Numerical simulation of solid–liquid turbulent flow in a stirred tank with a two-phase explicit algebraic stress model

A two-phase explicit algebraic stress model (EASM) based on an Eulerian-Eulerian approach is developed to simulate solid-liquid turbulent flow in a stirred tank equipped with a Rushton turbine. Such a model is an extension of the EASM used in our previous work for predicting turbulence in single phase stirred tanks. Quantitative comparisons of the two-phase EASM predictions on velocity components, turbulent quantities and solid concentration are conducted with reported experimental data and other predicted results by k-epsilon models and large eddy simulation (LES) in order to validate our model. The simulation results show that the EASM predictions are in good agreement with experimental data. The two-phase EASM is found to give better predictions than the k-epsilon-A(p) model for two-phase flow, thus possibly an alternative tool for understanding turbulent flows in multiphase stirred tanks. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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