Exploration of Two Different Length Scale Refinement Strategies on the Application of SPH Simulations on 3D Free-surface Flows

Exploration of Two Different Length Scale Refinement Strategies on the Application of SPH Simulations on 3D Free-surface Flows | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Exploration of Two Different Length Scale Refinement Strategies on the Application of SPH Simulations on 3D Free-surface Flows Nam Tran, Jon Roberts, David Hastie This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4446333/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 4 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract A length scale refinement study is a standard practice to ensure the independence of a numerical model on spatial approximations. For smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH), the process of length scale refinement study tends to be conducted based on experience. A challenge of defining a universal length scale refinement strategy is the existence of two length scales – particle spacing and smoothing length. Despite the challenge, further investigations of the impact of different refinement strategies should be continually conducted to improve the reliability of practical SPH applications on 3D free-surface flows. In this study, a conventional strategy and a novel coupled refinement strategy are used to investigate the convergence of SPH simulations for free-surface flows using a standard SPH scheme available in an open-source framework. The two case studies are a dam break flow and a lesser-known stable regime water flow inside a rotating drum with lifters. Validations are conducted using existing literature data for the dam break flow and laser Doppler velocimetry (LDV) measurements for the rotating drum flow. The investigation shows that the proposed coupled length scale refinement strategy does not offer a significant improvement for the SPH model of the dam break flow comparing to the conventional strategy. On the other hand, the stable regime rotating drum fluid flow shows that both refinement strategies are not sufficient to tackle SPH’s on-going fundamental challenge of accurately predicting the flow field of complex 3D turbulent flows with free surfaces. smoothed particle hydrodynamics refinement study 3D simulation free-surface flow Full Text Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviewers agreed at journal 02 Jul, 2024 Reviewers invited by journal 02 Jul, 2024 Editor assigned by journal 22 May, 2024 First submitted to journal 20 May, 2024 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-4446333","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":321961237,"identity":"231b3272-daca-4a82-af55-51cecdcba820","order_by":0,"name":"Nam Tran","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA60lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACAwYeBuY/Ff/loFwLIJFAUAtjA88ZZmMoV4JILbwtzIkNED4RWsyle48/kGxgS99wvMd0w48CCQZ+9hwDhp9tuLVYzjmX2GC4gyd3w5kzZjd7gA6T7HljwNiLR4vBjRzDhsQzErkbbuRuu8ED1AIUMWDgJaTlYJtBugFQy80/QC32QC2MfwloaWxsS0gAabkNtkUix4CZkC2zGc4cMJx55vy32zIGEjwSZ54VHJY5h1eLwWeGigPyfMfb0m6++WMjx9+evPHhmzLcWjAAD4g4QIKGUTAKRsEoGAVYAAC2cFXFOqPThAAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0009-0008-1179-5386","institution":"University of Wollongong","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Nam","middleName":"","lastName":"Tran","suffix":""},{"id":321961238,"identity":"bef9e8f0-2073-4930-8528-d290636945da","order_by":1,"name":"Jon Roberts","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Wollongong","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jon","middleName":"","lastName":"Roberts","suffix":""},{"id":321961239,"identity":"86bc5c65-07e7-403d-8b1a-c9375c3c5ff0","order_by":2,"name":"David Hastie","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Wollongong","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"David","middleName":"","lastName":"Hastie","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2024-05-20 03:17:19","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4446333/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4446333/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":61062704,"identity":"046c79a6-0dee-40d9-8287-934ef3e1d6be","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-07-25 06:55:18","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1830119,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"ManuscriptSPHLengthScaleRefinement.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4446333/v1_covered_f98da13f-6bab-4efe-8537-2ffd5516279f.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"","formattedTitle":"Exploration of Two Different Length Scale Refinement Strategies on the Application of SPH Simulations on 3D Free-surface Flows","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":true,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"journal-of-hydrodynamics","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"ijhd","sideBox":"Learn more about [Journal of Hydrodynamics](http://link.springer.com/journal/42241)","snPcode":"42241","submissionUrl":"https://www.editorialmanager.com/ijhd/default2.aspx","title":"Journal of Hydrodynamics","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"smoothed particle hydrodynamics, refinement study, 3D simulation, free-surface flow","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4446333/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4446333/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eA length scale refinement study is a standard practice to ensure the independence of a numerical model on spatial approximations. For smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH), the process of length scale refinement study tends to be conducted based on experience. A challenge of defining a universal length scale refinement strategy is the existence of two length scales \u0026ndash; particle spacing and smoothing length. Despite the challenge, further investigations of the impact of different refinement strategies should be continually conducted to improve the reliability of practical SPH applications on 3D free-surface flows. In this study, a conventional strategy and a novel coupled refinement strategy are used to investigate the convergence of SPH simulations for free-surface flows using a standard SPH scheme available in an open-source framework. The two case studies are a dam break flow and a lesser-known stable regime water flow inside a rotating drum with lifters. Validations are conducted using existing literature data for the dam break flow and laser Doppler velocimetry (LDV) measurements for the rotating drum flow. The investigation shows that the proposed coupled length scale refinement strategy does not offer a significant improvement for the SPH model of the dam break flow comparing to the conventional strategy. 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