Chemical Engineering Science 62 (2007) 2068 – 2088

www.elsevier.com/locate/ces

Dilute gas–solid two-phase flows in a curved 90 ◦ duct bend: CFD simulation

with experimental validation
B. Kuan ∗ , W. Yang, M.P. Schwarz
Cooperative Research Centre for Clean Power from Lignite Division of Minerals, Commonwealth Science and Industrial Research Organisation, Box 312,
Clayton South, Victoria 3169, Australia

Received 31 May 2006; received in revised form 20 October 2006; accepted 21 December 2006
Available online 13 January 2007

Abstract
Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations of dilute gas–solid flow through a curved 90◦ duct bend were performed. Non-uniform
sized glass spheres with a mean diameter of 77 m were used as the dispersed phase. The curved bend is square-sectioned (150 mm × 150 mm)
and has a turning radius of 1.5D (D = duct hydraulic diameter). Turbulent flow quantities for Re = 100, 000 were calculated based on a
differential Reynolds stress model. The solids mass loading considered is 0.00206 and hence justifies the application of one-way coupling
between gas and particles. A Lagrangian particle-tracking algorithm which takes into account the effect of shear-slip lift (SSL) force on particles
and particle-wall interactions (PWIs) has been utilised to predict velocities of the dispersed phase. The predictions were compared against the
experimental data measured using Laser–Doppler Anemometry (LDA). The study found that the predicted gas flow field has a strong influence
over the predicted particle velocities. PWI model considerably affects the prediction of particle velocity and distribution of particles at the
inner duct wall within the bend. Inclusion of the SSL force also helps the distribution of the particle tracks towards the duct centre in the
vertical duct downstream of the bend. Within the bend, particle velocities near the inner wall have been grossly over-predicted in the simulation,
especially at mid-bend. The present study thus highlights the importance of the predicted gas flow field, SSL force and particle-wall collisions
to Lagrangian particle tracking.
䉷 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Multiphase flow; Mathematical modelling; Simulation; Penumatic conveying; LDA; Turbulence

