Fluent DPM Chp19

Chapter 19.
Discrete Phase Models

This chapter describes the Lagrangian discrete phase capabilities avail-
able in FLUENT and how to use them.
Information is organized into the following sections:
Section 19.1: Overview and Limitations of the Discrete Phase Mod-
els
Section 19.2: Trajectory Calculations
Section 19.3: Heat and Mass Transfer Calculations
Section 19.4: Spray Models
Section 19.5: Coupling Between the Discrete and Continuous Phases
Section 19.6: Overview of Using the Discrete Phase Models
Section 19.7: Discrete Phase Model Options
Section 19.8: Unsteady Particle Tracking
Section 19.9: Setting Initial Conditions for the Discrete Phase
Section 19.10: Setting Boundary Conditions for the Discrete Phase
Section 19.11: Setting Material Properties for the Discrete Phase
Section 19.12: Calculation Procedures for the Discrete Phase
Section 19.13: Postprocessing for the Discrete Phase
c Fluent Inc. December 3, 2001 19-1
19.1 Overview and Limitations of the Discrete Phase
Models
19.1.1 Introduction
In addition to solving transport equations for the continuous phase, FLU-
ENT allows you to simulate a discrete second phase in a Lagrangian frame
of reference. This second phase consists of spherical particles (which may
be taken to represent droplets or bubbles) dispersed in the continuous
phase. FLUENT computes the trajectories of these discrete phase en-
tities, as well as heat and mass transfer to/from them. The coupling
between the phases and its impact on both the discrete phase trajecto-
ries and the continuous phase ow can be included.
FLUENT provides the following discrete phase modeling options:
Calculation of the discrete phase trajectory using a Lagrangian
formulation that includes the discrete phase inertia, hydrodynamic
drag, and the force of gravity, for both steady and unsteady ows
Prediction of the eects of turbulence on the dispersion of particles
due to turbulent eddies present in the continuous phase
Heating/cooling of the discrete phase
Vaporization and boiling of liquid droplets
Combusting particles, including volatile evolution and char com-
bustion to simulate coal combustion
Optional coupling of the continuous phase ow eld prediction to
the discrete phase calculations
Droplet breakup and coalescence
These modeling capabilities allow FLUENT to simulate a wide range
of discrete phase problems including particle separation and classica-
tion, spray drying, aerosol dispersion, bubble stirring of liquids, liquid
fuel combustion, and coal combustion. The physical equations used for
these discrete phase calculations are described in Sections 19.219.5, and
19-2 c Fluent Inc. December 3, 2001
19.1 Overview and Limitations of the Discrete Phase Models
instructions for setup, solution, and postprocessing are provided in Sec-
tions 19.619.13.
19.1.2 Particles in Turbulent Flows
The dispersion of particles due to turbulence in the uid phase can be
predicted using the stochastic tracking model or the particle cloud model
(see Section 19.2.2). The stochastic tracking (random walk) model in-
cludes the eect of instantaneous turbulent velocity uctuations on the
particle trajectories through the use of stochastic methods (see Sec-
tion 19.2.2). The particle cloud model tracks the statistical evolution
of a cloud of particles about a mean trajectory (see Section 19.2.2). The
concentration of particles within the cloud is represented by a Gaus-
sian probability density function (PDF) about the mean trajectory. In
both models, the particles have no direct impact on the generation or
dissipation of turbulence in the continuous phase.
19.1.3 Limitations
Limitation on the Particle Volume Fraction
The discrete phase formulation used by FLUENT contains the assumption
that the second phase is suciently dilute that particle-particle interac-
tions and the eects of the particle volume fraction on the gas phase are
negligible. In practice, these issues imply that the discrete phase must be
present at a fairly low volume fraction, usually less than 1012%. Note
that the mass loading of the discrete phase may greatly exceed 1012%:
you may solve problems in which the mass ow of the discrete phase
equals or exceeds that of the continuous phase. See Chapters 18 and 20
for information about when you might want to use one of the general
multiphase models instead of the discrete phase model.
Limitation on Modeling Continuous Suspensions of Particles
The steady-particle Lagrangian discrete phase model described in this
chapter is suited for ows in which particle streams are injected into a
continuous phase ow with a well-dened entrance and exit condition.
The Lagrangian model does not eectively model ows in which par-
ticles are suspended indenitely in the continuum, as occurs in solid
suspensions within closed systems such as stirred tanks, mixing vessels,
or uidized beds. The unsteady-particle discrete phase model, however,
is capable of modeling continuous suspensions of particles. See Chap-
ters 18 and 20 for information about when you might want to use one of
the general multiphase models instead of the discrete phase models.
Limitations on Using the Discrete Phase Model with Other
FLUENT Models
The following restrictions exist on the use of other models with the dis-
crete phase model:
Streamwise periodic ow (either specied mass ow rate or spec-
ied pressure drop) cannot be modeled when the discrete phase
model is used.
Adaptive time stepping cannot be used with the discrete phase
model.
Only non-reacting particles can be included when the premixed
combustion model is used.
When multiple reference frames are used in conjunction with the
discrete phase model, the display of particle tracks will not, by de-
fault, be meaningful. Similarly, coupled discrete-phase calculations
are not meaningful.
An alternative approach for particle tracking and coupled discrete-
phase calculations with multiple reference frames is to track parti-
cles based on absolute velocity instead of relative velocity. To make
this change, use the define/models/dpm/tracking/track-in-
absolute-frame text command. Note, however, that tracking par-
ticles based on absolute velocity may result in incorrect particle-
wall interaction.
The particle injection velocities (specied in the Set Injection Prop-
erties panel) are dened relative to the frame of reference in which
the particles are tracked. By default, the injection velocities are
19.1 Overview and Limitations of the Discrete Phase Models
specied relative to the local reference frame. If you enable the
track-in-absolute-frameoption, the injection velocities are spec-
ied relative to the absolute frame.
19.1.4 Overview of Discrete Phase Modeling Procedures
You can include a discrete phase in your FLUENT model by dening
the initial position, velocity, size, and temperature of individual parti-
cles. These initial conditions, along with your inputs dening the phys-
ical properties of the discrete phase, are used to initiate trajectory and
heat/mass transfer calculations. The trajectory and heat/mass transfer
calculations are based on the force balance on the particle and on the
convective/radiative heat and mass transfer from the particle, using the
local continuous phase conditions as the particle moves through the ow.
The predicted trajectories and the associated heat and mass transfer can
be viewed graphically and/or alphanumerically.
You can use FLUENT to predict the discrete phase patterns based on
a xed continuous phase ow eld (an uncoupled approach), or you can
include the eect of the discrete phase on the continuum (a coupled
approach). In the coupled approach, the continuous phase ow pattern
is impacted by the discrete phase (and vice versa), and you can alternate
calculations of the continuous phase and discrete phase equations until
a converged coupled solution is achieved. See Section 19.5 for details.
Outline of Steady -State Problem Setup and Solution Procedure
The general procedure for setting up and solving a steady-state discrete-
phase problem is outlined below:
1. Solve the continuous-phase ow.
2. Create the discrete-phase injections.
3. Solve the coupled ow, if desired.
4. Track the discrete-phase injections, using plots or reports.
Outline of Unsteady Problem Setup and Solution Procedure
The general procedure for setting up and solving an unsteady discrete-
phase problem is outlined below:
1. Create the discrete-phase injections.
2. Initialize the ow eld.
3. Advance the solution in time by taking the desired number of time
steps. Particle positions will be updated as the solution advances in
time. If you are solving an uncoupled ow, the particle position will
be updated at the end of each time step. For a coupled calculation,
the positions are iterated on within each time step.
19.2 Trajectory Calculations
19.2.1 Equations of Motion for Particles
Particle Force Balance
FLUENT predicts the trajectory of a discrete phase particle (or droplet or
bubble) by integrating the force balance on the particle, which is written
in a Lagrangian reference frame. This force balance equates the particle
inertia with the forces acting on the particle, and can be written (for the
x direction in Cartesian coordinates) as
du
p
dt
= F
D
(u u
p
) +
g
x
(
p
)
p
+F
x
(19.2-1)
where F
D
(u u
p
) is the drag force per unit particle mass and
F
D
=
18
p
d
2
p
C
D
Re
24
(19.2-2)
Here, u is the uid phase velocity, u
p
is the particle velocity, is the
molecular viscosity of the uid, is the uid density,
p
is the density of
the particle, and d
p
is the particle diameter. Re is the relative Reynolds
number, which is dened as
Re
d
p
|u
p
u|
(19.2-3)
The drag coecient, C
D
, can be taken from either
C
D
= a
1
+
a
2
Re
+
a
3
Re
2
(19.2-4)
where a
1
, a
2
, and a
3
are constants that apply for smooth spherical par-
ticles over several ranges of Re given by Morsi and Alexander [163], or
C
D
=
24
Re
_
1 +b
1
Re
b
2
_
+
b
3
Re
b
4
+ Re
(19.2-5)
where
b
1
= exp(2.3288 6.4581 + 2.4486
2
)
b
2
= 0.0964 + 0.5565
b
3
= exp(4.905 13.8944 + 18.4222
2
10.2599
3
)
b
4
= exp(1.4681 + 12.2584 20.7322
2
+ 15.8855
3
)(19.2-6)
which is taken from Haider and Levenspiel [85]. The shape factor, , is
dened as
=
s
S
(19.2-7)
where s is the surface area of a sphere having the same volume as the
particle, and S is the actual surface area of the particle.
For sub-micron particles, a form of Stokes drag law is available [170]. In
this case, F
D
is dened as
F
D
=
18
d
p
2
p
C
c
(19.2-8)
The factor C
c
is the Cunningham correction to Stokes drag law, which
you can compute from
C
c
= 1 +
2
d
p
(1.257 + 0.4e
(1.1dp/2)
) (19.2-9)
where is the molecular mean free path.
A high-Mach-number drag law is also available. This drag law is similar
to the spherical law (Equation 19.2-4) with corrections [38] to account for
a particle Mach number greater than 0.4 or a particle Reynolds number
greater than 20.
For unsteady models involving discrete phase droplet breakup, a dynamic
drag law option is also available. See Section 19.4.4 for a description of
this law.
Instructions for selecting the drag law are provided in Section 19.7.7.
Including the Gravity Term
While Equation 19.2-1 includes a force of gravity on the particle, it is
important to note that in FLUENT the default gravitational acceleration
is zero. If you want to include the gravity force, you must remember to
dene the magnitude and direction of the gravity vector in the Operating
Conditions panel.
Other Forces
Equation 19.2-1 incorporates additional forces (F
x
) in the particle force
balance that can be important under special circumstances. The rst
of these is the virtual mass force, the force required to accelerate the
uid surrounding the particle. This force can be written as
F
x
=
1
2
p
d
dt
(u u
p
) (19.2-10)
and is important when >
p
. An additional force arises due to the
pressure gradient in the uid:
F
x
=
_

p
_
u
p
u
x
(19.2-11)
Forces in Rotating Reference Frames
The additional force term, F
x
, in Equation 19.2-1 also includes forces on
particles that arise due to rotation of the reference frame. These forces
arise when you are modeling ows in rotating frames of reference (see
Section 9.2). For rotation dened about the z axis, for example, the
forces on the particles in the Cartesian x and y directions can be written
as
_
1

p
_
2
x + 2
_
u
y,p
p
u
y
_
(19.2-12)
where u
y,p
and u
y
are the particle and uid velocities in the Cartesian y
direction, and
_
1

p
_
2
y 2
_
u
x,p
p
u
x
_
(19.2-13)
where u
x,p
and u
x
are the particle and uid velocities in the Cartesian x
direction.
Thermophoretic Force
Small particles suspended in a gas that has a temperature gradient ex-
perience a force in the direction opposite to that of the gradient. This
phenomenon is known as thermophoresis. FLUENT can optionally in-
clude a thermophoretic force on particles in the additional force term,
F
x
, in Equation 19.2-1:
F
x
= D
T,p
1
m
p
T
T
x
(19.2-14)
where D
T,p
is the thermophoretic coecient. You can dene the coe-
cient to be constant, polynomial, or a user-dened function, or you can
use the form suggested by Talbot [237]:
F
x
=
6d
p
2
C
s
(K +C
t
Kn)
(1 + 3C
m
Kn)(1 + 2K + 2C
t
Kn)
1
m
p
T
T
x
(19.2-15)
where: Kn = Knudsen number = 2 /d
p
= mean free path of the uid
K = k/k
p
k = uid thermal conductivity based on translational
energy only = (15/4) R
k
p
= particle thermal conductivity
C
S
= 1.17
C
t
= 2.18
C
m
= 1.14
m
p
= particle mass
T = local uid temperature
= uid viscosity
This expression assumes that the particle is a sphere and that the uid
is an ideal gas.
Brownian Force
For sub-micron particles, the eects of Brownian motion can optionally
be included in the additional force term. The components of the Brow-
nian force are modeled as a Gaussian white noise process with spectral
intensity S
n,ij
given by [135]
S
n,ij
= S
0
ij
(19.2-16)
where
ij
is the Kronecker delta function, and
S
0
=
216T
2
d
5
p
_
p
_
2
C
c
(19.2-17)
T is the absolute temperature of the uid, is the kinematic viscosity,
and is the Stefan-Boltzmann constant. Amplitudes of the Brownian
force components are of the form
F
b
i
=
i
S
o
t
(19.2-18)
where
i
are zero-mean, unit-variance-independent Gaussian random num-
bers. The amplitudes of the Brownian force components are evaluated
at each time step. The energy equation must be enabled in order for
the Brownian force to take eect. Brownian force is intended only for
non-turbulent models.
Samans Lift Force
The Samans lift force, or lift due to shear, can also be included in
the additional force term as an option. The lift force used is from Li
and Ahmadi [135] and is a generalization of the expression provided by
Saman [196]:
F =
2K
1/2
d
ij
p
d
p
(d
lk
d
kl
)
1/4
(v v
p
) (19.2-19)
where K = 2.594 and d
ij
is the deformation tensor. This form of the lift
force is intended for small particle Reynolds numbers. Also, the particle
Reynolds number based on the particle-uid velocity dierence must be
smaller than the square root of the particle Reynolds number based on
the shear eld. Since this restriction is valid for submicron particles, it
is recommended to use this option only for submicron particles.
Stochastic Particle Tracking in Turbulent Flow
When the ow is turbulent, FLUENT will predict the trajectories of par-
ticles using the mean uid phase velocity, u, in the trajectory equations
(Equation 19.2-1). Optionally, you can include the instantaneous value
of the uctuating gas ow velocity,
u = u +u
(19.2-20)
to predict the dispersion of the particles due to turbulence. FLUENT
uses a stochastic method (random walk model) to determine the instan-
taneous gas velocity, as detailed in Section 19.2.2.
Particle Cloud Tracking in Turbulent Flow
Particle dispersion due to turbulent uctuations can also be modeled
with the particle cloud model [14, 15, 99, 141]. The turbulent disper-
sion of particles about a mean trajectory is calculated using statistical
methods. The concentration of particles about the mean trajectory is
represented by a Gaussian probability density function (PDF) whose
variance is based on the degree of particle dispersion due to turbulent
uctuations. The mean trajectory is obtained by solving the ensemble-
averaged equations of motion for all particles represented by the cloud
(see Section 19.2.2).
Integration of the Trajectory Equations
The trajectory equations, and any auxiliary equations describing heat
or mass transfer to/from the particle, are solved by stepwise integration
over discrete time steps. Integration in time of Equation 19.2-1 yields
the velocity of the particle at each point along the trajectory, with the
trajectory itself predicted by
dx
dt
= u
p
(19.2-21)
Equations similar to 19.2-1 and 19.2-21 are solved in each coordinate
direction to predict the trajectories of the discrete phase.
Assuming that the term containing the body force remains constant over
each small time interval, and linearizing any other forces acting on the
particle, the trajectory equation can be rewritten in simplied form as
du
p
dt
=
1
p
(u u
p
) (19.2-22)
where
p
is the particle relaxation time. FLUENT uses a trapezoidal
scheme for integrating Equation 19.2-22:
u
n+1
p
u
n
p
t
=
1
(u
u
n+1
p
) +. . . (19.2-23)
where n represents the iteration number and
u
=
1
2
(u
n
+u
n+1
) (19.2-24)
u
n+1
= u
n
+ tu
n
p
u
n
(19.2-25)
Equations 19.2-21 and 19.2-22 are solved simultaneously to determine
the velocity and position of the particle at any given time. For rotating
reference frames, the integration is carried out in the rotating frame
with the extra terms described above (Equations 19.2-12 and 19.2-13)
to account for system rotation. In all cases, care must be taken that
the time step used for integration is suciently small that the trajectory
integration is accurate in time. (See Section 19.12.)
Droplet Size Distributions
For liquid sprays, a convenient representation of the droplet size distri-
bution is the Rosin-Rammler expression. The complete range of sizes is
divided into an adequate number of discrete intervals; each represented
by a mean diameter for which trajectory calculations are performed. If
the size distribution is of the Rosin-Rammler type, the mass fraction of
droplets of diameter greater than d is given by
Y
d
= e
(d/
d)
n
(19.2-26)
where

d is the size constant and n is the size distribution parameter. Use
of the Rosin-Rammler size distribution is detailed in Section 19.9.7.
Discrete Phase Boundary Conditions
When a particle strikes a boundary face, one of several contingencies
may arise:
Reection via an elastic or inelastic collision.
Escape through the boundary. (The particle is lost from the cal-
culation at the point where it impacts the boundary.)
Trap at the wall. Non-volatile material is lost from the calculation
at the point of impact with the boundary; volatile material present
in the particle or droplet is released to the vapor phase at this point.
Passing through an internal boundary zone, such as radiator or
porous jump.
You also have the option of implementing a user-dened function to
model the particle path. See the separate UDF Manual for information
about user-dened functions.
These boundary condition options are described in detail in Section 19.10.
19.2.2 Turbulent Dispersion of Particles
Turbulent dispersion of particles can be modeled using either a stochas-
tic discrete-particle approach or a cloud representation of a group of
particles about a mean trajectory. In addition, these approaches can
be combined to model a set of clouds about a mean trajectory that
includes the eects of turbulent uctuations in the gas phase velocities.
Turbulent dispersion of particles cannot be included if the Spalart-Allmaras !
turbulence model is used.
Stochastic Tracking
In the stochastic tracking approach, FLUENT predicts the turbulent dis-
persion of particles by integrating the trajectory equations for individual
particles, using the instantaneous uid velocity, u+u
(t), along the par-

ticle path during the integration. By computing the trajectory in this
manner for a sucient number of representative particles (termed the
number of tries), the random eects of turbulence on the particle dis-
persion may be accounted for. In FLUENT, the Discrete Random Walk
(DRW) model is used. In this model, the uctuating velocity compo-
nents are discrete piecewise constant functions of time. Their random
value is kept constant over an interval of time given by the characteristic
lifetime of the eddies.
The DRW model may give non-physical results in strongly inhomoge-
neous diusion-dominated ows, where small particles should become
uniformly distributed. Instead, the DRW will show a tendency for such
particles to concentrate in low-turbulence regions of the ow.
The Integral Time
Prediction of particle dispersion makes use of the concept of the integral
time scale, T, which describes the time spent in turbulent motion along
the particle path, ds:
T =
_

