The analysis of gas-droplet flows is complicated by the need to account for the mass, momentum, and energy coupling between phases. The concept of regarding the droplet phase as a source of mass, momentum, and energy to the gaseous phase is described and incorporated into a computational model. A steady two-dimensional spray-cooling problem is analyzed to illustrate the applicability of the model. The predicted temperature and velocity flow field for the gas and droplet phase aptly illustrate the capability of the model to treat the complex phenomena associated with multiphase flows.

The effects of ‘crossing trajectories’ and inertia on the dispersion of particles suspended in a field of grid-generated turbulence were investigated experimentally. The effect of particle trajectories crossing the trajectories of fluid elements, under the influence of a potential field (usually gravity), is to force the particles from one region of highly correlated flow to another. In this manner, particles lose velocity correlation more rapidly than the corresponding fluid points and as a result disperse less.A homogeneous decaying turbulent field was created behind a square biplanar grid in a wind tunnel. Particles were charged by a corona discharge then passed into the test section through a small plastic tube. A uniform electric field within the test section was used to simulate the effect of gravity, forcing the charged particles out of regions of correlated fluid at a higher than normal rate, therefore inducing the effects of crossing trajectories. Two sizes of glass beads (5 μm and 57 μm diameter) were employed in order to observe inertial effects. Laser-Doppler anemometry was used to measure particle mean-square displacement, autocorrelation coefficient, and mean-square velocity, from which dispersion coefficients were calculated.For the two particle sizes used in the tests, it was found that the particle diffusion coefficient, after a suitably long time from their release, was influenced primarily by the effect of crossing trajectories. Only in the particle mean-square velocity was the particle inertia seen to have any effect. The ratio of the particle relaxation time to the Kolmogoroff timescale was found to be a good indicator for the effects of particle inertia.

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An analysis of the Lagrangian motion for small particles denser than surrounding fluid in a two-dimensional steady cellular flow is presented. The Stokes drag, fluid acceleration, and added mass effect are included in the particle equation of motion. Although the fluid motion is regular, the particle motion can be either chaotic or regular depending on the Stokes number and density ratio. The implications of chaotic motion to particle mixing and dispersion are discussed. Chaotic orbits lead to the dispersion of particle clouds which has many of the features of turbulent dispersion. The mixing process of particles is greatly enhanced since the chaotic advection has the property of ergodicity. However, a high dispersion rate was found to be correlated with low fractal dimension and low mixing efficiency. A similar correlation between dispersion and mixing was found for particles convected by a plane shear mixing layer.

Little is known about in-canopy processes that may alter forest-atmosphere exchanges of trace gases and aerosols. To improve our understanding of in-canopy mixing, we use large-eddy simulation to study the effect of scalar source/sink distributions on scalar concentration moments, fluxes, and correlation coefficients within and above an ideal forest canopy. Scalars are emitted from: (1) the ground, (2) the canopy, and (3) both the ground and the canopy; a scalar is also deposited onto the canopy. All scalar concentration moments, fluxes, and correlation coefficients are affected by the source location/distribution, as is the scalar segregation intensity. We conclude that vertical source/sink distribution has a profound impact on scalar concentration profiles, fluxes, correlation coefficient, and scalar segregation.