1. Introduction
Elbows and bends are commonly used in pneumatic convey-
ing systems to change flow direction so as to transport the sus-
pended material to the desired delivery point within a limited
space. In the case of coal-fired power plants that operate
on a continuous supply of pulverised coal to furnaces, mal-
distribution of pulverised fuel often occurs as coal particles
are pneumatically transported from the mill through ducts
consisting of numerous bends and straight sections.
Apart from the duct geometry, the coal pulverisation process
is also a strong contributor to mal-distribution of the pulverised
fuel. Field measurements at a lignite-fired power plant carried
out to support this study found that, depending on factors such
∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +61 3 95458687; fax: +61 3 95628919.
E-mail address: benny.kuan@csiro.au (B. Kuan).
0009-2509/$ - see front matter 䉷 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.ces.2006.12.054
as feed size and mill speed, the fuel pulverisation process pro-
duces coal particles ranging between 10 and 1000 m in size.
Fig. 1 shows a typical coal particle size distribution measured
at the mill outlet of a lignite-fired power station (McIntosh and
Borthwick, 1984). The extreme non-uniformity in particle size
combined with a centrifugal effect arising from the duct bend
are believed to lead to the formation of a stratified gas–solid
flow, known as a particle rope, downstream of the elbow even
at a low solids mass loading, L < 0.1. This invariably creates
difficulties for the plant operators to monitor and control the
pulverised fuel supply to individual burners, and hence to main-
tain an optimal combustion condition inside the furnace.
There are a large number of documented studies, both nu-
merical and experimental, on particle roping in dust conveying
systems with solids mass loading L > 0.3, but most of them
focus on particles with a size distribution that is either heavily
skewed towards the lower end of the size range (Yilmaz and
 B. Kuan et al. / Chemical Engineering Science 62 (2007) 2068 – 2088
Fig. 1. Typical coal size distribution at the mill outlet.
Levy, 1998; Akilli et al., 2001) or more evenly spread across
the entire size range (Huber and Sommerfield, 1994). In both
cases, the tested particle samples contain a considerable amount
of fine particles. A comprehensive experimental investigation
was conducted by Huber and Sommerfield (1994) using phase-
Doppler anemometry (PDA) in various pipe elements. They
used glass particles with a mean diameter of 40 m and their
results demonstrated the significance of wall-roughness in pre-
venting the glass beads from settling in a horizontal pipe.
The research group at Lehigh University has conducted sev-
eral physical experiments ( Yilmaz and Levy, 1998, 2001; Akilli
et al., 2001; Bilirgen and KLevy, 2001) investigating forma-
tion and dispersion of the particle ropes involving pulverised
coal particles. A closed flow loop consisting of two 6.1 m hor-
izontal pipes, one 3.4 m vertical pipe and two 90◦ elbows with
adjustable turning radii was set up to facilitate measurements
of particle rope characteristics in a vertical pipe following a
horizontal-to-vertical bend. All pipe elements had an internal
diameter of 0.154 m. They identified a number of parameters
that affect the behaviour of the particle rope downstream of
a horizontal-to-vertical duct bend. These included solids mass
loading, conveying velocity, and duct bend radius.
Levy and Mason (1998) reported a similar study utilising
three different particle sizes. Their numerical simulations indi-
cated a change in particle roping characteristics with particle
size: coarse particles form a concentrated rope which propa-
gates more than 2.4D downstream of the bend; for the fine
particles, they only noticed a localised peak in particle con-
centration just downstream of the bend. There were however
no published experimental data at the time to validate their
calculations.
The effect of particle size on solid- as well as gas-phase
motions in vertical and horizontal two-phase flows has been
extensively studied in the literature. With the aid of a laser-
Doppler velocimeter (LDV), Tsuji et al. (1984) tested plastic
particles with diameters ranging from 200 m to 3 mm in a
vertical pipe having an inner diameter of 30.5 mm and studied
the effect of particle size on particle motion and gas turbulence.
At high solids mass loading (L > 2.0), they found the mean
air velocity profile flattens across the duct cross-section with
decreasing particle size. Fan et al. (1997) performed a similar
experiment with 100 and 300 m quartz particles in a 100 mm
2069
diameter vertical tube. At L < 2.0, they observed a flattening of
the mean particle velocity profile with increasing particle size.
Tsuji and Morikawa (1982) has also performed the same
LDV measurements for a horizontal two-phase flow, but only
for L > 2.0. They observed a stronger influence of the par-
ticles on the background gas turbulence as the particle size
increased. Laín et al. (2002) experimentally studied the effect of
particle size, solids mass loading and wall roughness on a two-
phase horizontal channel flow. While all tests were performed
at L > 0.2, their results indicate that the flow was increasingly
sensitive to particle size distribution as L decreases.
In pneumatic transport, it is commonly accepted that move-
ment of large particles is predominantly influenced by particle-
wall interactions rather than fluid turbulence. In recognition of
this, Frank et al. (1993), Kussin and Sommerfeld (2002), and
Sommerfeld and Huber (1999) conducted series of experiments
to study particle-wall interaction for a large combination of par-
ticle size, material and wall roughness in an attempt to create
a reliable physical particle-wall collision model.
Compared to the flow regime prevailing at the power plant
mill duct (i.e., L < 0.1), all of the above-mentioned studies
examined gas–solid flow behaviour in the L > 0.2 range and
hence their results were not representative of the dilute mill-duct
flow considered in the present study. Further, most of the pub-
lished conveying duct experiments only consider the scenario
where a substantial amount of fine particles were present in the
system. In the present study, a dispersed phase with a wider size
distribution but a smaller fraction of fine particles is considered
so as to better represent the gas–solid flow system prevailing in
the mill-duct flow. Numerical simulation of such a flow using
Lagrangian particle tracking technique requires a large set of
particle trajectories to be solved. A special discretisation tech-
nique has been developed to overcome the need for an exceed-
ingly large number of particle tracks. This paper aims to study,
both numerically and experimentally, the behaviour of a dilute
gas–solid flow which uses non-uniform sized spherical glass
beads as the dispersed phase and at a low solids mass loading
L = 0.00206. Glass spheres having a volume weighted mean
diameter of 77 m were tested in purpose-designed laboratory
experiments which involve a square-sectioned horizontal-to-
vertical 90◦ bend.
Numerical simulations were performed for the gas phase and
then followed by the solution of solids motion. The solution of
particle motion is based on a Lagrangian particle tracking ap-
proach where a single particle track represents the trajectories
of a group of particles of the same size. The calculation consid-
ered various hydrodynamic forces acting on the particles, such
as drag and shear-slip lift (SSL), as well as particle wall inter-
actions. The hydrodynamic forces were determined based on
the knowledge of the predicted gas flow. An accurate solution
of the gas flow field is thus crucial for a realistic prediction of
the particle motion.
One main feature of the square-sectioned duct flow consid-
ered in this study is a strong curvature in the streamwise direc-
tion along the duct length. This necessitates the application of
a turbulence model that is capable of resolving the extra strains
arising from curvature in the streamlines. There exists a wide
2070 B. Kuan et al. / Chemical Engineering Science 62 (2007) 2068 – 2088
range of turbulence models in the published literature dealing
with streamline curvature effects. Nallasamy (1987), and Patel
and Sotiropoulos (1997) have both provided comprehensive
reviews on various approaches to model streamline curvature
effects in the turbulence model.
Gibson (1978) and Rodi and Scheuerer (1983) have proposed
a number of ad hoc modifications to the standard two-equation
turbulence model to address this problem. However, the appli-
cability of these model corrections has largely been limited to
flows with simple geometry where axis of streamline curvature
is fixed relative to the principal flow direction, such as flow
over a back-ward step. Richmond and Patel (1991) have tested
one of the above models in various curved wall-bounded flows.
The model produced satisfactory mean velocity prediction on
the convex wall while under-estimating the mean velocities on
the concave wall.
Choi et al. (1989) have applied an algebraic Reynolds stress
model in the core flow and mixing-length hypothesis in the
viscous sublayer in an attempt resolve streamline curvature in
a square-sectioned U-bend. The model performs better than the
standard k. model and provides a reasonable representation
of the primary flow but it tends to over-predict gas velocity at
the convex wall and over-predict it at the concave wall.
Luo and Lakshminarayana (1996) have applied a differential
Reynolds stress model and a modified eddy dissipation rate 
transport equation proposed by Shih et al. (1995) to account
for streamline curvature effects. They tested their model in 2D
90◦ and 180◦ pipe bends. The results indicated a negligible
improvement on the predicted mean gas velocities as compared
to the case with unmodified differential Reynolds stress model.
However, the new model produced a higher level of turbulence
intensity at two stations inside and shortly downstream of the
bend.
Patel and Sotiropoulos (1997) has thus concluded that, for
flows containing streamline curvature, a differential Reynolds
stress model without any modifications should provide rea-
sonable flow prediction as compared to that based on case-
specific two-equation turbulence models. The current study
adopts the differential Reynolds stress model of Speziale et al.
(1991) which is tensor-invariant and does not require the addi-
tion of wall-reflection terms into its pressure–strain correlation
model.
2. Experimental test facility
2.1. Rig configuration
All experiments were conducted in an open-circuit
horizontal-to-vertical suction wind tunnel system which was
set up for an earlier study by Yang and Kuan (2006). A
schematic sketch of the entire test facility is provided in
Fig. 2(a). It consists of an open-circuit suction wind tunnel
where the airflow is drawn into the system by means of a cen-
trifugal fan through an entry piece that consists of an elliptical
bell-mouth inlet and a honeycomb flow straightening section.
The air then passes through a converging nozzle to attain a
higher velocity before entering into the test section. Design
of the converging nozzle follows Borger’s contractor profile
(Borger, 1973) to ensure flow uniformity within ±0.5%.
The duct geometry and flow coordinate system are shown
in Fig. 2(b). The square-sectioned (150 mm × 150 mm) test
section is constructed using 10 mm thick Perspex sheets, and the
main components of the test facility include a 3.5 m horizontal
straight duct, a 90◦ bend with a turning radius R of 225 mm
and a 1.8 m vertical straight duct. The R/D ratio for the bend
is thus 1.5.
Glass spheres with a volume weighted mean diameter of
77 m were released into the gas flow from a fluidised-bed
feeder at a rate of 2 kg h−1 to give a solids mass loading L of
0.00206. A digital balance underneath the fluidized-bed feeder
monitors the rate at which the particles are released so as to
ensure a dilute gas–solid flow regime inside the test section.
Data on particle size distribution (based on volume fraction)
are obtained from a wet analysis using a Malvern particle size
analyser and are shown in Fig. 3.
Gas phase measurements were obtained at a bulk gas veloc-
ity Ub , of 10 m s−1 in the absence of the glass spheres. A mist
of fine sugar particles generated from a jet atomiser using 5%
sugar solution have a mean diameter of 1 m and were used as
seeding particles in the single-phase measurement. Turbulence
intensity in the main stream was approximately 1% at the cen-
tre of duct cross-section 10D upstream of the 90◦ bend. The
Reynolds number, based on the bulk velocity, hydraulic diam-
eter of the square-sectioned duct and kinematic viscosity of air
was subsequently 105 .
Flow measurements were performed on the duct vertical
symmetry plane. At each streamwise location along the duct
length, flow measurements, including mean gas and solids
velocities, and turbulence intensities were carried out. In near-
wall areas, flow statistics were measured at 1 mm from the
duct walls. LDA measurements outside the vertical symmetry
plane were not taken because of poor access of the laser beam
to the probe locations. Secondary gas flow, which is charac-
terised by a pair of counter-rotating vortices along the duct
length downstream of the bend, was not studied in the present
work. It is assumed to display similar characteristics to the
laboratory flow of Sudo et al. (2001) where R/D = 2.0.
2.2. Dynamic similarity
In order to ensure the flow scenario tested in the laboratory
model reflects the physical duct operating condition, a dynamic
similarity analysis was performed prior to the experiment. Our
analysis is based on the collective experience of Boothroyd
(1971) and Fan and Zhu (1998). In general they found the flow
systems that share similar geometric and kinematic boundary
conditions display similar dynamic responses when the dimen-
sionless numbers Re, Rep , St, and Fr are the same
 f Ub D
Re = , (1)