0
u
p
(t)u
p
(t +s)
u
p
2
ds (19.2-27)
The integral time is proportional to the particle dispersion rate, as larger
values indicate more turbulent motion in the ow. It can be shown that
the particle diusivity is given by u
i
u
j
T.
For small tracer particles that move with the uid (zero drift velocity),
the integral time becomes the uid Lagrangian integral time, T
L
. This
time scale can be approximated as
T
L
= C
L
k
(19.2-28)
where C
L
is to be determined and is not well known. By matching
the diusivity of tracer particles, u
i
u
j
T
L
, to the scalar diusion rate
predicted by the turbulence model,
t
/, one can obtain
T
L
0.15
k
(19.2-29)
for the k- model and its variants, and
T
L
0.30
k
(19.2-30)
when the Reynolds stress model (RSM) is used [48]. For the k- models,
substitute = /k into Equation 19.2-28. The LES model uses the
equivalent LES time scales.
The Discrete Random Walk Model
In the Discrete Random Walk (DRW) model, or eddy lifetime model,
the interaction of a particle with a succession of discrete stylized uid
phase turbulent eddies is simulated. Each eddy is characterized by
a Gaussian distributed random velocity uctuation, u
, v
, and w
a time scale,
e
The values of u
, v
, and w
that prevail during the lifetime of the turbu-

lent eddy are sampled by assuming that they obey a Gaussian probability
distribution, so that
u
=
_
u
2
(19.2-31)
where is a normally distributed random number, and the remainder of
the right-hand side is the local RMS value of the velocity uctuations.
Since the kinetic energy of turbulence is known at each point in the
ow, these values of the RMS uctuating components can be obtained
(assuming isotropy) as
_
u
2
=
_
v
2
=
_
w
2
=
_
2k/3 (19.2-32)
for the k- model, the k- model, and their variants. When the RSM
is used, non-isotropy of the stresses is included in the derivation of the
velocity uctuations:
u
=
_
u
2
(19.2-33)
v
=
_
v
2
(19.2-34)
w
=
_
w
2
(19.2-35)
when viewed in a reference frame in which the second moment of the
turbulence is diagonal [274]. For the LES model, the velocity uctuations
are equivalent in all directions. See Section 10.7.3 for details.
The characteristic lifetime of the eddy is dened either as a constant:
e
= 2T
L
(19.2-36)
where T
L
is given by Equation 19.2-28 in general (Equation 19.2-29 by
default), or as a random variation about T
L
:
e
= T
L
log(r) (19.2-37)
where r is a uniform random number between 0 and 1 and T
L
is given by
Equation 19.2-29. The option of random calculation of
e
yields a more
realistic description of the correlation function.
The particle eddy crossing time is dened as
t
cross
= ln
_
1
_
L
e
|u u
p
|
__
(19.2-38)
where is the particle relaxation time, L
e
is the eddy length scale, and
|u u
p
| is the magnitude of the relative velocity.
The particle is assumed to interact with the uid phase eddy over the
smaller of the eddy lifetime and the eddy crossing time. When this
time is reached, a new value of the instantaneous velocity is obtained by
applying a new value of in Equation 19.2-31.
Using the DRW Model
The only inputs required for the DRW model are the value for the integral
time-scale constant, C
L
(see Equations 19.2-28 and 19.2-36) and the
choice of the method used for the prediction of the eddy lifetime. You can
choose to use either a constant value or a random value by selecting the
appropriate option in the Set Injection Properties panel for each injection,
as described in Section 19.9.15.
Turbulent dispersion of particles cannot be included if the Spalart-Allmaras !
turbulence model is used.
Particle Cloud Tracking
The particle cloud model is based on the stochastic transport of particles
model developed by Litchford and Jeng [141], Baxter and Smith [15], and
Jain [99]. The approach uses statistical methods to trace the turbulent
dispersion of particles about a mean trajectory. The mean trajectory is
calculated from the ensemble average of the equations of motion for the
particles represented by the cloud. The cloud enters the domain either
as a point source or with an initial diameter. The cloud expands due
to turbulent dispersion as it is transported through the domain until it
exits. The distribution of particles in the cloud is dened by a probability
density function (PDF) based on the position in the cloud relative to the
cloud center. The value of the PDF represents the probability of nding
particles represented by that cloud with residence time t at location x
i
in the ow eld. The average particle number density can be obtained
by weighting the total ow rate of particles represented by that cloud,
m, as
n(x
i
) = mP(x
i
, t) (19.2-39)
The PDFs for particle position are assumed to be multivariate Gaussian.
These are completely described by their mean,
i
, and variance,
i
2
, and
are of the form
P(x
i
, t) =
1
(8)
3/2
3
i=1
i
e
(s
2
/2)
(19.2-40)
where
s =
3
i=1
x
i
i
(19.2-41)
The mean of the PDF, or the center of the cloud, at a given time rep-
resents the most likely location of the particles in the cloud. The mean
location is obtained by integrating a particle velocity as dened by an
equation of motion for the cloud of particles:
i
(t) x
i
(t) =
_
t
0
V
i
(t
1
)dt
1
+x
i
(0) (19.2-42)
The equations of motion are constructed using an ensemble average.
The radius of the particle cloud is based on the variance of the PDF. The
variance,
2
i
(t), of the PDF can be expressed in terms of two particle
turbulence statistical quantities:
2
i
(t) = 2
_
t
0
u
2
p,i
(t
2
)
_
t
2
0
R
p,ii
(t
2
, t
1
)dt
1
dt
2
(19.2-43)
where u
2
p,i
are the mean square velocity uctuations, and R
p,ij
(t
2
, t
1
)
is the particle velocity correlation function:
R
p,ij
(t
2
, t
1
) =
u
p,i
(t
2
)u
p,j
(t
1
)
_
u
2
p,i
(t
2
)u
2
p,j
(t
2
)
_
1/2
(19.2-44)
By using the substitution = |t
2
t
1
|, and the fact that
R
p,ij
(t
2
, t
1
) = R
p,ij
(t
4
, t
3
) (19.2-45)
whenever |t
2
t
1
| = |t
4
t
3
|, we can write
2
i
(t) = 2
_
t
0
u
2
p,i
(t
2
)
_
t
2
0
R
p,ii
()ddt
2
(19.2-46)
Note that cross correlations in the denition of the variance (R
p,ij
, i = j)
have been neglected.
The form of the particle velocity correlation function used determines
the particle dispersion in the cloud model. FLUENT uses a correlation
function rst proposed by Wang [254], and used by Jain [99]. When the
gravity vector is aligned with the z-coordinate direction, R
ij
takes the
form:
R
p,11
=
u
2
p
e
(/a)
St
T
_
B 0.5m
T
St
2
T
B
2
+ 1
_
+
u
2
e
(B/T)
_
1 +
m
T
St
2
T
B
+ 0.5m
T

T
_
(19.2-47)
R
p,22
= R
p,11
(19.2-48)
R
p,33
=
u
2
St
T
B
e
(/a)
u
2
e
(B/T)
(19.2-49)
where B =
_
1 +m
2
T
2
and
a
is the aerodynamic response time of the
particle:
a
=

p
d
2
p
18
(19.2-50)
and
T =
m
T
T
mE
m
(19.2-51)
T
fE
=
C
3/4
k
3/2
(
2
3
k)
1/2
(19.2-52)
=

a
g
u
(19.2-53)
St =

a
T
mE
(19.2-54)
St
T
=

a
T
(19.2-55)
= St
2
T
(1 +m
2
T
2
) 1 (19.2-56)
m =
u
u
(19.2-57)
T
mE
= T
fE
u
u
(19.2-58)
m
T
= m
_
1
G(m)
(1 + St)
0.4(1+0.01St)
_
(19.2-59)
G(m) =
2
_

0
e
y
2
dy
_
1 +
m
2
_
erf(y)y 1 +e
y
2
_
_
5/2
(19.2-60)
Using this correlation function, the variance is integrated over the life of
the cloud. At any given time, the cloud radius is set to three standard
deviations in the coordinate directions. The cloud radius is limited to
three standard deviations since at least 99.2% of the area under a Gaus-
sian PDF is accounted for at this distance. Once the cells within the
cloud are established, the uid properties are ensemble-averaged for the
mean trajectory, and the mean path is integrated in time. This is done
with a weighting factor dened as
W(x
i
, t)
_
V
cell
P(x
i
, t)dV
_
V
cloud
P(x
i
, t)dV
(19.2-61)
If coupled calculations are performed, sources are distributed to the cells
in the cloud based on the same weighting factors.
Using the Cloud Model
The only inputs required for the cloud model are the values of the min-
imum and maximum cloud diameters. The cloud model is enabled in
the Set Injection Properties panel for each injection, as described in Sec-
tion 19.9.15.
The cloud model is not available for unsteady tracking. !
19.2.3 Particle Erosion and Accretion
Particle erosion and accretion rates can be monitored at wall boundaries.
The erosion rate is dened as
R
erosion
=
N
particles
p=1
m
p
C(d
p
)f()v
b(v)
A
face
(19.2-62)
where C(d
p
) is a function of particle diameter, is the impact angle of
the particle path with the wall face, f() is a function of impact angle, v
is the relative particle velocity, and b(v) is a function of relative particle
velocity. Default values are C = 1, f = 1, and b = 0.
Since C, f, and b are dened as boundary conditions at a wall, rather
than properties of a material, the default values are not updated to reect
the material being used. You will need to specify appropriate values at
all walls. Values of these functions for sand eroding both carbon steel
and aluminum are given by Edwards et al. [60].
Note that the erosion rate as calculated above is displayed as dimension-
less (that is, no units are listed) to provide some exibility. The functions
C and f can be dened so that they account for the wall material density,
resulting in erosion-rate units of length/time (mm/year, for example).
When the default values for C and f are used, the erosion-rate units are
mass of material removed/(area-time).
Note that the particle erosion and accretion rates can be displayed only
when coupled calculations are enabled.
The accretion rate is dened as
R
accretion
=
N
particles
p=1
m
p
A
face
(19.2-63)
19.3 Heat and Mass Transfer Calculations
Using FLUENTs discrete phase modeling capability, reacting particles
or droplets can be modeled and their impact on the continuous phase
can be examined. Several heat and mass transfer relationships, termed
laws, are available in FLUENT and the physical models employed in
these laws are described in this section.
19.3.1 Particle Ty pes in FLUENT
Which laws are to be active depends upon the particle type that you
select. In the Set Injection Properties panel you will specify the Particle
Type, and FLUENT will use a given set of heat and mass transfer laws
for the chosen type. All particle types have pre-dened sequences of
physical laws as shown in the table below:
Particle Type Description Laws Activated
Inert inert/heating or cooling 1, 6
Droplet heating/evaporation/boiling 1, 2, 3, 6
Combusting heating;
evolution of volatiles/swelling;
heterogeneous surface reaction 1, 4, 5, 6
In addition to the above laws, you can dene your own laws using a user-
dened function. See the separate UDF Manual for information about
user-dened functions.
You can also extend combusting particles to include an evaporating/boiling
material by selecting Wet Combustion in the Set Injection Properties panel.
FLUENTs physical laws (Laws 1 through 6), which describe the heat
and mass transfer conditions listed in this table, are explained in detail
in Sections 19.3.219.3.6.
19.3.2 Law 1/Law 6: Inert Heating or Cooling
The inert heating or cooling laws (Laws 1 and 6) are applied while the
particle temperature is less than the vaporization temperature that you
dene, T
vap
, and after the volatile fraction, f
v,0
, of a particle has been
consumed. These conditions may be written as
Law 1:
T
p
< T
vap
(19.3-1)
Law 6:
m
p
(1 f
v,0
)m
p,0
(19.3-2)
where T
p
is the particle temperature, m
p,0
is the initial mass of the
particle, and m
p
is its current mass.
Law 1 is applied until the temperature of the particle/droplet reaches
the vaporization temperature. At this point a non-inert particle/droplet
may proceed to obey one of the mass-transfer laws (2, 3, 4, and/or 5),
returning to Law 6 when the volatile portion of the particle/droplet
has been consumed. (Note that the vaporization temperature, T
vap
,
is thus an arbitrary modeling constant used to dene the onset of the
vaporization/boiling/volatilization laws.)
When using Law 1 or Law 6, FLUENT uses a simple heat balance to
relate the particle temperature, T
p
(t), to the convective heat transfer
and the absorption/emission of radiation at the particle surface:
m
p
c
p
dT
p
dt
= hA
p
(T
T
p
) +
p
A
p
(
4
R
T
4
p
) (19.3-3)
where
m
p
= mass of the particle (kg)
c
p
= heat capacity of the particle (J/kg-K)
A
p
= surface area of the particle (m
2
)
T
= local temperature of the continuous phase (K)

h = convective heat transfer coecient (W/m
2
-K)
p
= particle emissivity (dimensionless)
= Stefan-Boltzmann constant (5.67 x 10
8
W/m
2
-K
4
)
R
= radiation temperature, (
G
4
)
1/4
Equation 19.3-3 assumes that there is negligible internal resistance to
heat transfer, i.e., the particle is at uniform temperature throughout.
G is the incident radiation in W/m
2
:
G =
_
=4
Id (19.3-4)
where I is the radiation intensity and is the solid angle.
Radiation heat transfer to the particle is included only if you have en-
abled the P-1 or discrete ordinates radiation model and you have ac-
tivated radiation heat transfer to particles using the Particle Radiation
Interaction option in the Discrete Phase Model panel.
Equation 19.3-3 is integrated in time using an approximate, linearized
form that assumes that the particle temperature changes slowly from
one time value to the next:
m
p
c
p
dT
p
dt
= A
p
_
_
h +
p
T
3
p
_
T
p
+
_
hT
+
p
4
R
__
(19.3-5)
As the particle trajectory is computed, FLUENT integrates Equation 19.3-5
to obtain the particle temperature at the next time value, yielding
T
p
(t + t) =
p
+ [T
p
(t)
p
]e
pt
(19.3-6)
where t is the integration time step and
p
=
hT
+
p
4
R
h +
p
T
3
p
(t)
(19.3-7)
and
p
=
A
p
(h +
p
T
3
p
(t))
m
p
c
p
(19.3-8)
FLUENT can also solve Equation 19.3-5 in conjunction with the equiva-
lent mass transfer equation using a sti coupled solver. See Section 19.7.3
for details.
The heat transfer coecient, h, is evaluated using the correlation of Ranz
and Marshall [185, 186]:
Nu =
hd
p
k
= 2.0 + 0.6Re
1/2
d
Pr
1/3
(19.3-9)
where
d
p
= particle diameter (m)
k
= thermal conductivity of the continuous phase (W/m-K)

Re
d
= Reynolds number based on the particle diameter and
the relative velocity (Equation 19.2-3)
Pr = Prandtl number of the continuous phase (c
p
/k
)
Finally, the heat lost or gained by the particle as it traverses each compu-
tational cell appears as a source or sink of heat in subsequent calculations
of the continuous phase energy equation. During Laws 1 and 6, parti-
cles/droplets do not exchange mass with the continuous phase and do
not participate in any chemical reaction.
19.3.3 Law 2: Droplet Vaporization
Law 2 is applied to predict the vaporization from a discrete phase droplet.
Law 2 is initiated when the temperature of the droplet reaches the va-
porization temperature, T
vap
, and continues until the droplet reaches the
boiling point, T
bp
, or until the droplets volatile fraction is completely
consumed:
T
p
< T
bp
(19.3-10)
m
p
> (1 f
v,0
)m
p,0
(19.3-11)
The onset of the vaporization law is determined by the setting of T
vap
,
a temperature that has no other physical signicance. Note that once
vaporization is initiated (by the droplet reaching this threshold temper-
ature), it will continue even if the droplet temperature falls below T
vap
.
Vaporization will be halted only if the droplet temperature falls below
the dew point. In such cases, the droplet will remain in Law 2 but no
evaporation will be predicted. When the boiling point is reached, the
droplet vaporization is predicted by a boiling rate, Law 3, as described
in Section 19.3.4.
Mass Transfer During Law 2
During Law 2, the rate of vaporization is governed by gradient diusion,
with the ux of droplet vapor into the gas phase related to the gradient
of the vapor concentration between the droplet surface and the bulk gas:
N
i
= k
c
(C
i,s
C
i,
) (19.3-12)
where
N
i
= molar ux of vapor (kgmol/m
2
-s)
k
c
= mass transfer coecient (m/s)
C
i,s
= vapor concentration at the droplet surface (kgmol/m
3
)
C
i,
= vapor concentration in the bulk gas (kgmol/m
3
)
Note that FLUENTs vaporization law assumes that N
i
is positive (evap-
oration). If conditions exist in which N
i
is negative (i.e., the droplet
temperature falls below the dew point and condensation conditions ex-
ist), FLUENT treats the droplet as inert (N
i
= 0.0).
The concentration of vapor at the droplet surface is evaluated by as-
suming that the partial pressure of vapor at the interface is equal to the
saturated vapor pressure, p
sat
, at the particle droplet temperature, T
p
:
C
i,s
=
p
sat
(T
p
)
RT
p
(19.3-13)
where R is the universal gas constant.
The concentration of vapor in the bulk gas is known from solution of
the transport equation for species i or from the PDF look-up table for
non-premixed or partially premixed combustion calculations:
C
i,
= X
i
p
op
RT
(19.3-14)
where X
i
is the local bulk mole fraction of species i, p
op
is the operating
pressure, and T
is the local bulk temperature in the gas.

The mass transfer coecient in Equation 19.3-12 is calculated from a
Nusselt correlation [185, 186]:
Nu
AB
=
k
c
d
p
D
i,m
= 2.0 + 0.6Re
1/2
d
Sc
1/3
(19.3-15)
where D
i,m
= diusion coecient of vapor in the bulk (m
2
/s)
Sc = the Schmidt number,

D
i,m
d
p
= particle (droplet) diameter (m)
The vapor ux given by Equation 19.3-12 becomes a source of species i
in the gas phase species transport equation, as specied by you (see Sec-
tion 19.11) or from the PDF look-up table for non-premixed combustion
calculations.
The mass of the droplet is reduced according to
m
p
(t + t) = m
p
(t) N
i
A
p
M
w,i
t (19.3-16)
where M
w,i
= molecular weight of species i (kg/kgmol)
m
p
= mass of the droplet (kg)
A
p
= surface area of the droplet (m
2
)
lent heat transfer equation using a sti coupled solver. See Section 19.7.3
for details.
Dening the Vapor Pressure and Diusion Coecient
You dene the vapor pressure as a polynomial or piecewise linear function
of temperature (p
sat
(T)) during the problem denition. Note that the
vapor pressure denition is critical, as p
sat
is used to obtain the driving
force for the evaporation process (Equations 19.3-12 and 19.3-13). You
should provide accurate vapor pressure values for temperatures over the
entire range of possible droplet temperatures in your problem. Vapor
pressure data can be obtained from a physics or engineering handbook
(e.g., [175]).
You also input the diusion coecient, D
i,m
, during the setup of the
discrete phase material properties. Note that the diusion coecient
inputs that you supply for the continuous phase are not used in the
discrete phase model.
Heat Transfer to the Droplet
Finally, the droplet temperature is updated according to a heat balance
that relates the sensible heat change in the droplet to the convective and
latent heat transfer between the droplet and the continuous phase:
m
p
c
p
dT
p
dt
= hA
p
(T
T
p
) +
dm
p
dt
h
fg
+A
p
p
(
R
4
T
p
4
) (19.3-17)
where c
p
= droplet heat capacity (J/kg-K)
T
p
= droplet temperature (K)
h = convective heat transfer coecient (W/m
2
-K)
T
= temperature of continuous phase (K)

dmp
dt
= rate of evaporation (kg/s)
h
fg
= latent heat (J/kg)
p
= particle emissivity (dimensionless)
= Stefan-Boltzmann constant (5.67 x 10
8
W/m
2
-K
4
)
R
= radiation temperature, (
I
4
)
1/4
, where I is the
radiation intensity
The heat transferred to or from the gas phase becomes a source/sink
of energy during subsequent calculations of the continuous phase energy
equation.
19.3.4 Law 3: Droplet Boiling
Law 3 is applied to predict the convective boiling of a discrete phase
droplet when the temperature of the droplet has reached the boiling
temperature, T
bp
, and while the mass of the droplet exceeds the non-
volatile fraction, (1 f
v,0
):
T
p
T
bp
(19.3-18)
and
m
p
> (1 f
v,0
)m
p,0
(19.3-19)
When the droplet temperature reaches the boiling point, a boiling rate
equation is applied [120]:
d(d
p
)
dt
=
4k
p
c
p,
d
p
(1 + 0.23
_
Re
d
) ln
_
1 +
c
p,
(T
T
p
)
h
fg
_
(19.3-20)
where c
p,
= heat capacity of the gas (J/kg-K)
p
= droplet density (kg/m
3
)
k
= thermal conductivity of the gas (W/m-K)

