RANS modeling of a particulate turbulent round jet

Abstract

A complete and accurate model for the symmetric gas-solid turbulent round jet is accomplished using the Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations. The two-fluid model was used to describe the averaged characteristics of the two phases, including the particle mass concentration, the turbulent kinetic energy and its dissipation in the mixture. Particle-turbulence interaction (turbulence modulation) is described by a two-way coupling model. The drag, lift and gravitation forces are incorporated into the system of equations using appropriate closure equations. A finite difference numerical scheme was used for the solution of the set of the governing equations and the results of the model were validated by comparison with data from several experiments. The influence of two types of particles, namely glass and electrocorundum, of different sizes and different loadings on the velocity and turbulence structure of the jet is examined. The computational results show the influence of the particulate phase on the velocity and turbulence structure of the jet. The significance of this study is that for the first time it presents explicitly the full RANS equations for a fluid jet with particles in an unabridged way and specifies the entire set of closure relations that are used for fluid-particle interactions including the equations for the extended k-ε model, the two-way particle-turbulence interactions and turbulence modulation as well as the inclusion of a lateral Saffman force. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.