Event

Computational Fluid Dynamics Seminar Series: Xin Huang: "Particle motion and wall erosion in a turbulence serpentine channel"

Xin Huang, AER E Ph.D. Candidate

Xin Huang
Ph.D. Candidate
Major Professor, Paul Durbin

November 10, 2009

4:10 - 5:00 PM
Room 1235 Howe Hall

Particle motion and wall erosion in a turbulence serpentine channel

Solid particle erosion is a serious issue in piping system.  Erosion failure usually occurs where the flow is redirected. In this study, a numerical experiment of one-way coupling particle laden flow in an infinite serpentine channel was conducted using direct numerical simulation (DNS) and Langragian particle tracking (LPT).  The infinite serpentine geometry is modeled using a U-shaped channel with periodicity between inlet and exit. The radius of the bend is equal to the channel height and there is a separation bubble downstream of the bend due to the strong curvature. At the entrance of the bend, particles create one or two plumes that leave the inner bend and flow toward the outer wall. The number of plumes depends on particle Stokes number. For particle with small Stokes number, a thin layer of particle deposition can be observed along the inner bend.  Erosion caused by particle-wall collision depends on impact velocity and impact angle. Langragian particle tracking method monitors the behavior of individual particle including impact velocity and impact angle when the particle hits the wall. Erosion ratio is computed with a model developed by McLaury et al. for particle-wall erosion in multiphase flow. The region of maximum erosion is not always the region of maximum number of impacts.

Bio:  I am currently a Ph.D. student in Aerospace Engineering at Iowa State University. I received my M.S. from Mechanical Engineering at Michigan State University in 2004 and B.S. from Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, in 2001.