Equation 19.3-20 has been derived assuming steady ow at constant pres-
sure. Note that the model requires T
> T
bp
in order for boiling to occur
and that the droplet remains at xed temperature (T
bp
) throughout the
boiling law.
When radiation heat transfer is active, FLUENT uses a slight modica-
tion of Equation 19.3-20, derived by starting from Equation 19.3-17 and
assuming that the droplet temperature is constant. This yields
dm
p
dt
h
fg
= hA
p
(T
T
p
) +A
p
p
(
R
4
T
p
4
) (19.3-21)
or
d(d
p
)
dt
=
2
p
h
fg
_
k
Nu
d
p
(T
T
p
) +
p
(
4
R
T
4
p
)
_
(19.3-22)
Using Equation 19.3-9 for the Nusselt number correlation and replacing
the Prandtl number term with an empirical constant, Equation 19.3-22
becomes
d(d
p
)
dt
=
2
p
h
fg
_
2k
[1 + 0.23
Re
d
]
d
p
(T
T
p
) +
p
(
4
R
T
4
p
)
_
(19.3-23)
In the absence of radiation, this result matches that of Equation 19.3-20
in the limit that the argument of the logarithm is close to unity. FLU-
ENT uses Equation 19.3-23 when radiation is active in your model and
Equation 19.3-20 when radiation is not active. Radiation heat transfer
to the particle is included only if you have enabled the P-1 or discrete
ordinates radiation model and you have activated radiation heat transfer
to particles using the Particle Radiation Interaction option in the Discrete
Phase Model panel.
The droplet is assumed to stay at constant temperature while the boiling
rate is applied. Once the boiling law is entered it is applied for the
duration of the particle trajectory. The energy required for vaporization
appears as a (negative) source term in the energy equation for the gas
phase. The evaporated liquid enters the gas phase as species i, as dened
by your input for the destination species (see Section 19.11).
19.3.5 Law 4: Devolatilization
The devolatilization law is applied to a combusting particle when the
temperature of the particle reaches the vaporization temperature, T
vap
,
and remains in eect while the mass of the particle, m
p
, exceeds the
mass of the non-volatiles in the particle:
T
p
T
vap
and T
p
T
bp
(19.3-24)
and
m
p
> (1 f
v,0
)(1 f
w,0
)m
p,0
(19.3-25)
where f
w,0
is the mass fraction of the evaporating /boiling material if
Wet Combustion is selected (otherwise, f
w,0
= 0). As implied by Equa-
tion 19.3-24, the boiling point T
bp
and the vaporization temperature T
vap
should be set equal to each other when Law 4 is to be used. When wet
combustion is active, T
bp
and T
vap
refer to the boiling and evaporation
temperatures for the combusting material only.
FLUENT provides a choice of four devolatilization models:
the constant rate model (the default model)
the single kinetic rate model
the two competing rates model (the Kobayashi model)
the chemical percolation devolatilization (CPD) model
Each of these models is described, in turn, below.
Choosing the Devolatilization Model
You will choose the devolatilization model when you are setting physical
properties for the combusting-particle material in the Materials panel,
as described in Section 19.11.2. By default, the constant rate model
(Equation 19.3-26) will be used.
The Constant Rate Devolatilization Model
The constant rate devolatilization law dictates that volatiles are released
at a constant rate [13]:
1
f
v,0
(1 f
w,0
)m
p,0
dm
p
dt
= A
0
(19.3-26)
where m
p
= particle mass (kg)
f
v,0
= fraction of volatiles initially present in the particle
m
p,0
= initial particle mass (kg)
A
0
= rate constant (s
1
)
The rate constant A
0
is dened as part of your modeling inputs, with a
default value of 12 s
1
derived from the work of Pillai [180] on coal com-
bustion. Proper use of the constant devolatilization rate requires that
the vaporization temperature, which controls the onset of devolatiliza-
tion, be set appropriately. Values in the literature show this temperature
to be about 600 K [13].
The volatile fraction of the particle enters the gas phase as the devolatiliz-
ing species i, dened by you (see Section 19.11). Once in the gas phase,
the volatiles may react according to the inputs governing the gas phase
chemistry.
The Single Kinetic Rate Model
The single kinetic rate devolatilization model assumes that the rate of
devolatilization is rst-order dependent on the amount of volatiles re-
maining in the particle [5]:
dm
p
dt
= k[m
p
(1 f
v,0
)(1 f
w,0
)m
p,0
] (19.3-27)
where m
p
= particle mass (kg)
f
v,0
= mass fraction of volatiles initially present in the
particle
f
w,0
= mass fraction of evaporating/boiling material (if
wet combustion is modeled)
m
p,0
= initial particle mass (kg)
k = kinetic rate (s
1
)
Note that f
v,0
, the fraction of volatiles in the particle, should be de-
ned using a value slightly in excess of that determined by proximate
analysis. The kinetic rate, k, is dened by input of an Arrhenius type
pre-exponential factor and an activation energy:
k = A
1
e
(E/RT)
(19.3-28)
FLUENT uses default rate constants, A
1
and E, as given in [5].
Equation 19.3-27 has the approximate analytical solution:
m
p
(t + t) = (1 f
v,0
)(1 f
w,0
)m
p,0
+
[m
p
(t) (1 f
v,0
)(1 f
w,0
)m
p,0
]e
kt
(19.3-29)
which is obtained by assuming that the particle temperature varies only
slightly between discrete time integration steps.
lent heat transfer equation using a sti coupled solver. See Section 19.7.3
for details.
The Two Competing Rates Kobay ashi Model
FLUENT also provides the kinetic devolatilization rate expressions of the
form proposed by Kobayashi [117]:
R
1
= A
1
e
(E
1
/RTp)
(19.3-30)
R
2
= A
2
e
(E
2
/RTp)
(19.3-31)
where R
1
and R
2
are competing rates that may control the devolatiliza-
tion over dierent temperature ranges. The two kinetic rates are weighted
to yield an expression for the devolatilization as
m
v
(t)
(1 f
w,0
)m
p,0
m
a
=
_
t
0
(
1
R
1
+
2
R
2
) exp
_
_
t
0
(R
1
+R
2
) dt
_
dt
(19.3-32)
where m
v
(t) = volatile yield up to time t
m
p,0
= initial particle mass at injection
1
,
2
= yield factors
m
a
= ash content in the particle
The Kobayashi model requires input of the kinetic rate parameters, A
1
,
E
1
, A
2
, and E
2
, and the yields of the two competing reactions,
1
and
2
. FLUENT uses default values for the yield factors of 0.3 for the rst
(slow) reaction and 1.0 for the second (fast) reaction. It is recommended
in the literature [117] that
1
be set to the fraction of volatiles determined
by proximate analysis, since this rate represents devolatilization at low
temperature. The second yield parameter,
2
, should be set close to
unity, which is the yield of volatiles at very high temperature.
By default, Equation 19.3-32 is integrated in time analytically, assuming
the particle temperature to be constant over the discrete time integra-
tion step. FLUENT can also solve Equation 19.3-32 in conjunction with
the equivalent heat transfer equation using a sti coupled solver. See
Section 19.7.3 for details.
The CPD Model
In contrast to the coal devolatilization models presented above, which
are based on empirical rate relationships, the chemical percolation de-
volatilization (CPD) model characterizes the devolatilization behavior of
rapidly heated coal based on the physical and chemical transformations
of the coal structure [68, 69, 81].
General Description
During coal pyrolysis, the labile bonds between the aromatic clusters in
the coal structure lattice are cleaved, resulting in two general classes of
fragments. One set of fragments has a low molecular weight (and corre-
spondingly high vapor pressure) and escapes from the coal particle as a
light gas. The other set of fragments consists of tar gas precursors that
have a relatively high molecular weight (and correspondingly low vapor
pressure) and tend to remain in the coal for a long period of time during
typical devolatilization conditions. During this time, reattachment with
the coal lattice (which is referred to as crosslinking) can occur. The high
molecular weight compounds plus the residual lattice are referred to as
metaplast. The softening behavior of a coal particle is determined by the
quantity and nature of the metaplast generated during devolatilization.
The portion of the lattice structure that remains after devolatilization is
comprised of char and mineral-compound-based ash.
The CPD model characterizes the chemical and physical processes by
considering the coal structure as a simplied lattice or network of chem-
ical bridges that link the aromatic clusters. Modeling the cleavage of
the bridges and the generation of light gas, char, and tar precursors is
then considered to be analogous to the chemical reaction scheme shown
in Figure 19.3.1.

k
b
*
2 2g
1
c+ 2g
2
k
c
k

k
g
Figure 19.3.1: Coal Bridge
The variable represents the original population of labile bridges in
the coal lattice. Upon heating, these bridges become the set of reactive
bridges,
. For the reactive bridges, two competing paths are available.

In one path, the bridges react to form side chains, . The side chains
may detach from the aromatic clusters to form light gas, g
1
. As bridges
between neighboring aromatic clusters are cleaved, a certain fraction of
the coal becomes detached from the coal lattice. These detached aro-
matic clusters are the heavy-molecular-weight tar precursors that form
the metaplast. The metaplast vaporizes to form coal tar. While wait-
ing for vaporization, the metaplast can also reattach to the coal lattice
matrix (crosslinking). In the other path, the bridges react and become
a char bridge, c, with the release of an associated light gas product,
g
2
. The total population of bridges in the coal lattice matrix can be
represented by the variable p, where p = +c.
Reaction Rates
Given this set of variables that characterizes the coal lattice structure
during devolatilization, the following set of reaction rate expressions
can be dened for each, starting with the assumption that the reac-
tive bridges are destroyed at the same rate at which they are created
(
t
= 0):
d
dt
= k
b
(19.3-33)
dc
dt
= k
b
+ 1
(19.3-34)
d
dt
=
_
2k
b
+ 1
_
k
g
(19.3-35)
dg
1
dt
= k
g
(19.3-36)
dg
2
dt
= 2
dc
dt
(19.3-37)
where the rate constants for bridge breaking and gas release steps, k
b
and k
g
, are expressed in Arrhenius form with a distributed activation
energy:
k = Ae
(EE)/RT
(19.3-38)
where A, E, and E
are, respectively, the pre-exponential factor, the ac-

tivation energy, and the distributed variation in the activation energy, R
is the universal gas constant, and T is the temperature. The ratio of rate
constants, = k
/k
c
, is set to 0.9 in this model based on experimental
data.
Mass Conservation
The following mass conservation relationships are imposed:
g = g
1
+g
2
(19.3-39)
g
1
= 2f (19.3-40)
g
2
= 2(c c
0
) (19.3-41)
where f is the fraction of broken bridges (f = 1 p). The initial condi-
tions for this system are given by the following:
c(0) = c
0
(19.3-42)
(0) =
0
= p
0
c
0
(19.3-43)
(0) = 2f
0
= 2(1 c
0
0
) (19.3-44)
g(0) = g
1
(0) = g
2
(0) = 0 (19.3-45)
where c
0
is the initial fraction of char bridges, p
0
is the initial fraction of
bridges in the coal lattice, and
0
is the initial fraction of labile bridges
in the coal lattice.
Fractional Change in the Coal Mass
Given the set of reaction equations for the coal structure parameters, it
is necessary to relate these quantities to changes in coal mass and the
related release of volatile products. To accomplish this, the fractional
change in the coal mass as a function of time is divided into three parts:
light gas (f
gas
), tar precursor fragments (f
frag
), and char (f
char
). This
is accomplished by using the following relationships, which are obtained
using percolation lattice statistics:
f
gas
(t) =
r(g
1
+g
2
)( + 1)
4 + 2r(1 c
0
)( + 1)
(19.3-46)
f
frag
(t) =
2
2 +r(1 c
0
)( + 1)
[F(p) +rK(p)] (19.3-47)
f
char
(t) = 1 f
gas
(t) f
frag
(t) (19.3-48)
The variables , , F(p), and K(p) are the statistical relationships re-
lated to the cleaving of bridges based on the percolation lattice statistics,
and are given by the following equations:
= 1 +r
_
p
+
( 1)
4(1 p)
_
(19.3-49)
=

2(1 p)

p
(19.3-50)
F(p) =
_
p
p
_
+1
1
(19.3-51)
K(p) =
_
1
_
+ 1
2
_
p
_ _
p
p
_
+1
1
(19.3-52)
r is the ratio of bridge mass to site mass, m
b
/m
a
, where
m
b
= 2M
w,
(19.3-53)
m
a
= M
w,1
( + 1)M
w,
(19.3-54)
where M
w,
and M
w,1
are the side chain and cluster molecular weights re-
spectively. +1 is the lattice coordination number, which is determined
from solid-state Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) measurements re-
lated to coal structure parameters, and p
is the root of the following

equation in p (the total number of bridges in the coal lattice matrix):
p
(1 p
)
1
= p(1 p)
1
(19.3-55)
In accounting for mass in the metaplast (tar precursor fragments), the
part that vaporizes is treated in a manner similar to ash vaporization,
where it is assumed that the nite fragments undergo vapor/liquid phase
equilibration on a time scale that is rapid with respect to the bridge
reactions. As an estimate of the vapor/liquid that is present at any time,
a vapor pressure correlation based on a simple form of Raoults Law is
used. The vapor pressure treatment is largely responsible for predicting
pressure-dependent devolatilization yields. For the part of the metaplast
that reattaches to the coal lattice, a cross-linking rate expression given
by the following equation is used:
dm
cross
dt
= m
frag
A
cross
e
(Ecross/RT)
(19.3-56)
where m
cross
is the amount of mass reattaching to the matrix, m
frag
is the
amount of mass in the tar precursor fragments (metaplast), and A
cross
and E
cross
are rate expression constants.
CPD Inputs
Given the set of equations and corresponding rate constants introduced
for the CPD model, the number of constants that must be dened to use
the model is a primary concern. For the relationships dened previously,
it can be shown that the following parameters are coal-independent [68]:
A
b
, E
b
, E
b
, A
g
, E
g
, and E
g
for the rate constants k
b
and k
g
A
cross
, E
cross
, and
These constants are included in the submodel formulation and are not
input or modied during problem setup.
There are an additional ve parameters that are coal-specic and must
be specied during the problem setup:
initial fraction of bridges in the coal lattice, p
0
initial fraction of char bridges, c
0
lattice coordination number, + 1
cluster molecular weight, M
w,1
side chain molecular weight, M
w,
The rst four of these are coal structure quantities that are obtained
from NMR experimental data. The last quantity, representing the char
bridges that either exist in the parent coal or are formed very early in the
devolatilization process, is estimated based on the coal rank. These quan-
tities are entered in the Materials panel as described in Section 19.11.2.
Values for the coal-dependent parameters for a variety of coals are listed
in Table 19.3.1.
Table 19.3.1: Chemical Structure Parameters for
13
C NMR for 13 Coals
Coal Type + 1 p
0
M
w,1
M
w,
c
0
Zap (AR) 3.9 .63 277 40 .20
Wyodak (AR) 5.6 .55 410 42 .14
Utah (AR) 5.1 .49 359 36 0
Ill6 (AR) 5.0 .63 316 27 0
Pitt8 (AR) 4.5 .62 294 24 0
Stockton (AR) 4.8 .69 275 20 0
Freeport (AR) 5.3 .67 302 17 0
Pocahontas (AR) 4.4 .74 299 14 .20
Blue (Sandia) 5.0 .42 410 47 .15
Rose (AFR) 5.8 .57 459 48 .10
1443 (lignite, ACERC) 4.8 .59 297 36 .20
1488 (subbituminous, ACERC) 4.7 .54 310 37 .15
1468 (anthracite, ACERC) 4.7 .89 656 12 .25
AR refers to eight types of coal from the Argonne premium sample bank [224, 251].
Sandia refers to the coal examined at Sandia National Laboratories [67]. AFR refers
to coal examined at Advanced Fuel Research. ACERC refers to three types of coal
examined at the Advanced Combustion Engineering Research Center.
Particle Swelling During Devolatilization
The particle diameter changes during the devolatilization according to
the swelling coecient, C
sw
, which is dened by you and applied in the
following relationship:
d
p
d
p,0
= 1 + (C
sw
1)
(1 f
w,0
)m
p,0
m
p
f
v,0
(1 f
w,0
)m
p,0
(19.3-57)
where d
p,0
= particle diameter at the start of devolatilization
d
p
= current particle diameter
The term
(1f
w,0
)m
p,0
mp
f
v,0
(1f
w,0
)m
p,0
is the ratio of the mass that has been de-
volatilized to the total volatile mass of the particle. This quantity ap-
proaches a value of 1.0 as the devolatilization law is applied. When the
swelling coecient is equal to 1.0, the particle diameter stays constant.
When the swelling coecient is equal to 2.0, the nal particle diameter
doubles when all of the volatile component has vaporized, and when the
swelling coecient is equal to 0.5 the nal particle diameter is half of its
initial diameter.
Heat Transfer to the Particle During Devolatilization
Heat transfer to the particle during the devolatilization process includes
contributions from convection, radiation (if active), and the heat con-
sumed during devolatilization:
m
p
c
p
dT
p
dt
= hA
p
(T
T
p
) +
dm
p
dt
h
fg
+A
p
p
(
R
4
T
p
4
) (19.3-58)
By default, Equation 19.3-58 is solved analytically, by assuming that the
temperature and mass of the particle do not change signicantly between
time steps:
T
p
(t + t) =
p
+ [T
p
(t)
p
]e
pt
(19.3-59)
where
p
=
hA
p
T
+
dmp
dt
h
fg
+A
p
R
4
hA
p
+
p
A
p
T
p
3
(19.3-60)
and
p
=
A
p
(h +
p
T
p
3
)
m
p
c
p
(19.3-61)
lent mass transfer equation using a sti coupled solver. See Section 19.7.3
for details.
19.3.6 Law 5: Surface Combustion
After the volatile component of the particle is completely evolved, a
surface reaction begins, which consumes the combustible fraction, f
comb
,
of the particle. Law 5 is thus active (for a combusting particle) after the
volatiles are evolved:
m
p
< (1 f
v,0
)(1 f
w,0
)m
p,0
(19.3-62)
and until the combustible fraction is consumed:
m
p
> [(1 f
v,0
)(1 f
w,0
) f
comb
]m
p,0
(19.3-63)
When the combustible fraction, f
comb
, has been consumed in Law 5, the
combusting particle may contain residual ash that reverts to the inert
heating law, Law 6 (see Section 19.3.2).
With the exception of the multiple surface reactions model, the surface
combustion law consumes the reactive content of the particle as governed
by the stoichiometric requirement, S
b
, of the surface burnout reaction:
char(s) +S
b
ox(g) products(g) (19.3-64)
where S
b
is dened in terms of mass of oxidant per mass of char, and the
oxidant and product species are dened in the Set Injection Properties
panel.
FLUENT provides a choice of four heterogeneous surface reaction rate
models for combusting particles:
the diusion-limited rate model (the default model)
the kinetics/diusion-limited rate model
the intrinsic model
the multiple surface reactions model
Each of these models is described in detail below. You will choose the
surface combustion model when you are setting physical properties for
the combusting-particle material in the Materials panel, as described in
Section 19.11.2. By default, the diusion-limited rate model will be used.
Diusion-Limited Surface Reaction Rate Model
The diusion-limited surface reaction rate model, the default model in
FLUENT, assumes that the surface reaction proceeds at a rate determined
by the diusion of the gaseous oxidant to the surface of the particle:
dm
p
dt
= 4d
p
D
i,m
Y
ox
T
g
S
b
(T
p
+T
)
(19.3-65)
where D
i,m
= diusion coecient for oxidant in the bulk (m
2
/s)
Y
ox
= local mass fraction of oxidant in the gas
g
= gas density (kg/m
3
)
S
b
= stoichiometry of Equation 19.3-64
Equation 19.3-65 is derived from the model of Baum and Street [13]
with the kinetic contribution to the surface reaction rate ignored. The
diusion-limited rate model assumes that the diameter of the particles
does not change. Since the mass of the particles is decreasing, the eec-
tive density decreases, and the char particles become more porous.
Kinetic/Diusion Surface Reaction Rate Model
The kinetic/diusion-limited rate model assumes that the surface reac-
tion rate is determined either by kinetics or by a diusion rate. FLUENT
uses the model of Baum and Street [13] and Field [65], in which a diu-
sion rate coecient
D
0
= C
1
[(T
p
+T
)/2]
0.75
d
p
(19.3-66)
and a kinetic rate
R = C
2
e
(E/RTp)
(19.3-67)
are weighted to yield a char combustion rate of
dm
p
dt
= d
2
p
p
ox
D
0
R
D
0
+R
(19.3-68)
where p
ox
is the partial pressure of oxidant species in the gas surrounding
the combusting particle, and the kinetic rate, R, incorporates the eects
of chemical reaction on the internal surface of the char particle (intrinsic
reaction) and pore diusion. In FLUENT, Equation 19.3-68 is recast in
terms of the oxidant mass fraction, Y
ox
, as
dm
p
dt
= d
2
p
RTY
ox
M
w,ox
D
0
R
D
0
+R
(19.3-69)
The particle size is assumed to remain constant in this model while the
density is allowed to decrease.
When this model is enabled, the rate constants used in Equations 19.3-66
and 19.3-67 are entered in the Materials panel, as described in Sec-
tion 19.11.
Intrinsic Model
The intrinsic model in FLUENT is based on Smiths model [218], assum-
ing the order of reaction is equal to unity. Like the kinetic/diusion
model, the intrinsic model assumes that the surface reaction rate in-
cludes the eects of both bulk diusion and chemical reaction (see Equa-
tion 19.3-69). The intrinsic model uses Equation 19.3-66 to compute the
diusion rate coecient, D
0
, but the chemical rate, R, is explicitly ex-
pressed in terms of the intrinsic chemical and pore diusion rates:
R =
d
p
6

p
A
g
k
i
(19.3-70)
is the eectiveness factor, or the ratio of the actual combustion rate to
the rate attainable if no pore diusion resistance existed [130]:
=
3
2
(coth 1) (19.3-71)
where is the Thiele modulus:
=
d
p
2
_
S
b
p
A
g
k
i
p
ox
D
e
C
ox
_
1/2
(19.3-72)
C
ox
is the concentration of oxidant in the bulk gas (kg/m
3
) and D
e
is
the eective diusion coecient in the particle pores. Assuming that the
pore size distribution is unimodal and the bulk and Knudsen diusion
proceed in parallel, D
e
is given by
D
e
=