 f UT d p
Rep = , (2)

 B. Kuan et al. / Chemical Engineering Science 62 (2007) 2068 – 2088 2071

Fig. 2. Experimental flow system: (a) schematic diagram; (b) duct geometry and flow coordinate system.

whereby Re denotes duct Reynolds number; Rep is particle

Reynolds number; St is particle Stokes number as commonly
defined in the literature (Giddings et al., 2004); Fr is Froude
number for gas–solid flows; UT denotes particle terminal
velocity; Ub is fluid bulk velocity based on fluid mass flow
rate and duct cross-section area.
Stokes number St is a ratio of particle response time to the
fluid travelling time; a higher St thus implies more collisions
of the particles with the walls of the bend. The Froude number
Fr measures the dominance of inertial effects over gravity on
the airflow.
Dynamic similarity parameters are compared in Table 1. The
table also lists some of the characteristic flow parameters for
both cases. The smaller duct diameter and particle sizes in the
Fig. 3. Particle size distributions by volume (— wet analysis data;  modelled
laboratory system as compared to the industrial flow are largely
distribution).
responsible for the lower Re, Rep , and St values at the upper
end of the particle size range. A lower Rep implies that the par-
p dp2 ticles in the laboratory flow system are more tightly coupled to
p D
St = ; p = ; f = , (3) the gas flow than in the industrial counterpart. The power plant
f 18 Ub mill-duct flow contains a greater proportion of coarse particles
 with a very high St, indicating a higher chance of particle-wall
Ub2 collisions. However, motion of the larger particles is beyond the
Fr = , (4)
Dg scope of the present investigation because it is predominantly
2072 B. Kuan et al. / Chemical Engineering Science 62 (2007) 2068 – 2088

Table 1
Flow and dynamic similarity parameters

Laboratory rig Power station

Flow parameters
D (m) 0.15 1.76
 (kg m−1 s−1 ) 1.8 × 10−5 1.95 × 10−5
f (kg m−3 ) 1.18 0.78
p (kg m−3 ) 2500 1400
L 0.00206 0.1
dp (m) 4 77 160 20 80 410
(min.) (mean) (max.) (5%) (50%) (95%)
UT (m s−1 ) 1.21 × 10−3 0.36 1.1 0.0155 0.224 2.32
Ub (m s−1 ) 10.0 28.6
Re 1.0 × 105 2.0 × 106

