Numerical Simulation of Non-Spherical Particle Interactions in Quiescent and Turbulent Fluids

The thesis brings new understanding to the field of turbulent multiphase flows by exploring agglomeration phenomena involving non-spherical colloidal particles in quiescent and turbulent fluid flows. The work addresses a gap in the literature by explicitly capturing the full interplay between the disparate scales of turbulence and van der Waals induced agglomeration. The novelty of the work comes from combining particle-resolved multiphase fluid dynamics, orientationally-dependent ellipsoidal collision and agglomeration treatment, and high-fidelity fluid simulation. This creates a unique state-of-the-art simulation framework that allows the study of turbulent agglomeration processes at a new level of detail. Through application of the developed methods, contributions to both fundamental scientific understanding and industrial applications are made, of notable benefit to areas such as nuclear waste management and sedimentology.