2
_
1
D
Kn
+
1
D
0
_
1
(19.3-73)
where D
0
is the bulk molecular diusion coecient and is the porosity
of the char particle:
= 1

p
t
(19.3-74)
p
and
t
are, respectively, the apparent and true densities of the pyrol-
ysis char.
(in Equation 19.3-73) is the tortuosity of the pores. The default value
for in FLUENT is

2, which corresponds to an average intersecting
angle between the pores and the external surface of 45
[130].
D
Kn
is the Knudsen diusion coecient:
D
Kn
= 97.0r
p
T
p
M
w,ox
(19.3-75)
where T
p
is the particle temperature and r
p
is the mean pore radius
of the char particle, which can be measured by mercury porosimetry.
Note that macropores (r
p
> 150

A) dominate in low-rank chars while
micropores (r
p
< 10

A) dominate in high-rank chars [130].
A
g
(in Equations 19.3-70 and 19.3-72) is the specic internal surface
area of the char particle, which is assumed in this model to remain
constant during char combustion. Internal surface area data for various
pyrolysis chars can be found in [217]. The mean value of the internal
surface area during char combustion is higher than that of the pyrolysis
char [130]. For example, an estimated mean value for bituminous chars
is 300 m
2
/g [33].
k
i
(in Equations 19.3-70 and 19.3-72) is the intrinsic reactivity, which is
of Arrhenius form:
k
i
= A
i
e
(E
i
/RTp)
(19.3-76)
where the pre-exponential factor A
i
and the activation energy E
i
can
be measured for each char. In the absence of such measurements, the
default values provided by FLUENT (which are taken from a least squares
t of data of a wide range of porous carbons, including chars [217]) can
be used.
To allow a more adequate description of the char particle size (and hence
density) variation during combustion, you can specify the burning mode
, relating the char particle diameter to the fractional degree of burnout
U (where U = 1 m
p
/m
p,0
) by [216]
d
p
d
p,0
= (1 U)
(19.3-77)
where m
p
is the char particle mass and the subscript zero refers to initial
conditions (i.e., at the start of char combustion). Note that 0
1/3 where the limiting values 0 and 1/3 correspond, respectively, to a
constant size with decreasing density (zone 1) and a decreasing size with
constant density (zone 3) during burnout. In zone 2, an intermediate
value of = 0.25, corresponding to a decrease of both size and density,
has been found to work well for a variety of chars [216].
When this model is enabled, the rate constants used in Equations 19.3-66,
19.3-70, 19.3-72, 19.3-73, 19.3-75, 19.3-76, and 19.3-77 are entered in the
Materials panel, as described in Section 19.11.
The Multiple Surface Reactions Model
Modeling multiple char reactions follows the same pattern as the wall
surface reaction models, where the surface species is now a particle sur-
face species. The particle surface species can be depleted or produced
by the stoichiometry of the particle surface reaction (dened in the Reac-
tions panel) for the mixture material dened in the Species Model panel.
If a particle surface species is depleted, the reactive char content of
the particle is consumed. In turn, if a surface species is produced by
the particle surface reaction, the species is added to the particle residual
ash mass. Any number of particle surface species and any number of
particle surface reactions can be dened for any given combusting par-
ticle; however, you must have only one particle surface species in the
reactants list of a particle reaction.
Multiple injections can be accommodated, and combusting particles re-
acting according to the multiple surface reactions model can coexist in
the calculation with combusting particles following other char combus-
tion laws. The model is based on oxidation studies of char particles,
but it is applicable to gas-solid reactions in general, not only to char
oxidation reactions.
See Section 13.3 for information about particle surface reactions.
Limitations
Note the following limitations of the multiple surface reactions model:
The model is not available together with the unsteady tracking
option.
The model is available only with the species transport model for
volumetric reactions, and not with the non-premixed, premixed, or
partially premixed combustion models.
Heat and Mass Transfer During Char Combustion
The surface reaction consumes the oxidant species in the gas phase;
i.e., it supplies a (negative) source term during the computation of the
transport equation for this species. Similarly, the surface reaction is a
source of species in the gas phase: the product of the heterogeneous
surface reaction appears in the gas phase as a user-selected chemical
species. The surface reaction also consumes or produces energy, in an
amount determined by the heat of reaction dened by you.
The particle heat balance during surface reaction is
m
p
c
p
dT
p
dt
= hA
p
(T
T
p
) f
h
dm
p
dt
H
reac
+A
p
p
(
R
4
T
p
4
) (19.3-78)
where H
reac
is the heat released by the surface reaction. Note that only
a portion (1f
h
) of the energy produced by the surface reaction appears
as a heat source in the gas-phase energy equation: the particle absorbs a
fraction f
h
of this heat directly. For coal combustion, it is recommended
that f
h
be set at 1.0 if the char burnout product is CO and 0.3 if the
char burnout product is CO
2
[24].
By default, Equation 19.3-78 is solved analytically, by assuming that the
temperature and mass of the particle do not change signicantly between
time steps. FLUENT can also solve Equation 19.3-78 in conjunction with
the equivalent mass transfer equation using a sti coupled solver. See
19.3.7 Using Combusting Particles for General Heterogeneous
Surface Reactions
The combusting particle type in FLUENT is presented with a focus on
modeling of coal particle combustion. You can, however, use this particle
type to model general heterogeneous reactions on particles in which a
solid particle reacts with a gas-phase component to form a single gas-
phase product. For example,
4Al(s) + 3Cl
2
(g) 2Al
2
Cl
3
(g)
This can be accomplished by simply omitting the devolatilization process
(Law 4) by setting the fraction of volatiles to zero. In this case the surface
reaction law, Law 5, provides a general heterogeneous surface reaction
that consumes a gas-phase oxidant and produces a gas-phase product
species dened by you.
19.4 Spray Models
19.4 Spray Models
In addition to the simple injection types described in Section 19.9.2,
FLUENT also provides more complex injection types for sprays. For
most types of injections, you will need to provide the initial diameter,
position, and velocity of the particles. For sprays, however, there are
models available for droplet breakup and collision, as well as a drag
coecient that accounts for variation in droplet shape. These models
for realistic spray simulations are described in this section.
Information is organized into the following subsections:
Section 19.4.1: Atomizer Models
Section 19.4.2: Droplet Collision Model
Section 19.4.3: Spray Breakup Models
Section 19.4.4: Dynamic Drag Model
19.4.1 Atomizer Models
Five atomizer models are available in FLUENT:
plain-orice atomizer
pressure-swirl atomizer
at-fan atomizer
air-blast/air-assisted atomizer
eervescent/ashing atomizer
You can choose them as injection types and dene the associated param-
eters in the Set Injection Properties panel, as described in Section 19.9.2.
Details about the atomizer models are provided below.
General Information
All of the models use physical and numerical atomizer parameters, such
as orice diameter and mass ow rate, to calculate initial droplet size,
velocity, and position.
For realistic atomizer simulations, the droplets must be randomly dis-
tributed, both through a dispersion angle and in their time of release.
For the other types of injections in FLUENT (non-atomizer), all of the
droplets are released along xed trajectories and at the beginning of the
time step. The atomizer models use stochastic trajectory selection and
staggering to attain random distribution.
Stochastic trajectory selection is the random dispersion of initial droplet
directions. All of the atomizer models provide an initial dispersion angle,
and the stochastic trajectory selection picks an initial direction within
this angle. This approach improves the accuracy of the results for spray-
dominated ows. The droplets will be more evenly spread among the
computational cells near the atomizer, which improves the coupling to
the gas phase by spreading drag more smoothly over the cells near the
injection.
The Plain-Orice Atomizer Model
The plain-orice is the most common type of atomizer and the most
simply made. However there is nothing simple about the physics of the
internal nozzle ow and the external atomization. In the plain-orice
atomizer, the liquid is accelerated through a nozzle, forms a liquid jet,
and then forms droplets. This apparently simple process is dauntingly
complex. The plain orice may operate in three dierent regimes: single-
phase, cavitating, and ipped [225]. The transition between regimes is
abrupt, producing dramatically dierent sprays. The internal regime
determines the velocity at the orice exit, as well as the initial droplet
size and the angle of droplet dispersion. Diagrams of each case are shown
in Figures 19.4.1, 19.4.2, and 19.4.3.
19.4 Spray Models
downstream
gas
liquid jet
orifice walls
d
L
p
1
p
2
r
Figure 19.4.1: Single-Phase Nozzle Flow (Liquid completely lls the ori-
ce.)
vapor
vapor
downstream
gas
liquid jet
orifice walls
Figure 19.4.2: Cavitating Nozzle Flow (Vapor pockets form just after
the inlet corners.)
downstream
gas
liquid jet
orifice walls
Figure 19.4.3: Flipped Nozzle Flow (Downstream gas surrounds the liq-
uid jet inside the nozzle.)
Internal Nozzle State
The plain-orice model must identify the correct state for the nozzle ow,
because the internal nozzle state has a tremendous eect on the external
spray. Unfortunately, there is no established theory for determining the
nozzle state. One must rely on empirical models that x experimental
data. A suggested list of the governing parameters for the internal nozzle
ow is given in Table 19.4.1.
Table 19.4.1: List of Governing Parameters for Internal Nozzle Flow
nozzle diameter d
nozzle length L
radius of curvature of the inlet corner r
upstream pressure p
1
downstream pressure p
2
viscosity
liquid density
l
vapor pressure p
v
These may be combined to form geometric non-dimensional groups such
as r/d and L/d, as well as the Reynolds number based on head (Re
h
)
19.4 Spray Models
and a cavitation parameter (K).
Re
h
=
d
l
2(p
1
p
2
)
l
(19.4-1)
K =
p
1
p
v
p
1
p
2
(19.4-2)
The liquid ow often contracts in the nozzle, as can be seen in Fig-
ures 19.4.2 and 19.4.3. Nurick [166] found it helpful to use a coecient
of contraction (C
c
) that represents the area of the stream of contracting
liquid over the total cross-sectional area of the nozzle. FLUENT uses
Nuricks t for the coecient of contraction:
C
c
=
1
_
1
Cct
11.4r
d
(19.4-3)
C
ct
is a theoretical constant equal to 0.611, which comes from potential
ow analysis of ipped nozzles.
Another important parameter used to describe the performance of noz-
zles is the coecient of discharge (C
d
). The coecient of discharge is a
ratio of the mass ow rate through the nozzle, divided by the theoretical
maximum mass ow rate:
C
d
=
m
A
_
2
l
(p
1
p
2
)
(19.4-4)
The cavitation number (K in Equation 19.4-2) is an essential parameter
for predicting the inception of cavitation. The inception of cavitation is
known to occur at a value of K
incep
1.9 for short, sharp-edged nozzles.
However, to include some of the eects of inlet rounding and viscosity,
an empirical relationship is used:
K
incep
= 1.9
_
1
r
d
_
2
1000
Re
h
(19.4-5)
Similarly, a critical value of K where ip occurs is dened as K
crit
:
K
crit
= 1 +
1
_
1 +
L
4d
_ _
1 +
2000
Re
h
_
e
70r/d
(19.4-6)
If r/d is greater than 0.05, then ip is deemed impossible and K
crit
is
set to 1.0.
These variables are then used in a decision tree to identify the nozzle
state. The decision tree is shown in Figure 19.4.4. Depending on the
state of the nozzle, a unique closure is chosen for the above equations.
For a single-phase nozzle [137],
C
du
= 0.827 0.0085
L
d
(19.4-7)
C
d
=
1
1
C
du
+ 20
(1+2.25L/d)
Re
h
(19.4-8)
Equation 19.4-7 is for the ultimate coecient of discharge, C
du
. Equa-
tion 19.4-8 corrects this ultimate coecient of discharge for the eects
of viscosity.
For a cavitating nozzle [166],
C
d
= C
c
K (19.4-9)
For a ipped nozzle [166],
C
d
= C
ct
(19.4-10)
All of the nozzle ow equations are solved iteratively, along with the
appropriate relationship for coecient of discharge as given by the nozzle
state. The nozzle state may change as the upstream or downstream
pressures change. Once the nozzle state is determined, the exit velocity
is found, and appropriate correlations for spray angle and initial droplet
size distribution are determined.
19.4 Spray Models
flipped cavitating flipped single phase
K < K K K K <K K K
K K K > K
incep
crit
incep
crit crit
crit
Figure 19.4.4: Decision Tree for the State of the Cavitating Nozzle
Exit Velocity
The estimate of exit velocity (u) for the single-phase nozzle comes from
conservation of mass and the assumption of a uniform exit velocity:
u =
m
l
A
(19.4-11)
For the cavitating nozzle, Schmidt and Corradini [204] have shown that
the uniform exit velocity is not accurate. Instead, they derived an ex-
pression for a higher velocity over a reduced area:
u =
2C
c
p
1
p
2
+ (1 2C
c
)p
v
C
c
_
2
l
(p
1
p
v
)
(19.4-12)
This analytical relation is used for cavitating nozzles in FLUENT.
For the case of ip, the exit velocity is found from conservation of mass
and the value of the reduced ow area:
u =
m
l
C
ct
A
(19.4-13)
Spray Angle
The correlation for spray angle () comes from the work of Ranz [184]:
2
= tan
1
_
4
C
A
_
3
6
_
(19.4-14)
2
= 0.01 (19.4-15)
Equation 19.4-14 describes the spray angle for both single-phase and
cavitating nozzles. For ipped nozzles, the spray angle has a constant
value (Equation 19.4-15).
C
A
is thought to be a constant for a given nozzle geometry. You must
choose the value for C
A
. The larger the value, the narrower the spray.
Reitz [189] suggests the following correlation for C
A
:
C
A
= 3 +
L
3.6d
(19.4-16)
The spray angle is sensitive to the internal ow regime of the nozzle.
Hence, you may wish to choose smaller values of C
A
for cavitating nozzles
than for single-phase nozzles. Typical values are from 4.0 to 6.0. The
spray angle for ipped nozzles is a small, arbitrary value that represents
the lack of any turbulence or initial disturbance from the nozzle.
Droplet Diameter Distribution
Finally, there must be a droplet diameter distribution for the injection.
The droplet diameter distribution is closely related to the nozzle state.
FLUENTs spray models use the most probable droplet size and a spread
parameter to dene the Rosin-Rammler distribution. For more informa-
tion about the Rosin-Rammler size distribution, see Section 19.9.7.
For single-phase nozzle ows, the correlation of Wu et al. [270] is used.
This correlation relates the initial drop size to the estimated turbulence
quantities of the liquid jet:
19.4 Spray Models
d
32
= 133.0We
0.74
(19.4-17)
where d
32
is the Sauter mean diameter, is the length scale, and We is
the Weber number, which, in this case, is dened to be
We

l
u
2
(19.4-18)
where = d/8 and is the droplet surface tension. For a more de-
tailed discussion of droplet surface tension and the Weber number, see
Section 19.4.3.
For cavitating nozzles, FLUENT uses a slight modication to Equa-
tion 19.4-17. The initial jet diameter used in Wus correlation is cal-
culated from the eective area of the cavitating orice exit. For an
explanation of eective area of cavitating nozzles, see Schmidt and Cor-
radini [204].
The length scale for a cavitating nozzle is = d
e
/8, where
d
e
=
4 m
l
u
(19.4-19)
For the case of the ipped nozzle, the initial droplet diameter is set to
the diameter of the liquid jet:
d
0
= d
_
C
ct
(19.4-20)
where d
0
is dened as the most probable diameter.
The values for the spread parameter, s, are chosen from past modeling
experience and from a review of experimental observations. Table 19.4.2
lists the values of s for the three kinds of nozzles:
The larger the value of the spread parameter, the narrower the droplet
size distribution. The function that samples the Rosin-Rammler dis-
tribution uses the most probable diameter and the spread parameter.
Table 19.4.2: Values of Spread Parameter for Dierent Nozzle States
State Spread Parameter
single phase 3.5
cavitating 1.5
ipped
Since the correlations of Wu et al. provide the Sauter mean diameter,
d
32
, these must be converted to the most probable diameter, d
0
. Lefeb-
vre [132] gives the most general relationship between the Sauter mean
diameter and most probable diameter for a Rosin-Rammler distribution.
The simplied version for s=3.5 is as follows:
d
0
= 1.2726d
32
_
1
1
s
_
1/s
(19.4-21)
At this point, the initialization of the droplets is complete.
The Pressure-Swirl Atomizer Model
Another important type of atomizer is the pressure-swirl atomizer, some-
times referred to by the gas-turbine community as a simplex atomizer.
This type of atomizer accelerates the liquid through nozzles known as
swirl ports into a central swirl chamber. The swirling liquid pushes
against the walls of the swirl chamber and develops a hollow air core.
It then emerges from the orice as a thinning sheet, which is unstable,
breaking up into ligaments and droplets. The pressure-swirl atomizer is
very widely used for liquid-fuel combustion in gas turbines, oil furnaces,
and direct-injection spark-ignited automobile engines. The transition
from internal injector ow to fully-developed spray can be divided into
three steps: lm formation, sheet breakup, and atomization. A sketch
of how this process is thought to occur is shown in Figure 19.4.5.
The interaction between the air and the sheet is not well understood. It
is generally accepted that an aerodynamic instability causes the sheet
19.4 Spray Models
film formation
atomization
sheet breakup
Figure 19.4.5: Theoretical Progression from the Internal Atomizer Flow
to the External Spray
to break up. The mathematical analysis below assumes that Kelvin-
Helmholtz waves grow on the sheet and eventually break the liquid into
ligaments. It is then assumed that the ligaments break up into droplets
due to varicose instability. Once the liquid forms droplets, the spray
behavior is determined by drag, collision, coalescence, and secondary
breakup.
The model used in this study is called the Linearized Instability Sheet
Atomization (LISA) model of Schmidt et al. [206]. The LISA model is
divided into two stages:
1. lm formation
2. sheet breakup and atomization
Both parts of the model are described below. The implementation is
slightly improved from that of Schmidt et al. [206].
Film Formation
The centrifugal motion of the liquid within the injector creates an air
core surrounded by a liquid lm. The thickness of this lm, t, is related
to the mass ow rate by
m = ut(d
inj
t) (19.4-22)
where d
inj
is the injector exit diameter, and m is the mass ow rate,
which must be measured experimentally. The other unknown in Equa-
tion 19.4-22 is u, the axial component of velocity at the injector exit.
This quantity depends on internal details of the injector and is di-
cult to calculate from rst principles. Instead, the approach of Han et
al. [86] is used. The total velocity is assumed to be related to the injector
pressure by
U = k
v
2p
l
(19.4-23)
Lefebvre [132] has noted that k
v
is a function of the injector design
and injection pressure. If the swirl ports are treated as nozzles, Equa-
tion 19.4-23 is then an expression for the coecient of discharge for the
swirl ports, assuming that the majority of the pressure drop through the
injector occurs at the ports. The coecient of discharge (C
d
) for single-
phase nozzles with sharp inlet corners and an L/d of 4 is typically 0.78
or less [137]. If the nozzles are cavitating, the value of C
d
may be as low
as 0.61. Hence, 0.78 should be a practical upper bound for k
v
. Reducing
k
v
by 10% to allow for other momentum losses in the injector gives an
estimate of 0.7.
Physical limits on k
v
are such that it must be less than unity by con-
servation of energy, and it must be large enough to permit sucient
mass ow. To guarantee that the size of the air core is non-negative, the
following expression is used for k
v
:
k
v
= max
_
0.7,
4 m
d
2
0
l
cos
_