Dynamic similarity parameters

Rep 3.17 × 10−4 1.82 11.5 0.0124 0.716 38.1
St 8.23 × 10−4 3.05 13.2 0.063 1.701 44.7
Fr 8.24 6.88
S/dp 80.9 21.1

driven by particle’s own inertia as well as collisions with the notations below
wall surfaces, instead of gas–solids interactions.
As seen in Table 1, the current experiment covers the lower jUi
= 0, (7)
end of the industrial particle size range which has lower Rep dxi
and St values. One can thus expect the laboratory rig to realis-    
jUi Uj jP j jUi jUj
tically reproduce the characteristics of the power station mill- =− +  + − ui uj , (8)
duct flow in the absence of very coarse particles. dxj jxi jxj jxj jxi
Apart from dynamic similarity parameters that charac-  

terise the level of particle–gas interactions in both systems, jUk ui uj j 2 k2 jui uj
Table 1 also lists inter-particle spacing S (with respect to dp ) as =  + Cs
dxk jxk 3  jxl
estimated from
  2
 1/3 + Gij − ij + ij , (9)
S/dp = , (5) 3
6p   
jUk  j t j  2
1 = + + C1 Gkk − C2 , (10)
p =  (6) dxk jxk
 jxl k k
p
+1
Lf jUj jUi
Gij = ui uk − uj uk , (11)
jxk jxk
which have been used by Sommerfeld (2000) to classify the
importance of interaction mechanisms in dispersed two-phase
where Ui and ui are, respectively, mean and fluctuating veloc-
flows. In general, effect of inter-particle collisions can be
ignored for an inter-particle space, S/dp greater than 10. ities; ui uj denotes the Reynolds stress tensor; Gij is the tur-
According to Table 1, both flow systems satisfy this condition bulence production term; ij is the modelled pressure–strain
and hence inter-particle collisions were not considered in this correlation given by Speziale et al. (1991). Model constants Cs ,
study. C1 , C2 , and
 , respectively, have the following values: 0.22,
1.45, 1.83, and 1.375. This approach is known as differential
Reynolds stress modelling (DRSM).
3. Mathematical models

3.1. Gas flow 4. Particle tracks

Steady-state, isothermal gas flow properties and turbu-
lence quantities are calculated numerically by solving a set
of governing partial differential equations (PDE) using a
commercial CFD software ANSYS CFX-10. The Reynolds-
averaged Navier–Stokes equations and the Reynolds stress
transport equations considered are written in Cartesian tensor
4.1. Hydrodynamic forces
Instantaneous positions and velocities of the dispersed phase
are solved through a Lagrangian particle tracking method. Mo-
tion of individual particles suspended in a continuous fluid is
determined by numerically integrating the equations of motion
 B. Kuan et al. / Chemical Engineering Science 62 (2007) 2068 – 2088 2073

for the dispersed phase in a fluid flow. The equation of particle f dp2 |f |
motion may be expressed as Res = , (23)

dup Res
mp = FD + Fg + Fpg + FA + Fsl , (12)  = 0.5 ; f = ∇ × uf . (24)
dt Rep
dxp Assuming that all force components, except the drag, are con-
= up , (13)
dt stant during a time step t, Eq. (12) can be integrated analyti-
where subscript p represents particle properties and subscripts cally to yield
D, g, pg, A and sl, respectively, denote force components arising r
up = uf + (up0 − uf )e−t/r + (1 − e−t/r )
from drag, gravity, flow pressure gradient, added mass effect mp
and slip-shear lift. × (Fg + FA + Fsl + Fpg ) (25)
The drag force is calculated from
with superscript 0 indicating the start of a time step.
uf − u p Similarly, Eq. (13) can be integrated analytically to
F D = mp (14)
r
xp = xp0 + up t. (26)
with uf = U + u and particle relaxation time r defined by
Eqs. (25) and (26) were solved within a given cell in the particle
p dp2 tracking calculations.
r = (15) In order to solve the instantaneous particle velocity and
18fD
location using the integrated equations of particle motion,
and the Schiller–Naumann drag correlation fD for a sphere Eqs. (25) and (26), for every particle track in the flow domain,
the instantaneous fluid velocity has to be specified at all par-
1 + 0.15Re0.687
p , Rep 1000, ticle locations. This is made possible through the application
fD = (16)
0.01833Rep , Rep > 1000, of a classical stochastic approach of Gosman and Ioannides
(1981), which estimates fluctuating gas velocity components
24 on the basis of isotropic turbulence. Subsequent particle track
CD = fD .
Rep integration which takes into account the turbulent dispersion
effect was thus carried out.
As Rep increases beyond 1000, the corresponding fD leads to
a constant drag coefficient CD of 0.44. 5. Particle-wall interactions
The force components due to gravity Fg , added mass FA and
pressure gradient Fpg are, respectively, given by The present simulation adopts a modified version of the PWI

 model of Matsumoto and Saito (1970). The base-case model
f allows the particles to either slide along the wall surface when
Fg = m p 1 − g, (17)
p the angle of incidence is small, or rebound away from the wall
after impact. However, it is based on the assumption of a con-
1 f dup stant restitution coefficient and dynamic friction, both of which
FA = − m p , (18)
2 p dt are sensitive to a range of parameters, such as incidence angle
and wall material, as found in published experimental investi-
Fpg = − 41 dp3 ∇P . (19) gations of Frank et al. (1993), Sommerfeld and Huber (1999).
For the present numerical calculation that involves collisions
The present calculation adopts a SSL model formulated by Mei between the glass spheres and the Perspex duct walls, particle
(1992). In vector form, the model is written as velocity components as well as particle angle of incidence are
defined in Fig. 4. Impact test data for glass beads on Plexiglass
 3
Fsl = d  Csl ((uf − up ) × f ), (20)
8 p f
where
4.1126
Csl = √ f (Rep , Res ), (21)
Res
⎧
⎨ (1 − 0.3314 )
1/2

f (Rep , Res ) = ×e(−0.1Rep ) + 0.33141/2 , Rep 40,

⎩
0.0524(Rep )1/2 , Rep 40, Fig. 4. Definition of velocities before and after impact and particle angle of
(22) incidence.
2074 B. Kuan et al. / Chemical Engineering Science 62 (2007) 2068 – 2088

