Suspension modeling using smoothed particle hydrodynamics: Accuracy of the viscosity formulation and the suspended body dynamics

•Numerical modeling of suspensions with smoothed particle hydrodynamics.•3D simulations are carried out which include non-spherical suspended solids.•Two different formulations for the viscosity in SPH are compared.•Dynamics of the suspended solids under homogeneous shear is investigated.•Guidelines for suspension modeling using SPH are given. In this paper an approach for the numerical modeling of particulate suspensions is illustrated, its implementation described and its application investigated. The numerical fluid model is based on the smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) method. The suspended solids are modeled as clusters of SPH particles using a rigid body motion solver. Two different SPH formulations for the viscous stress are applied and their characteristics are compared. The influence of numerical and physical parameters on the viscosity of the system is analyzed. The rotational motion of suspended solids under shear as well as the dependency of the viscosity on the solid volume fraction is investigated and compared to analytical models. Guidelines for SPH suspension simulations are derived aiming at the minimization of numerical errors.