l
2p
_
(19.4-24)
19.4 Spray Models
Assuming that p is known, Equation 19.4-23 can be used to nd U.
Once U is determined, u is found from
u = U cos (19.4-25)
where is the spray angle, which is assumed to be known. The tan-
gential component of velocity is assumed equal to the radial component
further downstream. The axial component of velocity is assumed to be
a constant value.
Sheet Breakup and Atomization
The pressure-swirl atomizer includes the eects of the surrounding gas,
liquid viscosity, and surface tension on the breakup of the liquid sheet.
Details of the theoretical development of the model are given in Senecal
et al. [207] and are only briey presented here. For a more accurate and
robust implementation, the gas-phase velocity is neglected in calculating
the relative liquid-gas velocity. This decision avoids depending on the
usually under-resolved gas-phase velocity eld around the injector.
The model assumes that a two-dimensional, viscous, incompressible liq-
uid sheet of thickness 2h moves with velocity U through a quiescent,
inviscid, incompressible gas medium. The liquid and gas have densities
of
l
and
g
, respectively, and the viscosity of the liquid is
l
. A co-
ordinate system is used that moves with the sheet, and a spectrum of
innitesimal disturbances of the form
=
0
e
ikx+t
(19.4-26)
is imposed on the initially steady, motion-producing uctuating velocities
and pressures for both the liquid and the gas. In Equation 19.4-26
0
is the initial wave amplitude, k = 2/ is the wave number, and =
r
+ i
i
is the complex growth rate. The most unstable disturbance
has the largest value of
r
, denoted here by , and is assumed to be
responsible for sheet breakup. Thus, it is desired to obtain a dispersion
relation = (k) from which the most unstable disturbance can be
deduced.
Squire [229] and Hagerty and Shea [84] have shown that two solutions,
or modes, exist that satisfy the liquid governing equations subject to
the boundary conditions at the upper and lower interfaces. For the
rst solution, called the sinuous mode, the waves at the upper and lower
interfaces are exactly in phase. On the other hand, for the varicose mode,
the waves are radians out of phase. It has been shown by numerous
authors (e.g., Senecal et al. [207]) that the sinuous mode dominates the
growth of varicose waves for low velocities and low gas-to-liquid density
ratios. In addition, it can be shown that the sinuous and varicose modes
become indistinguishable for high-velocity ows. As a result, the present
discussion focuses on the growth of sinuous waves on the liquid sheet.
As derived in Senecal et al. [207], the dispersion relation for the sinuous
mode is given by
2
[tanh(kh) +Q] + [4
l
k
2
tanh(kh) + 2iQkU]+
4
l
k
4
tanh(kh) 4
2
l
k
3
tanh(h) QU
2
k
2
+
k
3
l
= 0 (19.4-27)
where Q =
g
/
l
and
2
= k
2
+/
l
.
It can be shown that above a critical Weber number of We
g
= 27/16
(based on the relative velocity, the gas density, and the sheet half-thick-
ness), the fastest-growing waves are short. Below 27/16, the wavelengths
are long compared to the sheet thickness. The speed of modern fuel
injection is high enough that the lm Weber number is often well above
this critical limit.
Li and Tankin [136] derived a dispersion relation similar to Equation
19.4-27 for a viscous sheet from a linear analysis with a stationary coor-
dinate system. While Li and Tankins dispersion relation is quite general,
a simplied relation has been presented in Senecal et al. [207] for use in
multi-dimensional simulations of pressure-swirl atomizers. The resulting
expression for the growth rate is given by
r
=
1
tanh(kh) +Q
_
2
l
k
2
tanh(kh) +
19.4 Spray Models
4
2
l
k
4
tanh
2
(kh) Q
2
U
2
k
2
[tanh(kh) +Q]
_
QU
2
k
2
+
k
3
l
_
_
_
_
(19.4-28)
Two main assumptions have been made to reduce Equation 19.4-27 to
Equation 19.4-28. First, an order-of-magnitude analysis using typical
values from the inviscid solutions shows that the terms of second order
in viscosity can be neglected in comparison to the other terms in Equa-
tion 19.4-28. In addition, the density ratio Q is on the order of 10
3
in
typical applications and hence it is assumed that Q 1.
The physical mechanism of sheet disintegration proposed by Dombrowski
and Johns [52] is adopted only for long waves. For long waves, ligaments
are assumed to form from the sheet breakup process once the unstable
waves reach a critical amplitude. If the surface disturbance has reached
a value of
b
at breakup, a breakup time, , can be evaluated:
b
=
0
e
ln
_
0
_
(19.4-29)
where , the maximum growth rate, is found by numerically maximizing
Equation 19.4-28 as a function of k. The maximum is found using a
binary search that checks the sign of the derivative. The sheet breaks
up and ligaments will be formed at a length given by
L
b
= U =
U
ln
_
0
_
(19.4-30)
where the quantity ln(
0
) is an empirical constant from 3 to 12. You
must specify the value for this constant, which has a default value of 12.
The diameter of the ligaments formed at the point of breakup can be
obtained from a mass balance. If it is assumed that the ligaments are
formed from tears in the sheet once per wavelength, the resulting diam-
eter is given by
d
L
=
8h
K
s
(19.4-31)
where K
s
is the wave number corresponding to the maximum growth
rate, . The ligament diameter depends on the sheet thickness, which is
a function of the breakup length. The lm thickness is calculated from
the breakup length and the radial distance from the center line to the
mid-line of the sheet at the atomizer exit, r
0
:
h
end
=
r
0
h
0
r
0
+L
b
sin
_
2
_ (19.4-32)
This mechanism is not logical for short waves. For short waves, the
determination of the ligament diameter is simpler. The value of d
L
is
assumed to be linearly proportional to the wavelength that breaks up
the sheet. FLUENT allows you to control the constant of proportional-
ity. The wavelength is calculated from the wave number, K
s
. In either
the long wave or the short wave case, the breakup from ligaments to
droplets is assumed to behave according to Webers [257] analysis for
capillary instability. The variable Oh is the Ohnesorge number and is a
combination of Reynolds number and Weber number (see Section 19.4.3
for more details about Oh):
d
0
= 1.88d
L
(1 + 3Oh)
1/6
(19.4-33)
This procedure determines the most probable droplet size. The spread
parameter is assumed to be 3.5, based on past modeling experience [205].
You will specify the spray cone angle. The dispersion angle of the spray
is assumed to be a xed value of 6
.
The Air-Blast/Air-Assist Atomizer Model
In order to accelerate the breakup of liquid sheets from an atomizer, an
additional air stream is often directed through the atomizer. The liquid
is formed into a sheet by a nozzle, and the air is then directed against
the sheet to promote atomization. This technique is called air-assisted
atomization or air-blast atomization, depending on the quantity of air
and its velocity. The addition of the external air stream past the sheet
produces smaller droplets than without the air. The exact mechanism for
19.4 Spray Models
this enhanced performance is not completely understood. It is thought
that the assisting air may accelerate the sheet instability. The air may
also help disperse the droplets, preventing collisions between them. Air-
assisted atomization is used in many of the same elds as pressure-swirl
atomization, where especially ne atomization is required.
FLUENTs air-blast atomization model is a variation of the pressure-swirl
model. One dierence is that you set the sheet thickness directly in the
air-blast atomizer model. This input is necessary because of the variety
of sheet formation mechanisms used in air-blast atomizers. Hence the air-
blast atomizer model does not contain the sheet formation equations that
were included in the pressure-swirl atomizer model (Equations 19.4-22
19.4-25). You will also specify the maximum relative velocity that is
produced by the sheet and air. Though this quantity could be calculated,
specifying a value relieves you from the necessity of nely resolving the
atomizer internal ow. This feature is convenient for simulations in large
domains, where the atomizer is very small by comparison.
Another dierence is that the air-blast atomizer model assumes that
the sheet breakup is always due to short waves. This assumption is
a consequence of the greater sheet thickness commonly found in air-
blast atomizers. Hence the ligament diameter is assumed to be linearly
proportional to the wavelength of the fastest-growing wave on the sheet.
Other inputs are similar to the pressure-swirl model. You must provide
the mass ow rate and spray angle. The angle in the case of the air-blast
atomizer is the initial trajectory of the lm as it leaves the end of the
orice. The value of the angle is negative if the initial lm trajectory is
inward, towards the centerline. You will also provide the inner and outer
diameter of the lm at the atomizer exit.
The air-blast atomizer model does not include the internal gas ows. You
must create the atomizing air streams as a boundary condition within
the FLUENT case. These streams are ordinary continuous-phase ows
and require no special treatment.
The Flat-Fan Atomizer Model
The at-fan atomizer is very similar to the pressure-swirl atomizer, but
it makes a at sheet and does not use swirl. The liquid emerges from a
wide, thin orice as a at liquid sheet that breaks up into droplets. The
primary atomization process is thought to be similar to the pressure-swirl
atomizer. Some researchers believe that at-fan atomization, because of
jet impingement, is very similar to the atomization of a at sheet. The
at-fan model could serve doubly for this application.
The at-fan atomizer is available only for 3D models. An image of the
three-dimensional at fan is shown in Figure 19.4.6. The model assumes
that the fan originates from a virtual origin. You will provide the location
of this origin, which is the intersection of the lines that mark the sides of
the fan. You will also provide the location of the center point of the arc
from which the fan originates. FLUENT will nd the vector that points
from the origin to the center point in order to determine the direction
of the injection. You will also provide the half-angle of the fan arc, the
width of the orice (in the normal direction), and the mass ow rate of
the liquid.
normal vector
virtual origin
center point
Figure 19.4.6: Flat Fan Viewed From Above and From the Side
19.4 Spray Models
The breakup of the at fan is calculated very much like the breakup
of the sheet in the pressure-swirl atomizer. The sheet breaks up into
ligaments that then form droplets. The only dierence is that for short
waves, the at fan sheet is assumed to form ligaments at half-wavelength
intervals. Hence the ligament diameter for short waves is given by
d
L
=
16h
K
s
(19.4-34)
The Rosin-Rammler spread parameter is assumed to be 3.5 and the
dispersion angle is set to 6
. In all other respects, the at-fan atomizer

model is like the sheet breakup portion of the pressure-swirl atomizer.
Eervescent Atomizer Model
Eervescent atomization is the injection of liquid infused with a super-
heated (with respect to downstream conditions) liquid or propellant.
As the volatile liquid exits the nozzle, it rapidly changes phase. This
phase change quickly breaks up the stream into small droplets with a
wide dispersion angle. The model also applies to cases where a very hot
liquid is discharged.
Since the physics of eervescence is not well understood, the model must
rely on rough empirical ts. The photographs of Reitz [189] provide some
basic insights. These photographs show a dense liquid core to the spray,
surrounded by a wide shroud of smaller droplets.
The initial velocity of the droplets is computed from conservation of
mass, assuming the exiting jet has a cross-sectional area that is C
ct
times the nozzle area, where C
ct
is a constant that you specify during
the problem setup:
u =
m
l
C
ct
A
(19.4-35)
The maximum droplet diameter is set to the eective diameter of the
exiting jet:
d
max
= d
_
C
ct
(19.4-36)
The droplet size is then sampled from a Rosin-Rammler distribution
with a spread parameter of 4.0 (see Section 19.9.7). The most probable
droplet size depends on the angle, , between the droplets stochastic
trajectory and the injection direction:
d
0
= d
max
e
(/s)
2
(19.4-37)
The dispersion angle multiplier,
s
, is computed from the quality, x, and
the specied value for the dispersion constant, C
e
:
s
=
x
C
e
(19.4-38)
This technique creates a spray with large droplets in the central core
and a shroud of smaller surrounding droplets. The droplet temperature
is initialized to the initial temperature fraction, f, times the saturation
temperature of the droplets. f should be slightly less than 1.0, because
the droplet temperatures should be close to boiling. To complete the
model, the ashing vapor must also be included in the calculation. This
vapor is part of the continuous phase and not part of the discrete phase
model. You must create an inlet at the point of injection when you
specify boundary conditions for the continuous phase.
When the eervescent atomizer model is selected, you will need to specify
the nozzle diameter, mass ow rate, mixture quality, saturation temper-
ature of the volatile substance, temperature fraction, spray half-angle,
and dispersion constant.
19.4.2 Droplet Collision Model
Introduction
When your simulation includes unsteady tracking of droplets, FLUENT
provides an option for estimating the number of droplet collisions and
their outcomes in a computationally ecient manner. The diculty in
19.4 Spray Models
any collision calculation is that for N droplets, each droplet has N 1
possible collision partners. Thus, the number of possible collision pairs is
approximately
1
2
N
2
. (The factor of
1
2
appears because droplet A colliding
with droplet B is identical to droplet B colliding with droplet A. This
symmetry reduces the number of possible collision events by half.)
An important consideration is that the collision algorithm must calculate
1
2
N
2
possible collision events at every time step. Since a spray can consist
of several million droplets, the computational cost of a collision calcu-
lation from rst principles is prohibitive. This motivates the concept of
parcels. Parcels are statistical representations of a number of individual
droplets. For example, if FLUENT tracks a set of parcels, each of which
represents 1000 droplets, the cost of the collision calculation is reduced
by a factor of 10
6
. Because the cost of the collision calculation still scales
with the square of N, the reduction of cost is signicant; however, the
eort to calculate the possible intersection of so many parcel trajectories
would still be prohibitively expensive.
The algorithm of ORourke [168] eciently reduces the computational
cost of the spray calculation. Rather than using geometry to see if parcel
paths intersect, ORourkes method is a stochastic estimate of collisions.
ORourke also makes the assumption that two parcels may collide only
if they are located in the same continuous-phase cell. These two as-
sumptions are valid only when the continuous-phase cell size is small
compared to the size of the spray. For these conditions, the method of
ORourke is second-order accurate at estimating the chance of collisions.
The concept of parcels together with the algorithm of ORourke makes
the calculation of collision possible for practical spray problems.
Once it is decided that two parcels of droplets collide, the algorithm
further determines the type of collision. Only coalescence and bouncing
outcomes are considered. The probability of each outcome is calculated
from the collisional Weber number and a t to experimental observations.
The properties of the two colliding parcels are modied based on the
outcome of the collision.
Use and Limitations
The collision model assumes that the frequency of collisions is much less
than the particle time step. If the particle time step is too large, then
the results may be time-step-dependent. You should adjust the particle
length scale accordingly. Additionally, the model is most applicable for
low-Weber-number collisions where collisions result in bouncing and co-
alescence. Above a collisional Weber number of about 100, the outcome
of collision could be shattering.
Sometimes the collision model can cause grid-dependent artifacts to ap-
pear in the spray. This is a result of the assumption that droplets can
collide only within the same cell. These tend to be visible when the
source of injection is at a mesh vertex. The coalescence of droplets tends
to cause the spray to pull away from cell boundaries. In two dimensions,
a ner mesh and more computational droplets can be used to reduce
these eects. In three dimensions, best results are achieved when the
spray is modeled using a polar mesh with the spray at the center.
Theory
As noted above, ORourkes algorithm assumes that two droplets may
collide only if they are in the same continuous-phase cell. This assump-
tion can prevent droplets that are quite close to each other, but not in
the same cell, from colliding, although the eect of this error is lessened
by allowing some droplets that are farther apart to collide. The overall
accuracy of the scheme is second-order in space.
Probability of Collision
The probability of collision of two droplets is derived from the point of
view of the larger droplet, called the collector droplet and identied below
with the number 1. The smaller droplet is identied in the following
derivation with the number 2. The calculation is in the frame of reference
of the larger droplet so that the velocity of the collector droplet is zero.
Only the relative distance between the collector and the smaller droplet is
important in this derivation. If the smaller droplet is on a collision course
with the collector, the centers will pass within a distance of r
1
+r
2
. More
19.4 Spray Models
precisely, if the smaller droplet center passes within a at circle centered
around the collector of area (r
1
+ r
2
)
2
perpendicular to the trajectory
of the smaller droplet, a collision will take place. This disk can be used
to dene the collision volume, which is the area of the aforementioned
disk multiplied by the distance traveled by the smaller droplet in one
time step, namely (r
1
+r
2
)
2
v
rel
t.
The algorithm of ORourke uses the concept of a collision volume to
calculate the probability of collision. Rather than calculate if the position
of the smaller droplet center is within the collision volume, the algorithm
calculates the probability of the smaller droplet being within the collision
volume. It is known that the smaller droplet is somewhere within the
continuous-phase cell of volume V . If there is a uniform probability of
the droplet being anywhere within the cell, then the chance of the droplet
being within the collision volume is the ratio of the two volumes. Thus,
the probability of the collector colliding with the smaller droplet is
P
1
=
(r
1
+r
2
)
2
v
rel
t
V
(19.4-39)
Equation 19.4-39 can be generalized for parcels, where there are n
1
and
n
2
droplets in the collector and smaller droplet parcels, respectively. The
collector undergoes a mean expected number of collisions given by
n =
n
2
(r
1
+r
2
)
2
v
rel
t
V
(19.4-40)
The actual number of collisions that the collector experiences is not gen-
erally the mean expected number of collisions. The probability distribu-
tion of the number of collisions follows a Poisson distribution, according
to ORourke, which is given by
P(n) = e
n
n
n
n!
(19.4-41)
where n is the number of collisions between a collector and other droplets.
Collision Outcomes
Once it is determined that two parcels collide, the outcome of the col-
lision must be determined. In general, the outcome tends to be coales-
cence if the droplets collide head-on, and bouncing if the collision is more
oblique. The critical oset is a function of the collisional Weber number
and the relative radii of the collector and the smaller droplet.
The critical oset is calculated by ORourke using the expression
b
crit
= (r
1
+r
2
)
min
_
1.0,
2.4f
We
_
(19.4-42)
where f is a function of r
1
/r
2
, dened as
f
_
r
1
r
2
_
=
_
r
1
r
2
_
3
2.4
_
r
1
r
2
_
2
+ 2.7
_
r
1
r
2
_
(19.4-43)
The value of the actual collision parameter, b, is (r
1
+r
2
)
Y , where Y is
a uniform deviate. The calculated value of b is compared to b
crit
, and if
b < b
crit
, the result of the collision is coalescence. Equation 19.4-41 gives
the number of smaller droplets that coalesce with the collector. The
properties of the coalesced droplets are found from the basic conservation
laws.
In the case of a grazing collision, the new velocities are calculated based
on conservation of momentum and kinetic energy. It is assumed that
some fraction of the kinetic energy of the droplets is lost to viscous
dissipation and angular momentum generation. This fraction is related
to b, the collision oset parameter. Using assumed forms for the energy
loss, ORourke derived the following expression for the new velocity:
v
1
=
m
1
v
1
+m
2
v
2
+m
2
(v
1
v
2
)
m
1
+m
2
_
b b
crit
r
1
+r
2
b
crit
_
(19.4-44)
This relation is used for each of the components of velocity. No other
droplet properties are altered in grazing collisions.
19.4 Spray Models
19.4.3 Spray Breakup Models
FLUENT oers two spray breakup models: the Taylor Analogy Breakup
(TAB) model and the wave model. The TAB model is recommended for
low-Weber-number injections and is well suited for low-speed sprays into
a standard atmosphere. For Weber numbers greater than 100, the wave
model is more applicable. The wave model is popular for use in high-
speed fuel-injection applications. Details for each model are provided
below.
Tay lor Analogy Breakup (TAB) Model
Introduction
The Taylor Analogy Breakup (TAB) model is a classic method for calcu-
lating droplet breakup, which is applicable to many engineering sprays.
This method is based upon Taylors analogy [239] between an oscillating
and distorting droplet and a spring mass system. Table 19.4.3 illustrates
the analogous components.
Table 19.4.3: Comparison of a Spring-Mass System to a Distorting
Droplet
Spring-Mass System Distorting and Oscillating Droplet
restoring force of spring surface tension forces
external force droplet drag force
damping force droplet viscosity forces
The resulting TAB model equation set, which governs the oscillating
and distorting droplet, can be solved to determine the droplet oscillation
and distortion at any given time. As described in detail below, when
the droplet oscillations grow to a critical value the parent droplet will
break up into a number of smaller child droplets. As a droplet is dis-
torted from a spherical shape, the drag coecient changes. A drag model
that incorporates the distorting droplet eects is available in FLUENT.
See Section 19.4.4 for details.
Use and Limitations
The TAB model is best for low-Weber-number sprays. Extremely high-
Weber-number sprays result in shattering of droplets, which is not de-
scribed well by the spring-mass analogy.
Droplet Distortion
The equation governing a damped, forced oscillator is [169]
F kx d
dx
dt
= m
d
2
x
dt
2
(19.4-45)
where x is the displacement of the droplet equator from its spherical
(undisturbed) position. The coecients of this equation are taken from
Taylors analogy:
F
m
= C
F
g
u
2
l
r
(19.4-46)
k
m
= C
k
l
r
3
(19.4-47)
d
m
= C
d
l
r
2
(19.4-48)
where
l
and
g
are the discrete phase and continuous phase densities,
u is the relative velocity of the droplet, r is the undisturbed droplet
radius, is the droplet surface tension, and
l
is the droplet viscosity.
The dimensionless constants C
F
, C
k
, and C
d
will be dened later.
The droplet is assumed to break up if the distortion grows to a critical
ratio of the droplet radius. This breakup requirement is given as
x > C
b
r (19.4-49)
where C
b
is a constant equal to 0.5 if breakup is assumed to occur when
the distortion is equal to the droplet radius, i.e., the north and south
19.4 Spray Models
poles of the droplet meet at the droplet center. This implicitly assumes
that the droplet is undergoing only one (fundamental) oscillation mode.
Equation 19.4-45 is non-dimensionalized by setting y = x/(C
b
r) and
substituting the relationships in Equations 19.4-4619.4-48:
d
2
y
dt
2
=
C
F
C
b
l
u
2
r
2