plates are utilized to characterize the PWI (Sommerfeld and All calculations were performed on a 80 × 80 × 135 (y × z × s)
Huber, 1999). The modified PWI model is given by body-fitted grid and the computed flow domain was constructed
using hexahedral cells. The grid has a minimum wall spacing
up2 = Et up1 ,
of y + < 16 and was found to be sufficiently refined to produce
vp2 = −En vp1 , a grid-independent solution as shown in an earlier study by
Kuan (2005).
En = max(1.0 − 0.0151 , 0.73),
The current simulations utilise a set of fully turbulent inflow
d = max(0.4 − 0.009261 , 0.15) conditions generated from a separate calculation in a straight
horizontal pipe of the same cross-section. The solid particles
ucrit = 3.5d (1 + En )|vp1 | were released into the duct at the same velocity as the gas
⎧
⎪
⎪ 1.0 − d (1 + En )|vp1 /up1 |, phase, i.e., zero slip, and from random locations on the inlet
⎪
⎪ plane.
⎨ up1 ucrit (sliding collision),
Et = (27) In a dilute two-phase flow where particle volume fraction is
⎪
⎪ 5/7, less than 10−6 (i.e., L < 0.00211), it is generally accepted that
⎪
⎪
⎩ the transfer of particle momentum to the carrier-phase is negli-
up1 < ucrit (non-sliding collision).
gible (Sommerfeld, 2000). Thus, at L=0.00206, the gas motion
The effect of wall roughness is introduced through a semi- could be considered independent of the solid-phase (i.e., one-
empirical approach that modifies the “smooth-wall” incident way coupling). When particles are introduced into a turbulent
angle 1 with a random component characterising the presence gas flow, they can either enhance or reduce the gas turbulence.
of a rough wall This is known as turbulence modulation which is assumed to
1 = 1 + , (28) be insignificant in our simulation.
In the general dilute gas–solid flows, the quality of the
where  represents a random component sampled from a dispersed-phase prediction based on Lagrangian particle track-
Gaussian distribution function.  is a Gaussian random number
with zero mean and standard deviation of unity, and  is the
standard deviation of the wall roughness angle.  is approxi-
mately 3.8◦ for a Plexiglass plate.
In our simulations, we have assumed the particles are non-
rotating and the effect of particle rotation on particle velocity
after the collision is negligible.
6. Numerical procedure
The PDE (8)–(10), are discretised following a finite vol-
ume approach. The advection terms were approximated using
a scheme developed by Barth and Jesperson (1989) which
is more than first-order accurate at mesh discontinuities and
provides higher-order accuracy for smoothly varying meshes.
ing is directly dependent on the number of particle tracks solved
in the simulation. In cases where the particle size distribution
is wide, one has to proportionally increase the total number
of the considered particle tracks so as to adequately resolve
the smallest size fraction. This often leads to an exceedingly
large set of particle tracks which are very computationally
demanding to solve and analyse.
In the present study, we have developed a methodology
which allows one to overcome this limitation. The particle size
distribution (by volume) as measured in a wet analysis by the
Malvern size analyser (Fig. 3) was first discretised into 12 char-
acteristic particle size fractions (Table 2). One can calculate
the associated particle volume flow rate for each size fraction
to give a total solids volume flow rate of 2.207E − 7 m3 s−1
such that L = 0.00206. A fixed number of particle tracks were

Table 2
Modelled particle size distribution and a discrete representation of the particulate flow by particle tracks

i dp,i (m) Vol.% Particle vol. flow Ni Particle vol. flow i (1/s)
rate (m3 /s) rate per track (m3 /s)

1 5 2.001E − 5 4.416E − 14 8000 5.520E − 18 8.434E − 2

2 18 5.202E − 5 1.148E − 13 8000 1.435E − 17 4.700E − 3
3 30 3.112E − 3 6.868E − 12 8000 8.585E − 16 6.073E − 2
4 45 2.905E − 1 6.411E − 10 8000 8.014E − 14 1.680
5 57 3.260 7.196E − 9 8000 8.994E − 13 9.276
6 65 10.35 2.284E − 8 8000 2.855E − 12 19.85
7 76 38.10 8.409E − 8 8000 1.051E − 11 45.73
8 89 34.03 7.510E − 8 8000 9.387E − 12 25.43
9 103 9.982 2.203E − 8 8000 2.754E − 12 4.813
10 125 2.500 5.518E − 9 8000 6.897E − 13 6.744E − 1
11 140 1.000 2.207E − 9 8000 2.759E − 13 1.920E − 1
12 152 4.887E − 1 1.079E − 9 8000 1.348E − 13 7.332E − 2

Total 100.0 2.207E − 7 96 000

 B. Kuan et al. / Chemical Engineering Science 62 (2007) 2068 – 2088 2075

Fig. 5. Mean longitudinal gas velocity profiles within the bend (— prediction;  data).

then allocated to each size fraction and we have used a total
of 96,000 particle tracks in the present study. Individual par-
ticle tracks in each size fraction thus carry a uniform portion
of the solids volume flow rate as shown in Table 2. One
can then determine a particle number flow rate i repre-
sented by each track and subsequently apply this to convert
number of particle tracks into number of “real” particles dur-
ing the statistical averaging process as discussed in the next
section.
7. Collection and averaging of predicted particle statistics
Similar to the data acquisition process performed during the
physical experiment, the predicted particle statistics are col-
lected at each measurement station on the duct centre-plane.
We have adopted the technique by Uijttewall and Oliemans
(1996) for estimating the mean solids flow quantities on the
measurement plane. This involves setting up 27 equally spaced
“bins” along the duct diameter to collect and store particle track
2076 B. Kuan et al. / Chemical Engineering Science 62 (2007) 2068 – 2088

