Mass distribution impacts on particle translation and orientation dynamics in dilute flows

We present a novel model for tracking particles (based on Lagrangian particle tracking) with inhomogeneous mass distribution. Without loss of generality, the presented approach captures inhomogeneity by assuming an offset spherical inclusion in an elongated ellipsoidal particle matrix. The model is first validated on simplified flow configurations such as particles settling in vacuum or air as well as suspended in simple shear and laminar pipe flow, where we achieved an excellent agreement with the available reference results. Furthermore, we investigate the impact of the inclusion parameters on the particle motion. Finally, the deposition of inhomogeneous particles in a simplified bifurcation is analyzed. We conclude that the consideration of inhomogeneity significantly alters the translational and orientational dynamics of the particles. Consequently, we advocate for the consideration of more realistic mass distributions to increase the accuracy of modeling and predicting the motion of inhomogeneous particles in flows for real-world applications. • Novel model for translation and orientation dynamics of inhomogeneous ellipsoidal particles. • The effect of varying the density ratio and aspect ratio on particle dynamics is studied. • Significant impact on the rotational motion compared to homogeneous ellipsoids. • Relevant practical applications include particle respiration dynamics.