Measurement and simulation of the two-phase velocity correlation in sudden-expansion gas-particle flows

In this paper the present authors measured the gas-particle two-phase velocity correlation in sudden expansion gas-particle flows with a phase Doppler particle anemometer (PDPA) and simulated the system behavior by using both a Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) model and a large-eddy simulation (LES). The results of the measurements yield the axial and radial time-averaged velocities as well as the fluctuation velocities of gas and three particle-size groups (30 μm, 50 μm, and 95 μm) and the gas-particle velocity correlation for 30 μm and 50 μm particles. From the measurements, theoretical analysis, and simulation, it is found that the two-phase velocity correlation of sudden-expansion flows, like that of jet flows, is less than the gas and particle Reynolds stresses. What distinguishes the two-phase velocity correlations of sudden-expansion flow from those of jet and channel flows is the absence of a clear relationship between the two-phase velocity correlation and particle size in sudden-expansion flows. The measurements, theoretical analysis, and numerical simulation all lead to the above-stated conclusions. Quantitatively, the results of the LES are better than those of the RANS model.