Fig. 6. Mean longitudinal gas velocity profiles in the vertical duct (— prediction;  data).

information. The particle statistics stored inside each bin are 8. Results and discussions
then averaged based on Table 2 and Eq. (29) to produce a rep-
resentative value for the entire bin. 8.1. Gas flow predictions and validation

i=1,12 up ni i Predicted and measured profiles of mean longitudinal gas
Up =  . (29)
i=1,12 ni i
velocities are compared in Figs. 5 and 6. Overall, the numerical
prediction provides a good representation of the measured flow
In Eq. (29), ni is the number of particle tracks for size fraction field except in the outer-wall region (r ∗ < 0.4) within the bend.
i and i is the corresponding particle number flow rate per The laboratory data indicates a growing layer of slow gas stream
particle track. next to the outer duct wall. This is presumably due to an adverse
 B. Kuan et al. / Chemical Engineering Science 62 (2007) 2068 – 2088
Fig. 7. Mean longitudinal gas velocity profiles along the outer wall, 1 mm
from the surface.
=0◦ . Further into the bend, neg-
pressure gradient on the concave face (outer wall) within the
first half of the bend. In the second half of the bend, the gas
at the outer wall is found to accelerate towards the bend exit.
The gas flow near the inner wall, however, displays an opposite
trend: it accelerates steadily between
= 0◦ and 45◦ , and then core flow approaches the outer wall is therefore a good indicator
slows down abruptly from
= 45◦ . This is consistent with the of the strength of the induced secondary motion. As seen from
findings of a similar experiment by Sudo et al. (2001) which
attributed this behaviour to changes in local pressure gradients
at the convex face as well as fluid transport by the secondary
flow.
The DRSM adopted is unable to correctly resolve such a
pressure–velocity interaction and hence over-predicts the mean
longitudinal gas velocity by as much as 18% at
= 60◦ in than in the experiment.
the outer-wall region within the bend. This is shown in Fig. 7
which compares the predicted and measured near-wall longitu-
dinal gas velocities at 1 mm above the outer wall. This possibly
points to a deficiency in the pressure–strain correlation model
=0◦ and 30◦ , followed
of Speziale et al. (1991) or even the modelled turbulent dissipa-
tion rate transport equation, Eq. (10), for resolving streamline
curvature effects as discussed in Gibson et al. (1981) and Luo
and Lakshminarayana (1996). In the inner-wall region, how-
ever, the DRSM captures the flow acceleration and deceleration
process satisfactorily.
Between
= 90◦ and s/D = 0.5, the numerical prediction the turbulence intensities, however, have been severely under-
indicates the formation of a recirculation zone at the inner wall
(Figs. 5 and 6). Although the measured profiles at these two
stations provide no direct evidence as to the existence of this
recirculation zone, it is highly probable that flow reversal might
have taken place over a very short distance between
=90◦ and Turbulence intensity falls rapidly after s/d = 0.5 and gradu-
s/D = 0.5 in the physical experiment as a result of an adverse
pressure gradient.
Downstream of the bend, the maximum peak in the measured
profile has moved from r ∗ = 0.36 at
= 90◦ to r ∗ = 0.3 at
s/D = 0.5, indicating a movement of the core gas flow towards
the outer wall under the influence of centrifugal effect. At s/D=
1.0, a smaller peak in the measured velocity profile at r ∗ = 0.86
suggests that part of the core flow has been carried to the inner-
wall region (Fig. 6). According to Sudo et al. (2001), this is
attributable to the existence of a secondary flow which carries
the core gas flow from the outer wall to the inner wall along
2077
the duct circumference. The DRSM is found to reproduce the
core flow movement correctly in the simulation.
Sudo et al. (2001) also found that the secondary flow im-
proves the mixing between the fast and the slow gas streams
which, respectively, originate from the outer and the inner walls.
This helps the mean gas flow stabilise and develop towards a
fully developed structure downstream of s/D = 1.0. While the
current set of centre-plane data is insufficient for a direct valida-
tion of the ability of the numerical model to capture secondary
flow motion, one can still apply it to assess the predicted core
flow movement which strongly affects secondary flow motion
inside the duct. A comparison of transverse gas velocity profiles
in Fig. 8 shows that the core of the flow is initially drawn to the
upper inner duct wall at the bend entrance as evidenced from a
positive transverse velocity at
ative transverse velocities imply that the core flow is gradually
moving towards the outer wall. As the core flow travels from
the inner wall to the outer wall, it entrains the surrounding fluid
on either side of it towards the outer wall and then around the
side walls. A pair of counter-rotating vortices (i.e., secondary
motion) is thus formed inside the bend. The speed at which the
Fig. 8, the DRSM predicts an excessive movement of the core
flow towards the outer wall from as early as 60◦ . The same
trend persists downstream of the bend (Fig. 9) which indicates
an over-prediction of the transverse velocity and hence of the
secondary flow motion by up to 50%. One would thus expect
the secondary motion to disperse more slowly in the simulation
Figs. 10 and 11compare the measured and predicted tur-
bulence intensity u u (normalised by the bulk velocity Ub )
inside the duct. On the outer wall, the data indicates a rise in
near-wall turbulence intensity between
by a drop to 0.1 at s/D = 0.5. By contrast, the turbulence in-
tensity at the inner wall rises considerably in the second half
of the bend to a maximum of 1.5 at s/D = 0.5. This is directly
due to a strong reduction of the local gas flow in the streamwise
direction. The numerical solution provides a qualitative repre-
sentation of these trends. Flow fluctuations as represented by
predicted in these regions. This is mainly due to the application
of the eddy dissipation transport equation (10), which ignores
the contribution arising from the extra strain associated with
streamline curvature.
ally recovers back to the same level as that at the bend entrance,
buy symmetry in the turbulence structure is not completely
restored even at s/D = 9.0.
8.2. Validation of the predicted particle tracks
Based on the predicted gas flow field, Lagrangian particle
tracking was first performed without the implementation of
the SSL force and PWI models. The calculation utilised a
uniform restitution coefficient E = 0.73. The predicted mean
2078 B. Kuan et al. / Chemical Engineering Science 62 (2007) 2068 – 2088

