LDA MEASUREMENTS AND CFD MODELING OF GAS-LIQUID FLOW IN A STIRRED VESSEL

Turbulent two-phase flow in a stirred vessel has been investigated exp erimentally and numerically. Mean and turbulent gas velocities are mea sured using a laser/phase Doppler anemometer (LDA/PDA). The effects of varying gas flow rates and impeller rotational speeds on axial, radia l and tangential mean and turbulent velocities at three levels of the vessel are investigated. Furthermore, total gas fractions are measured by observing the level of the liquid surface. A two-dimensional compu tational fluid dynamics (CFD) two-fluid model, with a standard k-epsil on turbulence model, is used to predict the gas-liquid flow. Impellers and baffles are modelled by introducing source and sink terms in the appropriate momentum equations. The numerical results are verified aga inst the experimental data.