Effect of Flow Swirling on Heat Transfer in Gas-Droplet Flow Downstream of Abrupt Pipe Expansion

Abstract

The effect the flow swirl parameter on heat transfer in a gas-droplet flow is numerically modeled by the Euler approach. The gaseous phase is described by a system of 3D RANS equations with consideration of the back effect of particles on transfer processes in the carrier phase. The gaseous phase turbulence is calculated according to the Reynolds stress transport model with consideration of the dispersed phase effect on the turbulent characteristics. A rapid dispersion of droplets over the pipe cross section is observed in a nonswirling gas-droplet flow downstream of an abrupt pipe expansion. A swirling flow is characterized by a growing concentration of fine particles at the pipe axis due to the accumulation of particles in the zone of flow recirculation and to the turbophoresis force. In a swirling flow, the separated-flow region becomes significantly shorter (by almost a factor of two as compared to that in a nonswirling flow). It is shown that addition of droplets results in a significant growth of heat transfer intensity (by more than a factor of 2.5) in comparison with single-phase swirling flow.