Fig. 8. Mean transverse gas velocity profiles within the bend (— prediction;  data).

particle velocity profiles were obtained from the data collec-
tion process as outlined previously and they are compared
against the measured profiles in Figs. 12 and 13. This case
will be referred to as the baseline simulation in the following
=
discussions.
Compared to the measured profiles, the baseline simulation
has over-predicted longitudinal particle velocities at the outer
wall within the bend (Fig. 12) and up to 3D downstream of the
bend (Fig. 13). This is partly attributable to an over-prediction
of the near-wall gas velocities (see Figs. 5 and 6). Particle-wall
collisions also strongly affect particle velocity prediction in
this area and this is illustrated in Fig. 14 which plots predicted
particle velocities (un-averaged) for three particle sizes at
75◦ . One can see from the figure that the predicted velocity
profiles for fine (5 m) and coarse (> 76 m) particles display
distinctively different characteristics. The fine particles show a
strong coupling with the gas phase while the coarse particles
are moving much more slowly within r ∗ < 0.4 of the outer wall.
 B. Kuan et al. / Chemical Engineering Science 62 (2007) 2068 – 2088 2079

Fig. 9. Mean transverse gas velocity profiles in the vertical duct (— prediction;  data).

This has led us to believe that the coarse particles have already
= 75◦ where large discrep-
separated from the carrier fluid and they are moving under the
influence of their own inertia as well as particle-wall collisions
in the simulation. This subsequently implies that particle size
distribution also affects the prediction of particle velocity in the
outer wall region of the duct bend.
= 90◦ (see Fig. 5).
Away from the outer wall, the predicted values follow the
measured velocity profiles with a maximum error of 20%
= 90◦ are thrown back towards
= 75◦ .
towards the inner wall, except at
ancies between the measured and predicted particle velocities
are found at r ∗ > 0.8 (Fig. 12). With reference to Fig. 14, this
arises from a small group of fine particles possessing negative
longitudinal velocities and is a direct result of a recirculation
zone in the predicted gas flow field at
The fine particles that have been entrained by the recirculat-
ing gas flow at
2080 B. Kuan et al. / Chemical Engineering Science 62 (2007) 2068 – 2088


Fig. 10. Turbulence intensity ( u u /Ub ) profiles within the bend (— prediction;  data).

Velocity statistics pertaining to particles travelling upstream
thus cancel out those travelling downstream in the statistical
averaging process. Hence, one can conclude that the predicted
particle motion in the inner-wall region of the duct bend is
very sensitive to the background gas flow field.
= 45◦ and 75◦ . This phenomenon arises
Mean transverse velocity profiles for the particles are pre-
sented in Figs. 15 and 16. The baseline calculation is able to
correctly capture the transverse particle motion on the verti-
cal centre-plane of the duct bend (Fig. 15). Both the experi-
mental measurement and the calculation suggest a thin layer
of particles having very small transverse velocity components
at r ∗ < 0.2 between
as some of the particles are moving towards the outer wall and
some are moving (rebounding) away from the wall within the
 B. Kuan et al. / Chemical Engineering Science 62 (2007) 2068 – 2088 2081


Fig. 11. Turbulence intensity ( u u /Ub ) profiles in the vertical duct (— prediction;  data).

LDA probe volume. As a result, the two types of motion cancel
each other out during the averaging process. This observation
is consistent with the findings of a number of published studies
on solid saltation, e.g. Tanière et al. (1997) and Ciccone et al.
(1990).
In the vertical duct, the particle tracks tend to possess a larger
transverse velocity component than that in the physical flow
(Fig. 16). This directly relates to a considerable discrepancy
between the measured and predicted gas-phase velocities as
seen in Fig. 9. Hence, one should expect the predicted transverse
velocity profile to approach the measured distribution as the
gas-phase solution improves.
Following the baseline calculation, Lagrangian particle
tracking was repeated with the inclusion of SSL force and
2082 B. Kuan et al. / Chemical Engineering Science 62 (2007) 2068 – 2088

Fig. 12. Mean longitudinal particle velocity profiles within the bend (— baseline prediction;  prediction considering SSL and PWI models;  data).

sliding/non-sliding PWI in the numerical model. Figs. 12,
13, 15 and 16 indicate that they have no major effect on the
predicted mean particle velocities. However, they do contribute
considerably to the distribution of particles in the duct as illus-
trated in Fig. 17. The figure plots the normalised distribution
of particle tracks in the inner- and outer-wall regions along the
duct, and it is based on the number of particle tracks passing
through a 5.0 mm layer next to the duct walls. At each station,
particle tracks in the near-wall layer are counted and then
the sum is normalised by the total number of particle tracks
passing through the symmetry axis of that station. According
to the figure, the application of SSL force and PWI models
has helped distribute a larger portion of the particle tracks to-
wards the outer duct wall within the bend as compared to the
baseline result. In this region, the baseline model only allows
the particles to rebound away from the wall after particle-wall
 B. Kuan et al. / Chemical Engineering Science 62 (2007) 2068 – 2088 2083

Fig. 13. Mean longitudinal particle velocity profiles in the vertical duct (— baseline prediction;  prediction considering SSL and PWI models;  data).

collisions. By comparison, the PWI model offers the particles
a second option which is to slide along the wall if their angle
of incidence is below a critical limit. This directly contributes
to a stronger presence of particle tracks at the outer wall of the
duct bend.
In the vertical duct, slip velocities (i.e., uf – up ) are small
but positive for a large majority of the particle tracks in the
inner-wall layer. The SSL force, Eq. (20), thus distributes more
particle tracks away from the inner wall, resulting in a weaker
presence of particle tracks at the duct inner wall between s/D=
3.0 and 9.0 as compared to the baseline case.
Streamwise variation of the mean longitudinal velocity for
the particles within a 1.5 mm layer next to the outer wall is
shown in Fig. 18. In the early part of the bend, the data show
a rather rapid decrease in particle velocity as the majority
of the particles collide with the outer wall. The wall particle
2084 B. Kuan et al. / Chemical Engineering Science 62 (2007) 2068 – 2088

Fig. 14. Predicted particle velocities by particle size (un-averaged) at = 75◦ .

