Numerical investigation on gas–particle flows in horizontal channel under the reduced gravity environments

Abstract

A unified second-order-moment gas–particle two-phase turbulent model incorporated with kinetic theory of granular flows (USM-θ) is developed to study the particle dispersion behavior of dense gas–particle flows in horizontal channel with 6.96 μm wall roughness and with earth, lunar and microgravity environments, respectively. Anisotropy of gas and particle two-phase stresses and the interaction between two-phase stresses are fully considered by constructing two-phase Reynolds stress model and the transport equation of two-phase stress correlation. The flow behavior of particles in a horizontal channel of Kussin and Sommerfeld [12] experiments is numerically simulated. Results show that the reduced gravity conditions affect the particle concentration distribution, particle velocity and fluctuation velocity, particle temperature, axial–axial fluctuation velocity correlation of gas and particle and particle collision frequency. Under microgravity conditions, particle temperature and collision frequency are much less than those of earth and lunar gravity. Compared with earth gravity, anisotropic of two-phase flow and sedimentation are weaker.