Multiscale analysis of turbulence in horizontal pipes: Liquid and particle-liquid flow investigation

Abstract

An experimental–theoretical methodology is developed to investigate the characteristics of turbulence in horizontal particle-liquid pipe flows. Using a discrete wavelet transform, the three-dimensional Lagrangian trajectories of the liquid phase experimentally determined by positron emission particle tracking are decomposed into their deterministic and stochastic sub-trajectories, which are then utilized to construct profiles of local fluctuating velocity components and turbulent kinetic energy. The results for a single-phase flow are independently validated using computational fluid dynamic simulation and the analysis parameters are fine-tuned using direct numerical simulation data from the literature. In a particle-liquid flow, the investigation explores the influence of various factors including particle size, density, and concentration on turbulence intensity. Remarkably, the results demonstrate significant effects of the particle size and density on liquid turbulence. The enhanced understanding gained regarding turbulence intensity helps to advance our fundamental interpretation of the dynamics of particle-liquid flows, thus potentially aiding the rational design of such complex flows and associated equipment.