Fig. 15. Mean transverse particle velocity profiles within the bend (— baseline prediction;  prediction considering SSL and PWI models;  data).

velocity then gradually recovers to about 0.56Ub by 90◦ with Compared to the measured profile, our predictions based
the help of the gas flow entraining and resuspending the on the SSL and particle-wall collision models are only able
rebounded particles. to quantitatively capture the particle deceleration/acceleration
 B. Kuan et al. / Chemical Engineering Science 62 (2007) 2068 – 2088 2085

Fig. 16. Mean transverse particle velocity profiles in the vertical duct (— baseline prediction;  prediction considering SSL and PWI models;  data).

process inside the bend. Universally applying a lower resti-
tution coefficient to replace the particle-wall collision model
did not cause a further reduction in particle velocity between
= 15◦ and 45◦ where particle-wall collisions are expected to
be the most frequent. Therefore, particle-wall collision is not
the dominating mechanism through which the particles lose
their momentum.
Although we are not able to directly verify the location and
size of particle rope in the duct with the measured data, a higher
concentration of particle tracks in the outer wall layer between
= 0◦ and s/D = 1.0 (Fig. 17) does suggest the presence of
a particle rope inside the duct. It is thus very likely that the
particle lose much of their momentum as a result of roping.
Within the rope, the particles are strongly affected by inter-
particle collisions. One can therefore further improve particle
velocity predictions in this region by considering inter-particle
collisions in the numerical simulation.
9. Conclusion
Numerical simulations have been performed for a curved 90◦
duct bend. The gas-phase simulation was based on a DRSM
approach and the solids flow was solved by Lagrangian parti-
cle tracking. Our particle tracking calculations involved 96,000
2086 B. Kuan et al. / Chemical Engineering Science 62 (2007) 2068 – 2088

Fig. 17. Normalised distribution of particle tracks within a 5.0 mm layer next to the walls (— baseline prediction; —— prediction considering SSL and PWI
models).

Fig. 18. Streamwise variation of mean longitudinal particle velocities along the outer wall, 1.5 mm from the surface.

particle tracks and considered a range of hydrodynamic forces
and a particle-wall interaction (PWI) model, but ignored the
effects of particle rotation, turbulence modulation and inter-
particle collisions. The CFD solutions have then been validated
against the experimental data in an effort to identify areas where
further work is necessary to improve the accuracy of numerical
prediction for flows with dilute solid suspension. The present
study demonstrated the importance of a range of issues that one
needs to consider when performing a numerical simulation of
gas–solid flow inside a power station mill duct, including:
• Turbulent gas flow solution based on the current DRSM can
provide a reasonable representation of the mean gas flow at
the duct vertical centre-plane, except in regions next to the
concave wall and more than 3D downstream of the bend. The
former is a deficiency, common to all differential Reynolds
stress models, which has not yet been fully resolved by the
fluids modelling community. The turbulence model has con-
siderably under-predicted the decay of secondary motion in
the vertical duct.
• In the inner-wall region and also more than 3D downstream
of the bend, the predicted particle motion critically depends
on the quality of the gas flow solution. Near the outer wall
where the particles are more likely to collide with the wall,
PWI model can also considerably affect the prediction of
particle velocities and distribution of particles near wall.
• Implementation of the shear-slip lift (SSL) force model
did not directly contribute to a more accurate prediction of
solids motion. However, it acts to redistribute particle tracks
across the flow depending on local gas velocity gradients
and slip velocity, particularly near the inner duct wall down-
stream of the bend. This makes it an important hydrody-
namic force component to consider in shear or curved flow
calculations.
• The PWI model adopted in this study does not allow near-
wall particles to lose as much momentum as the data suggests
at the outer wall, though it was able to reproduce a similar
trend. We thus expect the particles to attain a much lower
near-wall velocity through mechanisms other than PWI in
the physical flow.
Notation
C model constants
CD drag coefficient
dp particle diameter, m
D hydraulic diameter of the duct, m
 B. Kuan et al. / Chemical Engineering Science 62 (2007) 2068 – 2088 2087

E restitution coefficient f fluid

En restitution coefficient normal to a surface g gravity
Et restitution coefficient tangential to a surface i size fraction index
F force vector, N i, j, k tensor index
Fr Froude number p partic
fD Schiller–Naumann drag correlation pg pressure gradient
G turbulence production, kg m−2 s−2 sl slip-shear lift
g gravity vector, m s−2 1 pre-impact state
k turbulence kinetic energy, m2 s−2 2 post-impact state
L solids mass loading = ṁp /ṁf
m mass, kg Acknowledgements
ṁ mass flow rate, kg s−1
Ni number of particle tracks allocated to size frac- The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial and other
tion i support received for this research from the Cooperative Re-
n number of particle tracks search Centre (CRC) for Clean Power from Lignite, which is
R duct turning radius established and supported under the Australian Government’s
Re duct Reynolds number Cooperative Research Centres program.
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