C
k
l
r
3
y
C
d
l
r
2
dy
dt
(19.4-50)
where breakup now occurs for y > 1. For under-damped droplets, the
equation governing y can easily be determined from Equation 19.4-50 if
the relative velocity is assumed to be constant:
y(t) = We
c
+e
(t/t
d
)
_
(y
0
We
c
) cos(t) +
1
_
dy
0
dt
+
y
0
We
c
t
d
_
sin(t)
_
(19.4-51)
where
We =

g
u
2
r
(19.4-52)
We
c
=
C
F
C
k
C
b
We (19.4-53)
y
0
= y(0) (19.4-54)
dy
0
dt
=
dy
dt
(0) (19.4-55)
1
t
d
=
C
d
2
l
r
2
(19.4-56)
2
= C
k
l
r
3

1
t
2
d
(19.4-57)
In Equation 19.4-51, u is the relative velocity between the droplet and
the gas phase and We is the droplet Weber number, a dimensionless
parameter dened as the ratio of aerodynamic forces to surface tension
forces. The droplet oscillation frequency is represented by . The con-
stants have been chosen to match experiments and theory [122]:
C
k
= 8
C
d
= 5
C
F
=
1
3
If Equation 19.4-51 is solved for all droplets, those with y > 1 are as-
sumed to break up. The size and velocity of the new child droplets must
be determined.
Size of Child Droplets
The size of the child droplets is determined by equating the energy of
the parent droplet to the combined energy of the child droplets. The
energy of the parent droplet is [169]
E
parent
= 4r
2
+K
l
r
5
_
_
dy
dt
_
2
+
2
y
2
_
(19.4-58)
where K is the ratio of the total energy in distortion and oscillation
to the energy in the fundamental mode, of the order (
10
3
). The child
droplets are assumed to be non-distorted and non-oscillating. Thus, the
energy of the child droplets can be shown to be
E
child
= 4r
2
r
r
32
+

6
l
r
5
_
dy
dt
_
2
(19.4-59)
where r
32
is the Sauter mean radius of the droplet size distribution. r
32
can be found by equating the energy of the parent and child droplets
(i.e., Equations 19.4-58 and 19.4-59), setting y = 1, and
2
= 8/
l
r
3
:
r
32
=
r
1 +
8Ky
2
20
+

l
r
3
(dy/dt)
2
_
6K5
120
_ (19.4-60)
Once the size of the child droplets is determined, the number of child
droplets can easily be determined by mass conservation.
19.4 Spray Models
Velocity of Child Droplets
The TAB model allows for a velocity component normal to the parent
droplet velocity to be imposed upon the child droplets. When breakup
occurs, the equator of the parent droplet is traveling at a velocity of
dx/dt = C
b
r(dy/dt). Therefore, the child droplets will have a velocity
normal to the parent droplet velocity given by
v
normal
= C
v
C
b
r
dy
dt
(19.4-61)
where C
v
is a constant of order (1). Although this imposed velocity is
assumed to be in a plane normal to the path of the parent droplet, the
exact direction in this plane cannot be specied. Therefore, the direction
of this imposed velocity is selected randomly, yet is conned in a plane
normal to the parent relative velocity vector.
Droplet Breakup
To model droplet breakup, the TAB model rst determines the amplitude
for an undamped oscillation (t
d
) for each droplet at time step n
using the following:
A =
(y
n
We
c
)
2
+
_
(dy/dt)
n
_
2
(19.4-62)
According to Equation 19.4-62, breakup is possible only if the following
condition is satised:
We
c
+A > 1 (19.4-63)
This is the limiting case, as damping will only reduce the chance of
breakup. If a droplet fails the above criterion, breakup does not occur.
The only additional calculations required, then, are to update y using a
discretized form of Equation 19.4-51 and its derivative, which are both
based on work done by ORourke and Amsden [169]:
y
n+1
= We
c
+
e
(t/t
d
)
_
(y
n
We
c
) cos(t) +
1
__
dy
dt
_
n
+
y
n
We
c
t
d
_
sin(t)
_
(19.4-64)
_
dy
dt
_
n+1
=
We
c
y
n+1
t
d
+
e
(t/t
d
)
_
1
__
dy
dt
_
n
+
y
n
We
c
t
d
_
cos(t) (y
n
We
c
) sin(t)
_
(19.4-65)
All of the constants in these expressions are assumed to be constant
throughout the time step.
If the criterion of Equation 19.4-63 is met, then breakup is possible.
The breakup time, t
bu
, must be determined to see if breakup occurs
within the time step t. The value of t
bu
is set to the time required for
oscillations to grow suciently large that the magnitude of the droplet
distortion, y, is equal to unity. The breakup time is determined under the
assumption that the droplet oscillation is undamped for its rst period.
The breakup time is therefore the smallest root greater than t
n
of an
undamped version of Equation 19.4-51:
We
c
+Acos[(t t
n
) +] = 1 (19.4-66)
where
cos =
y
n
We
c
A
(19.4-67)
and
sin =
(dy/dt)
n
A
(19.4-68)
19.4 Spray Models
If t
bu
> t
n+1
, then breakup will not occur during the current time step,
and y and (dy/dt) are updated by Equations 19.4-64 and 19.4-65. The
breakup calculation then continues with the next droplet. Conversely,
if t
n
< t
bu
< t
n+1
, then breakup will occur and the child droplet radii
are determined by Equation 19.4-60. The number of child droplets, N,
is determined by mass conservation:
N
n+1
= N
n
_
r
n
r
n+1
_
3
(19.4-69)
A velocity component normal to the relative velocity vector, with magni-
tude computed by Equation 19.4-61, is imposed upon the child droplets.
It is assumed that the child droplets are neither distorted nor oscillating;
i.e., y = (dy/dt) = 0.
The breakup process is applied to all of the droplets in the parcel (see
Section 19.4.2 for a description of parcels). Hence, there is no need to
create another computational droplet after breakup. The TAB model in
FLUENT changes the mass, size, and velocity of the current droplet only.
Wave Breakup Model
Introduction
An alternative to the TAB model is the wave breakup model of Re-
itz [188], which considers the breakup of the injected liquid to be induced
by the relative velocity between the gas and liquid phases. The model
assumes that the time of breakup and the resulting droplet size are re-
lated to the fastest-growing Kelvin-Helmholtz instability, derived from
the jet stability analysis described below. The wavelength and growth
rate of this instability are used to predict details of the newly-formed
droplets.
Use and Limitations
The wave model is appropriate for very-high-speed injection, where the
Kelvin-Helmholtz instability is believed to dominate spray breakup (We >
100). Because breakup can increase the number of computational droplets,
you may wish to inject a modest number of droplets. You must also spec-
ify the model constants, which are thought to depend on the internal ow
of the spray nozzle.
Jet Stability Analysis
The jet stability analysis described in detail by Reitz and Bracco [187]
is presented briey here. The analysis considers the stability of a cylin-
drical, viscous, liquid jet of radius a issuing from a circular orice at a
velocity v into a stagnant, incompressible, inviscid gas of density
2
. The
liquid has a density,
1
, and viscosity,
1
, and a cylindrical polar coordi-
nate system is used which moves with the jet. An arbitrary innitesimal
axisymmetric surface displacement of the form
=
0
e
ikz+t
(19.4-70)
is imposed on the initially steady motion and it is thus desired to nd
the dispersion relation = (k) which relates the real part of the growth
rate, , to its wave number, k = 2/.
In order to determine the dispersion relation, the linearized hydrody-
namic equations for the liquid are solved with wave solutions of the form
1
= C
1
I
0
(kr)e
ikz+t
(19.4-71)
1
= C
2
I
1
(Lr)e
ikz+t
(19.4-72)
where
1
and
1
are the velocity potential and stream function, respec-
tively, C
1
and C
2
are integration constants, I
0
and I
1
are modied Bessel
functions of the rst kind, L
2
= k
2
+/
1
, and
1
is the liquid kinematic
viscosity [188]. The liquid pressure is obtained from the inviscid part
of the liquid equations. In addition, the inviscid gas equations can be
solved to obtain the uctuating gas pressure at r = a:
p
21
=
2
(U ik)
2
k
K
0
(ka)
K
1
(ka)
(19.4-73)
19.4 Spray Models
where K
0
and K
1
are modied Bessel functions of the second kind and
u is the relative velocity between the liquid and the gas. The linearized
boundary conditions are
v
1
=

t
(19.4-74)
u
1
r
=
v
1
z
(19.4-75)
and
p
1
+ 2
1

a
2
_
+a
2
z
2
_
+p
2
= 0 (19.4-76)
which are mathematical statements of the liquid kinematic free surface
condition, continuity of shear stress, and continuity of normal stress,
respectively. Note that u
1
is the axial perturbation liquid velocity, v
1
is the radial perturbation liquid velocity, and is the surface tension.
Also note that Equation 19.4-75 was obtained under the assumption that
v
2
= 0.
As described by Reitz [188], Equations 19.4-74 and 19.4-75 can be used
to eliminate the integration constants C
1
and C
2
in Equation 19.4-72.
Thus, when the pressure and velocity solutions are substituted into Equa-
tion 19.4-76, the desired dispersion relation is obtained:
2
+ 2
1
k
2
_
I
1
(ka)
I
0
(ka)

2kL
k
2
+L
2
I
1
(ka)
I
0
(ka)
I
1
(La)
I
1
(La)
_
=
k
1
a
2
(1k
2
a
2
)
_
L
2
a
2
L
2
+a
2
_
I
1
(ka)
I
0
(ka)
+
1
_
U i
k
_
2
_
L
2
a
2
L
2
+a
2
_
I
1
(ka)
I
0
(ka)
K
0
(ka)
K
1
(ka)
(19.4-77)
As shown by Reitz [188], Equation 19.4-77 predicts that a maximum
growth rate (or most unstable wave) exists for a given set of ow condi-
tions. Curve ts of numerical solutions to Equation 19.4-77 were gener-
ated for the maximum growth rate, , and the corresponding wavelength,
, and are given by Reitz [188]:
a
= 9.02
(1 + 0.45Oh
0.5
)(1 + 0.4Ta
0.7
)
(1 + 0.87We
1.67
2
)
0.6
(19.4-78)
1
a
3
_
=
(0.34 + 0.38We
1.5
2
)
(1 + Oh)(1 + 1.4Ta
0.6
)
(19.4-79)
where Oh =
_
We
1
/Re
1
is the Ohnesorge number and Ta = Oh
We
2
is
the Taylor number. Furthermore, We
1
=
1
U
2
a/ and We
2
=
2
U
2
a/
are the liquid and gas Weber numbers, respectively, and Re
1
= Ua/
1
is
the Reynolds number.
Droplet Breakup
In the wave model, the initial parcel diameters of the relatively large
injected droplets are modeled using the stability analysis for liquid jets
as described above. The breakup of the parcels and resulting droplets
of radius a is calculated by assuming that the breakup droplet radius, r,
is proportional to the wavelength of the fastest-growing unstable surface
wave given by Equation 19.4-78. In other words,
r = B
0
(19.4-80)
where B
0
is a model constant set equal to 0.61 based on the work of
Reitz [188]. Furthermore, the rate of change of droplet radius in a parent
parcel is given by
da
dt
=
(a r)
, r a (19.4-81)
where the breakup time, , is given by
=
3.726B
1
a
(19.4-82)
19.4 Spray Models
and and are obtained from Equations 19.4-78 and 19.4-79, respec-
tively. The breakup time constant, B
1
, is related to the initial distur-
bance level on the liquid jet and has been found to vary from one nozzle
to another [118].
19.4.4 Dy namic Drag Model
Accurate determination of droplet drag coecients is crucial for accu-
rate spray modeling. FLUENT provides a method that determines the
droplet drag coecient dynamically, accounting for variations in the
droplet shape.
Use and Limitations
The dynamic drag model is applicable in almost any circumstance. It
is compatible with both the TAB and wave models for spray breakup.
When the collision model is turned on, collisions reset the distortion and
distortion velocities of the colliding droplets.
Theory
Many droplet drag models assume the droplet remains spherical through-
out the domain. With this assumption, the drag of a spherical object is
determined by the following [142]:
C
d,sphere
=
_
_
0.424 Re > 1000
24
Re
_
1 +
1
6
Re
2/3
_
Re 1000
(19.4-83)
However, as an initially spherical droplet moves through a gas, its shape
is distorted signicantly when the Weber number is large. In the extreme
case, the droplet shape will approach that of a disk. The drag of a disk,
however, is signicantly higher than that of a sphere. Since the droplet
drag coecient is highly dependent upon the droplet shape, a drag model
that assumes the droplet is spherical is unsatisfactory. The dynamic drag
model accounts for the eects of droplet distortion, linearly varying the
drag between that of a sphere (Equation 19.4-83) and a value of 1.52
corresponding to a disk [142]. The drag coecient is given by
C
d
= C
d,sphere
(1 + 2.632y) (19.4-84)
where y is the droplet distortion, as determined by the solution of
d
2
y
dt
2
=
C
F
C
b
l
u
2
r
2

C
k
l
r
3
y
C
d
l
r
2
dy
dt
(19.4-85)
In the limit of no distortion (y = 0), the drag coecient of a sphere will
be obtained, while at maximum distortion (y = 1) the drag coecient
corresponding to a disk will be obtained.
Note that Equation 19.4-85 is obtained from the TAB model for spray
breakup, described in Section 19.4.3, but the dynamic drag model can
be used with either of the breakup models.
19.5 Coupling Between the Discrete and Continuous
Phases
As the trajectory of a particle is computed, FLUENT keeps track of the
heat, mass, and momentum gained or lost by the particle stream that fol-
lows that trajectory and these quantities can be incorporated in the sub-
sequent continuous phase calculations. Thus, while the continuous phase
always impacts the discrete phase, you can also incorporate the eect of
the discrete phase trajectories on the continuum. This two-way coupling
is accomplished by alternately solving the discrete and continuous phase
equations until the solutions in both phases have stopped changing. This
interphase exchange of heat, mass, and momentum from the particle to
the continuous phase is depicted qualitatively in Figure 19.5.1.
Momentum Exchange
The momentum transfer from the continuous phase to the discrete phase
is computed in FLUENT by examining the change in momentum of a
particle as it passes through each control volume in the FLUENT model.
This momentum change is computed as
19.5 Coupling Between the Discrete and Continuous Phases
mass-exchange
heat-exchange
momentum-exchange
typical
particle
trajectory
typical continuous
phase control volume
Figure 19.5.1: Heat, Mass, and Momentum Transfer Between the Dis-
crete and Continuous Phases
F =

