Particle laden pipe flows: Turbulence modulation

Abstract

This work deals with the Direct Numerical Simulation of a particle laden turbulent pipe flow in the two-way coupling regime where the particles back-react on the fluid leading to the so called turbulence modulation. The inter-phase momentum coupling is achieved exploiting a novel approach, namely the Exact Regularized Point Particle (ERPP) method. The turbulence modification is discussed under different coupling conditions. Results show that the flow throughput dimishes implying a global drag increasing in the two-way coupling regime. Velocity fluctuations and the Reynolds shear stress are altered in the viscous sub-layer and in the buffer region when the particles segregate in the near wall region.