DOI: 10.1615/TSFP8
TURBULENCE MODIFICATION BY PARTICLES IN A HORIZONTAL CHANNEL FLOW
ABSTRACT
This paper reports the results of experiments in a low Reynolds number turbulent channel flow laden with small glass particles. The effects of particles on the continuous phase turbulence were measured under conditions where the particle number density is decreasing due to sedimentation. Particles increased both the streamwise and wall-normal turbulent intensities in the wall region, but decreased the Reynolds shear stress both near the wall and in the outer layer. Two-point correlations were calculated and the results were used to provide insight into the impact of particles on the turbulence structure. It was shown that the decrease in the Reynolds shear stress is due to a reduction in correlation between the streamwise and wall-normal velocity fluctuations arising from differences in the mechanisms responsible for the increase in the two velocity fluctuation components.