Influence of turbulence on erosion by a particle-laden fluid jet

The effects of turbulent diffusion on particle dispersion, and hence erosion, are demonstrated numerically. Variations imposed on the level of turbulence intensity in a particle-laden jet impinging normally on a flat wall show a strong dependence of wear parameters on this quantity. Impacting particle velocities, trajectories and surface densities are predicted from Lagrangian equations of motion. Eulerian equations are used to describe fluid motion, with the turbulence viscosity evaluated from a k-epsilon model of turbulence. Nonessential complexities are avoided by assuming one way coupling between phases and using an adjusted Stokes' drag relation. Numerical calculations reveal that the relative rate of erosion decreases and the location of maximum wear is displaced toward the stagnation point as the turbulence intensity increases.