Experiments in polydisperse two-phase turbulent flows

Aspects of turbulent two-phase flow measurements obtained with a laser Doppler velocimeter that was modified to also obtain particle size were investigated. Simultaneous measurements of the particle size and velocity allowed the determination of the lag characteristics of particles over a range of sizes. Relatively large particles were found to respond well to the turbulent fluctuations in low speed flows. Measurements of sprays were obtained at various points throughout the spray plume. Velocity measurements for each drop size class were obtained and revealed the relative velocity relaxation with downstream distance. The evolution of the rms velocities for each size class was also examined. Difficulties associated with seeding polydispersions to obtain gas phase turbulence data were discussed. Several approaches for mitigating the errors due to seed particle concentration bias were reviewed.