_
18C
D
Re
p
d
2
p
24
(u
p
u) +F
other
_
m
p
t (19.5-1)
where
= viscosity of the uid
p
= density of the particle
d
p
= diameter of the particle
Re = relative Reynolds number
u
p
= velocity of the particle
u = velocity of the uid
C
D
= drag coecient
m
p
= mass ow rate of the particles
t = time step
F
other
= other interaction forces
This momentum exchange appears as a momentum sink in the continu-
ous phase momentum balance in any subsequent calculations of the con-
tinuous phase ow eld and can be reported by FLUENT as described in
Section 19.13.
Heat Exchange
The heat transfer from the continuous phase to the discrete phase is
computed in FLUENT by examining the change in thermal energy of a
particle as it passes through each control volume in the FLUENT model.
In the absence of chemical reaction (i.e., for all particle laws except Law
5) this heat exchange is computed as
Q =
_
m
p
m
p,0
c
p
T
p
+
m
p
m
p,0
_
h
fg
+h
pyrol
+
_
Tp
T
ref
c
p,i
dT
__
m
p,0
(19.5-2)
where
m
p
= average mass of the particle in the control volume
(kg)
m
p,0
= initial mass of the particle (kg)
c
p
= heat capacity of the particle (J/kg-K)
T
p
= temperature change of the particle in the control
volume (K)
m
p
= change in the mass of the particle in the control
volume (kg)
h
fg
= latent heat of volatiles evolved (J/kg)
h
pyrol
= heat of pyrolysis as volatiles are evolved (J/kg)
c
p,i
= heat capacity of the volatiles evolved (J/kg-K)
T
p
= temperature of the particle upon exit of the con-
trol volume (K)
T
ref
= reference temperature for enthalpy (K)
m
p,0
= initial mass ow rate of the particle injection
tracked (kg/s)
This heat exchange appears as a source or sink of energy in the con-
tinuous phase energy balance during any subsequent calculations of the
continuous phase ow eld and is reported by FLUENT as described in
Section 19.13. A similar equation governs heat exchange under Law 5,
in which the heat of surface combustion is incorporated.
19.5 Coupling Between the Discrete and Continuous Phases
Mass Exchange
The mass transfer from the discrete phase to the continuous phase is
computed in FLUENT by examining the change in mass of a particle as
it passes through each control volume in the FLUENT model. The mass
change is computed simply as
M =
m
p
m
p,0
m
p,0
(19.5-3)
This mass exchange appears as a source of mass in the continuous phase
continuity equation and as a source of a chemical species dened by
you. The mass sources are included in any subsequent calculations of
the continuous phase ow eld and are reported by FLUENT as described
in Section 19.13.
Under-Relaxation of the Interphase Exchange Terms
Note that the interphase exchange of momentum, heat, and mass is
under-relaxed during the calculation, so that
F
new
= F
old
+(F
calculated
F
old
) (19.5-4)
Q
new
= Q
old
+(Q
calculated
Q
old
) (19.5-5)
M
new
= M
old
+(M
calculated
M
old
) (19.5-6)
where is the under-relaxation factor for particles/droplets that you
can set in the Solution Controls panel. The default value for is 0.5.
This value may be reduced in order to improve the stability of coupled
calculations. Note that the value of does not inuence the predictions
obtained in the nal converged solution.
Interphase Exchange During Stochastic Tracking
When stochastic tracking is performed, the interphase exchange terms,
computed via Equations 19.5-1 to 19.5-6, are computed for each stochas-
tic trajectory with the particle mass ow rate, m
p0
, divided by the num-
ber of stochastic tracks computed. This implies that an equal mass ow
of particles follows each stochastic trajectory.
Interphase Exchange During Cloud Tracking
When the particle cloud model is used, the interphase exchange terms
are computed via Equations 19.5-1 to 19.5-6 based on ensemble-averaged
ow properties in the particle cloud. The exchange terms are then dis-
tributed to all the cells in the cloud based on the weighting factor dened
in Equation 19.2-61.
19.6 Overview of Using the Discrete Phase Models
The procedure for setting up and solving a problem involving a discrete
phase is outlined below, and described in detail in Sections 19.719.13.
Only the steps related specically to discrete phase modeling are shown
here. For information about inputs related to other models that you are
using in conjunction with the discrete phase models, see the appropriate
sections for those models.
1. Enable any of the discrete phase modeling options, if relevant, as
described in Section 19.7.
2. If you are using unsteady particle tracking, dene the unsteady
parameters as described in Section 19.8.
3. Specify the initial conditions, as described in Section 19.9.
4. Dene the boundary conditions, as described in Section 19.10.
5. Dene the material properties, as described in Section 19.11.
6. Set the solution parameters and solve the problem, as described in
Section 19.12.
7. Examine the results, as described in Section 19.13.
19.7 Discrete Phase Model Options
This section provides instructions for using the optional discrete phase
models available in FLUENT. All of them can be turned on in the Discrete
Phase Model panel (Figure 19.7.1).
Dene Models Discrete Phase...
19.7.1 Including Radiation Heat Transfer to the Particles
If you want to include the eect of radiation heat transfer to the particles
(Equation 11.3-20), you must turn on the Particle Radiation Interaction
option in the Discrete Phase Model panel. You will also need to dene
additional properties for the particle materials (emissivity and scattering
factor), as described in Section 19.11.2. This option is available only
when the P-1 or discrete ordinates radiation model is used.
19.7.2 Including the Thermophoretic Force on the Particles
If you want to include the eect of the thermophoretic force on the par-
ticle trajectories (Equation 19.2-14), turn on the Thermophoretic Force
option in the Discrete Phase Model panel. You will also need to dene
the thermophoretic coecient for the particle material, as described in
Section 19.11.2.
19.7.3 Including a Coupled Heat-Mass Solution on the Particles
By default, the solution of the particle heat and mass equations are solved
in a segregated manner. If you enable the Coupled Heat-Mass Solution
option, FLUENT will solve this pair of equations pair using a sti, cou-
pled ODE solver with error tolerance control. The increased accuracy,
however, comes at the expense of increased computational expense.
19.7.4 Including Brownian Motion Eects on the Particles
For sub-micron particles in laminar ow, you may want to include the
eects of Brownian motion (described in Section 19.2.1) on the particle
trajectories. To do so, turn on the Brownian Motion option in the Discrete
Phase Model panel. When Brownian motion eects are included, it is
Figure 19.7.1: The Discrete Phase Model Panel
recommended that you also select the Stokes-Cunningham drag law in
the Drag Law drop-down list under Drag Parameters, and specify the
Cunningham Correction (C
c
in Equation 19.2-9).
19.7.5 Including Saman Lift Force Eects on the Particles
For sub-micron particles, you can also model the lift due to shear (the
Saman lift force, described in Section 19.2.1) in the particle trajectory.
To do this, turn on the Saman Lift Force option in the Discrete Phase
Model panel.
19.7.6 Monitoring Erosion/Accretion of Particles at Walls
Particle erosion and accretion rates can be monitored at wall bound-
aries. These rate calculations can be enabled in the Discrete Phase
Model panel when the discrete phase is coupled with the continuous
phase (i.e., when Interaction with Continuous Phase is selected). Turn-
ing on the Erosion/Accretion option will cause the erosion and accretion
rates to be calculated at wall boundary faces when particle tracks are
updated. You will also need to set the Impact Angle Function (f() in
Equation 19.2-62), Diameter Function (C(d
p
) in Equation 19.2-62), and
Velocity Exponent Function (b(v) in Equation 19.2-62) in the Wall bound-
ary conditions panel for each wall zone (as described in Section 19.10.2).
19.7.7 Alternate Drag Laws
There are ve drag laws for the particles that can be selected in the Drag
Law drop-down list under Drag Parameters.
The spherical, non-spherical, Stokes-Cunningham, and high-Mach-number
laws described in Section 19.2.1 are always available, and the dynamic-
drag law described in Section 19.4.4 is available only when one of the
droplet breakup models is used in conjunction with unsteady tracking.
See Section 19.8.2 for information about enabling the droplet breakup
models.
If the spherical law, the high-Mach-number law, or the dynamic-drag law
is selected, no further inputs are required. If the nonspherical law is se-
lected, the particle Shape Factor ( in Equation 19.2-7) must be specied.
For the Stokes-Cunningham law, the Cunningham Correction factor (C
c
in
Equation 19.2-9) must be specied.
19.7.8 User-Dened Functions
User-dened functions can be used to customize the discrete phase model
to include additional body forces, modify interphase exchange terms
(sources), calculate or integrate scalar values along the particle trajec-
tory, and incorporate non-standard erosion rate denitions. See the sep-
arate UDF Manual for information about user-dened functions.
In the Discrete Phase Model panel, under User-Dened Functions, there
are drop-down lists labeled Body Force, Source, and Scalar Update. If
Erosion/Accretion is enabled under Options, there will be an additional
drop-down list labeled Erosion/Accretion. These lists will show available
user-dened functions that can be selected to customize the discrete
phase model.
19.8 Unsteady Particle Tracking
This section contains information about unsteady particle tracking with
the discrete phase model. Note that you cannot use adaptive time step-
ping for an unsteady discrete phase calculation.
19.8.1 Inputs for Unsteady Particle Tracking
For transient ow simulations, particle trajectories can also be advanced
in time with the ow simulation. If you select the Unsteady Tracking
option under Unsteady Parameters in the Discrete Phase Model panel,
particles will be advanced by the ow time step each time the ow so-
lution is advanced in time. Coupled calculations are also allowed for
transient ow simulations. Particle sub-iterations are done during each
time step based on the value of the Number Of Continuous Phase Iterations
Per DPM Iteration.
When the coupled explicit solver is used with the explicit unsteady for- !
mulation, the particles are advanced once per time step, and are calcu-
lated at the start of the time step (before the ow is updated).
19.8 Unsteady Particle Tracking
Additional inputs are required for each injection in the Set Injection Prop-
erties panel. The injection Start Time and Stop Time must be specied
under Point Properties. Injections with start and stop times set to zero
will be injected only at the start of the calculation (t = 0). Changing
injection settings during the transient simulation will not aect parti-
cles currently released in the domain. At any point during the transient
simulation, you can clear particles that are currently in the domain by
clicking on the Clear Particles button in the Discrete Phase Model panel.
If you want to save the particle history during the unsteady calculation,
you can use the File/Write/Start Particle History... menu item to specify
a particle history lename.
File Write Start Particle History...
During the calculation, FLUENT will write the position, velocity, and
other data for each particle at each time step. To turn the particle
history o, select the File/Write/Stop Particle History menu item.
File Write Stop Particle History
19.8.2 Options for Spray Modeling
When you enable unsteady tracking, the Discrete Phase Model panel will
expand to show options related to spray modeling.
Modeling Spray Breakup
To enable the modeling of spray breakup, select the Droplet Breakup
option under Spray Models and then select the desired model (TAB or
Wave). A detailed description of these models can be found in Sec-
tion 19.4.3.
For the TAB model, you will need to specify a value for y
0
(the initial
distortion at time equal to zero in Equation 19.4-51) in the y0 eld.
For the wave model, you will need to specify values for C
0
and C
1
,
which are the integration constants of the velocity potential and stream
function models represented in Equation 19.4-72, in the C0 and C1 elds.
You will generally not need to modify the value of B0. This is the model
constant B
0
in Equation 19.4-80, and the default value 0.61 is acceptable
for nearly all cases.
Note that you may want to use the dynamic drag law when you use one
of the spray breakup models. See Section 19.7.7 for information about
choosing the drag law.
Modeling Droplet Collisions
To include the eect of droplet collisions, as described in Section 19.4.2,
select the Droplet Collision option under Spray Models. There are no
further inputs for this model.
19.9 Setting Initial Conditions for the Discrete Phase
19.9.1 Overview of Initial Conditions
The primary inputs that you must provide for the discrete phase calcu-
lations in FLUENT are the initial conditions that dene the starting po-
sitions, velocities, and other parameters for each particle stream. These
initial conditions provide the starting values for all of the dependent dis-
crete phase variables that describe the instantaneous conditions of an
individual particle:
Position (x, y, z coordinates) of the particle.
Velocities (u, v, w) of the particle. Velocity magnitudes and spray
cone angle can also be used (in 3D) to dene the initial velocities
(see Section 19.9.8). For moving reference frames, relative veloci-
ties should be specied.
Diameter of the particle, d
p
.
Temperature of the particle, T
p
.
Mass ow rate of the particle stream that will follow the trajectory
of the individual particle/droplet, m
p
(required only for coupled
calculations).
Additional parameters if one of the atomizer models described in
Section 19.4.1 is used for the injection.
When an atomizer model is selected, you will not input initial !
diameter, velocity, and position quantities for the particles due to
the complexities of sheet and ligament breakup. Instead of initial
conditions, the quantities you will input for the atomizer models
are global parameters.
These dependent variables are updated according to the equations of
motion (Section 19.2) and according to the heat/mass transfer relations
applied (Section 19.3) as the particle/droplet moves along its trajectory.
You can dene any number of dierent sets of initial conditions for dis-
crete phase particles/droplets provided that your computer has sucient
memory.
19.9.2 Injection Ty pes
You will dene the initial conditions for a particle/droplet stream by
creating an injection and assigning properties to it. FLUENT provides
10 types of injections:
single
group
cone (only in 3D)
surface
plain-orice atomizer
pressure-swirl atomizer
at-fan atomizer
air-blast atomizer
eervescent atomizer
read from a le
For each non-atomizer injection type, you will specify each of the initial
conditions listed in Section 19.9.1, the type of particle that possesses
these initial conditions, and any other relevant parameters for the parti-
cle type chosen.
You should create a single injection when you want to specify a single
value for each of the initial conditions (Figure 19.9.1). Create a group
injection (Figure 19.9.2) when you want to dene a range for one or
more of the initial conditions (e.g., a range of diameters or a range of
initial positions). To dene hollow spray cone injections in 3D problems,
create a cone injection (Figure 19.9.3). To release particles from a surface
(either a zone surface or a surface you have dened using the items in
the Surface menu), you will create a surface injection. (If you create a
surface injection, a particle stream will be released from each facet of the
surface. You can use the Bounded and Sample Points options in the Plane
Surface panel to create injections from a rectangular grid of particles in
3D (see Section 24.6 for details).
Particle initial conditions (position, velocity, diameter, temperature, and
mass ow rate) can also be read from an external le if none of the injec-
tion types listed above can be used to describe your injection distribution.
The le has the following form:
(( x y z u v w diameter temperature mass-flow) name )
with all of the parameters in SI units. All the parentheses are required,
but the name is optional.
The inputs for setting injections are described in detail in Section 19.9.5.
19.9.3 Particle Ty pes
When you dene a set of initial conditions (as described in Section 19.9.5),
you will need to specify the type of particle. The particle types available
to you depend on the range of physical models that you have dened in
the Models family of panels.
An inert particle is a discrete phase element (particle, droplet,
or bubble) that obeys the force balance (Equation 19.2-1) and is
q
Figure 19.9.1: Particle Injection Dening a Single Particle Stream

q
q
q
q
Figure 19.9.2: Particle Injection Dening an Initial Spatial Distribution

of the Particle Streams
w
w
w
q
w
w
Figure 19.9.3: Particle Injection Dening an Initial Spray Distribution
of the Particle Velocity
subject to heating or cooling via Law 1 (Section 19.3.2). The inert
type is available for all FLUENT models.
A droplet particle is a liquid droplet in a continuous-phase gas
ow that obeys the force balance (Equation 19.2-1) and that ex-
periences heating/cooling via Law 1 followed by vaporization and
boiling via Laws 2 and 3 (Sections 19.3.3 and 19.3.4). The droplet
type is available when heat transfer is being modeled and at least
two chemical species are active or the non-premixed or partially
premixed combustion model is active. You should use the ideal
gas law to dene the gas-phase density (in the Materials panel, as
discussed in Section 7.2.5) when you select the droplet type.
A combusting particle is a solid particle that obeys the force bal-
ance (Equation 19.2-1) and experiences heating/cooling via Law 1
followed by devolatilization via Law 4 (Section 19.3.5), and a het-
erogeneous surface reaction via Law 5 (Section 19.3.6). Finally,
the non-volatile portion of a combusting particle is subject to inert
heating via Law 6. You can also include an evaporating mate-
rial with the combusting particle by selecting the Wet Combustion
option in the Set Injection Properties panel. This allows you to
include a material that evaporates and boils via Laws 2 and 3
(Sections 19.3.3 and 19.3.4) before devolatilization of the particle
material begins. The combusting type is available when heat trans-
fer is being modeled and at least three chemical species are active
or the non-premixed combustion model is active. You should use
the ideal gas law to dene the gas-phase density (in the Materials
panel) when you select the combusting particle type.
19.9.4 Creating, Copy ing, Deleting, and Listing Injections
You will use the Injections panel (Figure 19.9.4) to create, copy, delete,
and list injections.
Dene Injections...
(You can also click on the Injections... button in the Discrete Phase Model
panel to open the Injections panel.)
Figure 19.9.4: The Injections Panel
Creating Injections
To create an injection, click on the Create button. A new injection will
appear in the Injections list and the Set Injection Properties panel will open
automatically to allow you to set the injection properties (as described
in Section 19.9.5).
Modify ing Injections
To modify an existing injection, select its name in the Injections list and
click on the Set... button. The Set Injection Properties panel will open,
and you can modify the properties as needed.
If you have two or more injections for which you want to set some of
the same properties, select their names in the Injections list and click on
the Set... button. The Set Multiple Injection Properties panel will open,
which will allow you to set the common properties. For instructions
about using this panel, see Section 19.9.17.
Copy ing Injections
To copy an existing injection to a new injection, select the existing injec-
tion in the Injections list and click on the Copy button. The Set Injection
Properties panel will open with a new injection that has the same prop-
erties as the injection you selected. This is useful if you want to set
another injection with similar properties.
Deleting Injections
You can delete an injection by selecting its name in the Injections list
and clicking on the Delete button.
Listing Injections
To list the initial conditions for the particle streams in the selected in-
jection, click on the List button. The list reported by FLUENT in the
console window contains, for each particle stream that you have dened,
the following (in SI units):
Particle stream number in the column headed NO
Particle type (IN for inert, DR for droplet, or CP for combusting
particle) in the column headed TYP
x, y, and z position in the columns headed (X), (Y), and (Z)
x, y, and z velocity in the columns headed (U), (V), and (W)
Temperature in the column headed (T)
Diameter in the column headed (DIAM)
Mass ow rate in the column headed (MFLOW)
Shortcuts for Selecting Injections
FLUENT provides a shortcut for selecting injections with names that
match a specied pattern. To use this shortcut, enter the pattern un-
der Injection Name Pattern and then click Match to select the injections
with names that match the specied pattern. For example, if you specify
drop*, all injections that have names beginning with drop (e.g., drop-1,
droplet) will be selected automatically. If they are all selected already,
they will be deselected. If you specify drop?, all surfaces with names
consisting of drop followed by a single character will be selected (or des-
elected, if they are all selected already).
19.9.5 Dening Injection Properties
Once you have created an injection (using the Injections panel, as de-
scribed in Section 19.9.4), you will use the Set Injection Properties panel
(Figure 19.9.5) to dene the injection properties. (Remember that this
panel will open when you create a new injection, or when you select an
existing injection and click on the Set... button in the Injections panel.)
The procedure for dening an injection is as follows:
1. If you want to change the name of the injection from its default
name, enter a new one in the Injection Name eld. This is recom-
mended if you are dening a large number of injections so you can
easily distinguish them. When assigning names to your injections,
keep in mind the selection shortcut described in Section 19.9.4.
2. Choose the type of injection in the Injection Type drop-down list.
The ten choices (single, group, cone, surface, plain-orice-atomizer,
pressure-swirl-atomizer, air-blast-atomizer, at-fan-atomizer,
eervescent-atomizer, and le) are described in Section 19.9.2. Note
that if you select any of the atomizer models, you will also need to
set the Viscosity and Droplet Surface Tension in the Materials panel.
If you are using sliding or moving/deforming meshes in your sim- !
ulation, you should not use surface injections because they are not
compatible with moving meshes.
Figure 19.9.5: The Set Injection Properties Panel
3. If you are dening a single injection, go to the next step. For a
group, cone, or any of the atomizer injections, set the Number of
Particle Streams in the group, spray cone, or atomizer. If you are
dening a surface injection, choose the surface(s) from which the
particles will be released in the Release From Surfaces list. If you
are reading the injection from a le, click on the File... button at
the bottom of the Set Injection Properties panel and specify the le
to be read in the resulting Select File dialog box. The parameters
in the injection le must be in SI units.
4. Select Inert, Droplet, or Combusting as the Particle Type. The avail-
able types are described in Section 19.9.3.
5. Choose the material for the particle(s) in the Material drop-down
list. If this is the rst time you have created a particle of this type,
you can choose from all of the materials of this type dened in
the database. If you have already created a particle of this type,
the only available material will be the material you selected for
that particle. You can dene additional materials by copying them
from the database or creating them from scratch, as discussed in
Section 19.11.2 and described in detail in Section 7.1.2.
6. If you are dening a group or surface injection and you want to
change from the default linear (for group injections) or uniform (for
surface injections) interpolation method used to determine the size
of the particles, select rosin-rammler or rosin-rammler-logarithmic
in the Diameter Distribution drop-down list. The Rosin-Rammler
method for determining the range of diameters for a group injection
is described in Section 19.9.7.
7. If you have created a customized particle law using user-dened
functions, turn on the Custom option under Laws and specify the
appropriate laws as described in Section 19.9.16.
8. If your particle type is Inert, go to the next step. If you are den-
ing Droplet particles, select the gas phase species created by the
vaporization and boiling laws (Laws 2 and 3) in the Evaporating
Species drop-down list.
If you are dening Combusting particles, select the gas phase species
created by the devolatilization law (Law 4) in the Devolatilizing
Species drop-down list, the gas phase species that participates
in the surface char combustion reaction (Law 5) in the Oxidizing
Species list, and the gas phase species created by the surface char
combustion reaction (Law 5) in the Product Species list. Note that
if the Combustion Model for the selected combusting particle mate-
rial (in the Materials panel) is the multiple-surface-reaction model,
then the Oxidizing Species and Product Species lists will be disabled
because the reaction stoichiometry has been dened in the mixture
material.
9. Click the Point Properties tab (the default), and specify the point
properties (position, velocity, diameter, temperature, andif
appropriatemass ow rate and any atomizer-related parameters)
as described for each injection type in Sections 19.9.619.9.14.
10. If the ow is turbulent and you wish to include the eects of turbu-
lence on the particle dispersion, click the Turbulent Dispersion tab,
turn on the Stochastic Model and/or the Cloud Model, and set the
related parameters as described in Section 19.9.15.
11. If your combusting particle includes an evaporating material, click
the Wet Combustion tab, select the Wet Combustion option, and
then select the material that is evaporating/boiling from the parti-
cle before devolatilization begins in the Liquid Material drop-down
list. You should also set the volume fraction of the liquid present
in the particle by entering the value of the Liquid Fraction. Finally,
select the gas phase species created by the evaporating and boiling
laws in the Evaporating Species drop-down list in the top part of
the panel.
12. If you want to use a user-dened function to initialize the injec-
tion properties, click the UDF tab to access the UDF inputs. You
can select an Initialization function under User-Dened Functions to
modify injection properties at the time the particles are injected
into the domain. This allows the position and/or properties of the
injection to be set as a function of ow conditions. See the separate
UDF Manual for information about user-dened functions.
19.9.6 Point Properties for Single Injections
For a single injection, you will dene the following initial conditions
for the particle stream under the Point Properties heading (in the Set
Injection Properties panel):
Position: Set the x, y, and z positions of the injected stream along
the Cartesian axes of the problem geometry in the X-, Y-, and
Z-Position elds. (Z-Position will appear only for 3D problems.)
Velocity: Set the x, y, and z components of the streams initial
velocity in the X-, Y-, and Z-Velocity elds. (Z-Velocity will appear
only for 3D problems.)
Diameter: Set the initial diameter of the injected particle stream
in the Diameter eld.
Temperature: Set the initial (absolute) temperature of the injected
particle stream in the Temperature eld.
Mass ow rate: For coupled phase calculations (see Section 19.12),
set the mass of particles per unit time that follows the trajectory
dened by the injection in the Flow Rate eld. Note that in axisym-
metric problems the mass ow rate is dened per 2 radians and
in 2D problems per unit meter depth (regardless of the reference
value for length).
Duration of injection: For unsteady particle tracking (see Sec-
tion 19.8), set the starting and ending time for the injection in
the Start Time and Stop Time elds.
19.9.7 Point Properties for Group Injections
For group injections, you will dene the properties described in Sec-
tion 19.9.6 for single injections for the First Point and Last Point in the
group. That is, you will dene a range of values,
1
through
N
, for
each initial condition by setting values for
1
and
N
. FLUENT as-
signs a value of to the ith injection in the group using a linear variation
between the rst and last values for :
i
=
1
+

