A Multiscale Model to Predict Slurry Erosion in Cavitated Duct Flows

Abstract

In this work, a multiscale computational model of cavitation-erosion phenomena is proposed and performed in a Eulerian-Lagrangian two-way coupling approach. Cavitation-erosion phenomena are widely seen in multiphase flows with different sizes of time and length scale. Based on the multiscale concept, the information obtained at the level of small length scales can be used to provide closure information at the level of larger length scales. In our implementation, first a two-phase mixture flow model and a temperature-dependent homogeneous equilibrium saturation model are used to simulate phase transitions and steam–water interfaces. Subsequently, solid particle trajectories caused by the translation and rotation and particle–wall collisions are evaluated by a Lagrangian approach based on the continuum flow information. Then, a Eulerian-Lagrangian two-way coupling is used to evaluate the interactions between the gas–liquid mixture and dispersive solid particles, such as the drag, virtual mass, and lift forces. An erosion model is also implemented in this Eulerian-Lagrangian framework.

Acknowledgments

We acknowledge financial support from the National Science Council and Atomic Energy Council under NSC 93-2623-7-216-001-NU. Also we thank the computer facility supported by the National Center for High-Performance Computing, Hsin-Chu, Taiwan.