Large Eddy Simulation of Particle-Laden Bluff-Body Flows

Abstract

In this paper, a Large Eddy Simulation model is used to simulate a particle-laden two-phase flow with high mass loading downstream a bluff body. An Eulerian-Eulerian approach is used. The study aims to find a reliable methodology for predicting turbulent two-phase flows with high mass loading. To that end, the results are compared to an experimental investigation of the same setup by Borée et al. Moreover, the results are also compared to a numerical investigation of the same setup by Alletto et al., in which an Eulerian-Lagrangian approach is taken, where fluid-particle interactions (two-way coupling) and particle-particle collisions (four-way coupling) are considered. The setup comprises of a pipe air flow laden with glass beads entering a cylindrical chamber with an outer annular air flow without swirl. Two particle mass loadings are considered—22% and 110% to test the effect of mass loading. The results show a good overall agreement with both Borée et al.’s experimental data and Alletto et al.’s Eulerian-Lagrangian simulation. This includes the overall flow structure, volume fraction measurements, fluid velocity, and particle velocity. Some discrepancies appear in the velocity fluctuation results, especially in the 22% mass-loading case, as a result of using a simplified inlet velocity profile. The discrepancies are not a result of the numerical approach or the solver used, however.