Laser-doppler velocimeter measurements in simulated entrained gasifier flows

A laser-Doppler velocimeter (LDV) was used in a cold-flow study of a simulated entrained-flow coal gasifier. The study was designed to provide fundamental information about the flows in such a gasifier and to provide data for the validation of a turbulence submodel used in modeling combustion processes. Measurements in 20 swirling and nonswirling flow cases were made with several levels of replication. This study emphasized the effects of inlet conditions on flow properties within the simulated reactor. Unsteady flow phenomena with time scales on the order of seconds to minutes were sometimes observed. The unsteadiness was apparently associated with relaminarization-type flow transitions. Comparisons were made with model predictions from PCGC-2, a model for combustion processes based on the k, — ϵ turbulence model. Several areas of weakness in the model results were observed, but the unusual flow regimes measured in this study may be beyond the abilities of practical computer models.