Group 4 and choose More Plots>Poincar
Map
.
14In the Poincar Map settings window, locate the Data section.
15From the Cut plane list, choose Cut Plane 1.
16Locate the Coloring and Style section. Select the Radius scale factor check box.
17In the associated edit field, type 6E-5.
18Click the Plot button

19Right-click Results>3D Plot Group 4>Poincar Map 1 and choose Color

Expression.
20In the Color Expression settings window, locate the Expression section.
21In the Expression edit field, type at(0,qx<0).
22Locate the Coloring and Style section. Clear the Color legend check box.
23In the Model Builder window, right-click 3D Plot Group 4 and choose Surface
.
24In the Surface settings window, locate the Data section.
25From the Data set list, choose Cut Plane 1.
26Locate the Expression section. In the Expression edit field, type 1.
27Locate the Coloring and Style section. From the Coloring list, choose Uniform.

30 | Computing Particle Trajectories through a Laminar Static Mixer

28From the Color list, choose Gray.

29Click the Go to Default 3D View
30Click the Plot button

button on the Graphics toolbar.

In the above figure, the location of the particles at 6 Poincar sections are shown.
The color represents the location of the particle at its initial position. So, particles
marked as red had an initial position of x < 0 and particles marked as blue had an
initial position of x > 0. The at() operator is used to mark the particles with the
color of their initial position. The first Poincar section (the one furthest to the
left in the above figure) clearly indicates which particles start with coordinates of
x < 0. As the particles begin to follow the flow field, they begin to mix together.
By the end of the mixer, the particles have not mixed completelythere are still
significant pockets of only red and only blue particles.

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32 | Computing Particle Trajectories through a Laminar Static Mixer