One-way and two-way coupled PDF-PBE/LES simulations of turbulent particle-laden flows

This paper studies the influence of the fluid-particle interaction for the prediction of turbulent particle-laden flows in a bluff body configuration. The simulations are performed using a probability density function form of the population balance equation (PDF-PBE) in the large eddy simulation (LES) context. The inertia of particles of different sizes is effectively modelled using a newly developed Stokes binning method which divides the PDF-PBE into classes based on the particle Stokes numbers. A two-way coupling is applied considering the interaction between the continuous and particulate phase only by momentum exchange terms. The studied case is an experiment of glass beads injected into a recirculating flow. Good agreement is observed between the simulations and the measurements. The results also confirm that the flow field of the continuous phase is influenced by the particulate phase and this is consistent with the experimental observations.