Velocity and acceleration statistics of heavy spheroidal particles in turbulence

We study the dynamics of non-spherical particles carried by turbulent flow, focusing on small, heavy, inertial spheroidal particles. These particles experience orientation-dependent drag and torque from the fluid flow, described by Jeffery equations. Through numerical simulations of turbulent flow, the study examines how the shape and size of these particles affect their translational motion. It reveals that the particles’ velocity and acceleration statistics can be described using an effective Stokes number averaged across orientations, allowing corrections for non-sphericity and rotation to be represented by an effective radius.