N

1
N 1
(i 1) (19.9-1)
Thus, for example, if your group consists of 5 particle streams and you
dene a range for the initial x location from 0.2 to 0.6 meters, the initial
x location of each stream is as follows:
Stream 1: x = 0.2 meters
In general, you should supply a range for only one of the initial condi- !
tions in a given groupleaving all other conditions xed while a single
condition varies among the stream numbers of the group. Otherwise
you may nd, for example, that your simultaneous inputs of a spatial
distribution and a size distribution have placed the small droplets at the
beginning of the spatial range and the large droplets at the end of the
spatial range.
Note that you can use a dierent method for dening the size distribution
of the particles, as discussed below.
Using the Rosin-Rammler Diameter Distribution Method
By default, you will dene the size distribution of particles by inputting
a diameter for the rst and last points and using the linear equation
(19.9-1) to vary the diameter of each particle stream in the group. When
you want a dierent mass ow rate for each particle/droplet size, how-
ever, the linear variation may not yield the distribution you need. Your
particle size distribution may be dened most easily by tting the size
distribution data to the Rosin-Rammler equation. In this approach, the
complete range of particle sizes is divided into a set of discrete size ranges,
each to be dened by a single stream that is part of the group. Assume,
for example, that the particle size data obeys the following distribution:
Diameter Mass Fraction
Range (m ) in Range
070 0.05
70100 0.10
100120 0.35
120150 0.30
150180 0.15
180200 0.05
The Rosin-Rammler distribution function is based on the assumption
that an exponential relationship exists between the droplet diameter, d,
and the mass fraction of droplets with diameter greater than d, Y
d
:
Y
d
= e
(d/d)
n
(19.9-2)
FLUENT refers to the quantity d in Equation 19.9-2 as the Mean Diameter
and to n as the Spread Parameter. These parameters are input by you (in
the Set Injection Properties panel under the First Point heading) to dene
the Rosin-Rammler size distribution. To solve for these parameters, you
must t your particle size data to the Rosin-Rammler exponential equa-
tion. To determine these inputs, rst recast the given droplet size data
in terms of the Rosin-Rammler format. For the example data provided
above, this yields the following pairs of d and Y
d
:
Mass Fraction with
Diameter, d (m) Diameter Greater than d, Y
d
70 0.95
100 0.85
120 0.50
150 0.20
180 0.05
200 (0.00)
1.0
0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
50 70 90 110 130 150 170 190 210 230 250
M
a
s
s

F
r
a
c
t
i
o
n

>

d
,

Y
d
Diameter, d ( m)
Figure 19.9.6: Example of Cumulative Size Distribution of Particles
A plot of Y
d
vs. d is shown in Figure 19.9.6.
Next, derive values of d and n such that the data in Figure 19.9.6 t
Equation 19.9-2. The value for d is obtained by noting that this is the
value of d at which Y
d
= e
1
0.368. From Figure 19.9.6, you can
estimate that this occurs for d 131 m. The numerical value for n is
given by
n =
ln(ln Y
d
)
ln
_
d/d
_
By substituting the given data pairs for Y
d
and d/d into this equation,
you can obtain values for n and nd an average. Doing so yields an aver-
age value of n = 4.52 for the example data above. The resulting Rosin-
Rammler curve t is compared to the example data in Figure 19.9.7.
You can input values for Y
d
and n, as well as the diameter range of the
data and the total mass ow rate for the combined individual size ranges,
using the Set Injection Properties panel.
A second Rosin-Rammler distribution is also available based on the nat-
ural logarithm of the particle diameter. If in your case, the smaller-
diameter particles in a Rosin-Rammler distribution have higher mass
ows in comparison with the larger-diameter particles, you may want
better resolution of the smaller-diameter particle streams, or bins.
You can therefore choose to have the diameter increments in the Rosin-
Rammler distribution done uniformly by ln d.
In the standard Rosin-Rammler distribution, a particle injection may
have a diameter range of 1 to 200 m. In the logarithmic Rosin-Rammler
distribution, the same diameter range would be converted to a range of
ln 1 to ln 200, or about 0 to 5.3. In this way, the mass ow in one bin
would be less-heavily skewed as compared to the other bins.
When a Rosin-Rammler size distribution is being dened for the group
of streams, you should dene (in addition to the initial velocity, posi-
tion, and temperature) the following parameters, which appear under
the heading for the First Point:
1.0
0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
50 70 90 110 130 150 170 190 210 230 250
M
a
s
s

F
r
a
c
t
i
o
n

>

d
,

Y
d
Diameter, d ( m)
Figure 19.9.7: Rosin-Rammler Curve Fit for the Example Particle Size
Data
Total Flow Rate: the total mass ow rate of the N streams in the
group. Note that in axisymmetric problems this mass ow rate is
dened per 2 radians and in 2D problems per unit meter depth.
Min. Diameter: the smallest diameter to be considered in the size
distribution.
Max. Diameter: the largest diameter to be considered in the size
distribution.
Mean Diameter: the size parameter, d, in the Rosin-Rammler equa-
tion (19.9-2).
Spread Parameter: the exponential parameter, n, in Equation 19.9-2.
19.9.8 Point Properties for Cone Injections
In 3D problems, you can conveniently dene a hollow spray cone of
particle streams using the cone injection type. For this injection type,
the inputs are as follows:
Position: Set the coordinates of the origin of the spray cone in the
X-, Y-, and Z-Position elds.
Diameter: Set the diameter of the particles in the stream in the
Diameter eld.
Temperature: Set the temperature of the streams in the Tempera-
ture eld.
Axis: Set the x, y, and z components of the vector dening the
cones axis in the X-Axis, Y-Axis, and Z-Axis elds.
Velocity: Set the velocity magnitude of the particle streams that
will be oriented along the specied spray cone angle in the Velocity
Mag. eld.
Cone angle: Set the included half-angle, , of the hollow spray cone
in the Cone Angle eld, as shown in Figure 19.9.8.
Radius: A non-zero inner radius can be specied to model injectors
that do not emanate from a single point. Set the radius r (dened
as shown in Figure 19.9.8) in the Radius eld. The particles will
be distributed about the axis with the specied radius.
r
origin
axis
Figure 19.9.8: Cone Half Angle and Radius
Swirl fraction: Set the fraction of the velocity magnitude to go into
the swirling component of the ow in the Swirl Fraction eld. The
direction of the swirl component is dened using the right-hand
rule about the axis (a negative value for the swirl fraction can be
used to reverse the swirl direction).
Mass ow rate: For coupled calculations, set the total mass ow
rate for the streams in the spray cone in the Total Flow Rate eld.
Note that you may want to dene multiple spray cones emanating from
the same initial location in order to include a size distribution of the
spray or to include a range of cone angles.
19.9.9 Point Properties for Surface Injections
For surface injections, you will dene all the properties described in
Section 19.9.6 for single injections except for the initial position of the
particle streams. The initial positions of the particles will be the location
of the data points on the specied surface(s). Note that you will set the
Total Flow Rate of all particles released from the surface (required for
coupled calculations only). If you want, you can scale the individual
mass ow rates of the particles by the ratio of the area of the face they
are released from to the total area of the surface. To scale the mass
ow rates, select the Scale Flow Rate By Face Area option under Point
Properties.
Note that many surfaces have non-uniform distributions of points. If
you want to generate a uniform spatial distribution of particle streams
released from a surface in 3D, you can create a bounded plane surface
with a uniform distribution using the Plane Surface panel, as described
in Section 24.6. In 2D, you can create a rake using the Line/Rake Surface
panel, as described in Section 24.5.
A non-uniform size distribution can be used for surface injections, as
described below.
Using the Rosin-Rammler Diameter Distribution Method
The Rosin-Rammler size distributions described in Section 19.9.7 for
group injections is also available for surface injections. If you select
one of the Rosin-Rammler distributions, you will need to specify the
following parameters under Point Properties, in addition to the initial
velocity, temperature, and total ow rate:
Min. Diameter: the smallest diameter to be considered in the size
distribution.
Max. Diameter: the largest diameter to be considered in the size
distribution.
Mean Diameter: the size parameter, d, in the Rosin-Rammler equa-
tion (Equation 19.9-2).
Spread Parameter: the exponential parameter, n, in Equation 19.9-2.
Number of Diameters: the number of diameters in each distribution
(i.e., the number of dierent diameters in the stream injected from
each face of the surface).
FLUENT will inject streams of particles from each face on the surface,
with diameters dened by the Rosin-Rammler distribution function. The
total number of injection streams tracked for the surface injection will
be equal to the number of diameters in each distribution (Number of
Diameters) multiplied by the number of faces on the surface.
19.9.10 Point Properties for Plain-Orice Atomizer Injections
For a plain-orice atomizer injection, you will dene the following initial
conditions under Point Properties:
Position: Set the x, y, and z positions of the injected stream along
the Cartesian axes of the problem geometry in the X-Position, Y-
Position, and Z-Position elds. (Z-Position will appear only for 3D
problems.
Axis (3D only): Set the x, y, and z components of the vector
dening the axis of the orice in the X-Axis, Y-Axis, and Z-Axis
elds.
ture eld.
Mass ow rate: Set the mass ow rate for the streams in the at-
omizer in the Flow Rate eld.
Vapor pressure: Set the vapor pressure governing the ow through
the internal orice (p
v
in Table 19.4.1) in the Vapor Pressure eld.
Diameter: Set the diameter of the orice in the Injector Inner Diam.
eld (d in Table 19.4.1).
Orice length: Set the length of the orice in the Orice Length
eld (L in Table 19.4.1).
Radius of curvature: Set the radius of curvature of the inlet corner
in the Corner Radius of Curv. eld (r in Table 19.4.1).
Nozzle parameter: Set the constant for the spray angle correlation
in the Constant A eld (C
A
Azimuthal angles: For 3D sectors, set the Azimuthal Start Angle
and Azimuthal Stop Angle.
See Section 19.4.1 for details about how these inputs are used.
19.9.11 Point Properties for Pressure-Swirl Atomizer Injections
For a pressure-swirl atomizer injection, you will specify some of the same
properties as for a plain-orice atomizer. In addition to the position, axis
(if 3D), temperature, mass ow rate, duration of injection (if unsteady),
injector inner diameter, and azimuthal angles (if relevant) described in
Section 19.9.10, you will need to specify the following parameters under
Point Properties:
Spray angle: Set the value of the spray angle of the injected stream
in the Spray Half Angle eld ( in Equation 19.4-25).
Pressure: Set the pressure upstream of the injection in the Up-
stream Pressure eld (p
1
in Table 19.4.1).
Sheet breakup: Set the value of the empirical constant that de-
termines the length of the ligaments that are formed after sheet
breakup in the Sheet Constant eld (ln(
0
) in Equation 19.4-30).
Ligament diameter: For short waves, set the proportionality con-
stant that linearly relates the ligament diameter, d
L
, to the wave-
length that breaks up the sheet in the Ligament Constant eld (see
Equations 19.4-3119.4-33).
19.9.12 Point Properties for Air-Blast/Air-Assist Atomizer
Injections
For an air-blast/air-assist atomizer, you will specify some of the same
(if 3D), temperature, mass ow rate, duration of injection (if unsteady),
Point Properties:
Outer diameter: Set the outer diameter of the injector in the In-
jector Outer Diam. eld. This value is used in conjunction with the
Injector Inner Diam. to set the thickness of the liquid sheet (t in
Equation 19.4-22).
Spray angle: Set the initial trajectory of the lm as it leaves the end
of the orice in the Spray Half Angle eld ( in Equation 19.4-25).
Relative velocity: Set the maximum relative velocity that is pro-
duced by the sheet and air in the Relative Velocity eld.
breakup in the Sheet Constant eld (ln(
0
) in Equation 19.4-30).
Ligament diameter: For short waves, set the proportionality con-
stant that linearly relates the ligament diameter, d
L
, to the wave-
length that breaks up the sheet in the Ligament Constant eld (see
Equations 19.4-3119.4-33).
19.9.13 Point Properties for Flat-Fan Atomizer Injections
The at-fan atomizer model is available only for 3D models. For this
type of injection, you will dene the following initial conditions under
Point Properties:
Arc position: Set the coordinates of the center point of the arc from
which the fan originates in the X-Center, Y-Center, and Z-Center
elds (see Figure 19.4.6).
Virtual position: Set the coordinates of the virtual origin of the fan
in the X-Virtual Origin, Y-Virtual Origin, and Z-Virtual Origin elds.
This point is the intersection of the lines that mark the sides of the
fan (see Figure 19.4.6).
Normal vector: Set the direction that is normal to the fan in the X-
Fan Normal Vector, Y-Fan Normal Vector, and Z-Fan Normal Vector
elds.
ture eld.
Mass ow rate: Set the mass ow rate for the streams in the at-
omizer in the Flow Rate eld.
Spray half angle: Set the initial half angle of the drops as they
leave the end of the orice in the Spray Half Angle eld.
Orice width: Set the width of the orice (in the normal direction)
in the Orice Width eld.
breakup in the Flat Fan Sheet Constant eld (see Equation 19.4-30).
19.9.14 Point Properties for Eervescent Atomizer Injections
For an eervescent atomizer injection, you will specify some of the same
(if 3D), temperature, mass ow rate (including both ashing and non-
ashing components), duration of injection (if unsteady), vapor pressure,
Point Properties:
Mixture quality: Set the mass fraction of the injected mixture that
vaporizes in the Mixture Quality eld (x in Equation 19.4-38).
Saturation temperature: Set the saturation temperature of the
volatile substance in the Saturation Temp. eld.
Droplet dispersion: Set the parameter that controls the spatial
dispersion of the droplet sizes in the Dispersion Constant eld (C
e
Spray angle: Set the initial trajectory of the lm as it leaves the
end of the orice in the Maximum Half Angle eld.
19.9.15 Modeling Turbulent Dispersion of Particles
As mentioned in Section 19.9.5, you can choose stochastic tracking and/or
cloud tracking as the method for modeling turbulent dispersion of par-
ticles.
Stochastic Tracking
For turbulent ows, if you choose to use the stochastic tracking tech-
nique, you must enable it and specify the number of tries. Stochastic
tracking includes the eect of turbulent velocity uctuations on the par-
ticle trajectories using the DRW model described in Section 19.2.2.
1. Click the Turbulent Dispersion tab in the Set Injection Properties
panel.
2. Enable stochastic tracking by turning on the Stochastic Model un-
der Stochastic Tracking.
3. Specify the Number Of Tries:
An input of zero tells FLUENT to compute the particle trajec-
tory based on the mean continuous phase velocity eld (Equa-
tion 19.2-1), ignoring the eects of turbulence on the particle
trajectories.
An input of 1 or greater tells FLUENT to include turbulent
velocity uctuations in the particle force balance as in Equa-
tion 19.2-20. The trajectory is computed more than once if
your input exceeds 1: two trajectory calculations are per-
formed if you input 2, three trajectory calculations are per-
formed if you input 3, etc. Each trajectory calculation in-
cludes a new stochastic representation of the turbulent con-
tributions to the trajectory equation.
When a sucient number of tries is requested, the trajecto-
ries computed will include a statistical representation of the
spread of the particle stream due to turbulence. Note that for
unsteady particle tracking, the Number of Tries is set to 1 if
Stochastic Tracking is enabled.
If you want the characteristic lifetime of the eddy to be random (Equa-
tion 19.2-37), enable the Random Eddy Lifetime option. You will generally
not need to change the Time Scale Constant (C
L
in Equation 19.2-28)
from its default value of 0.15, unless you are using the Reynolds Stress
turbulence model (RSM), in which case a value of 0.3 is recommended.
Figure 19.9.9 illustrates a discrete phase trajectory calculation computed
via the mean tracking (number of tries = 0) and Figure 19.9.10 illus-
trates the stochastic tracking (number of tries > 1) option.
When multiple stochastic trajectory calculations are performed, the mo-
mentum and mass dened for the injection are divided evenly among the
multiple particle/droplet tracks, and are thus spread out in terms of the
interphase momentum, heat, and mass transfer calculations. Including
turbulent dispersion in your model can thus have a signicant impact on
the eect of the particles on the continuous phase when coupled calcu-
lations are performed.
Particle Traces Colored by Particle Time (s)
3.04e-02
2.84e-02
2.63e-02
2.43e-02
2.23e-02
2.03e-02
1.82e-02
1.62e-02
1.42e-02
1.22e-02
1.01e-02
8.10e-03
6.08e-03
4.05e-03
2.03e-03
0.00e+00
Figure 19.9.9: Mean Trajectory in a Turbulent Flow
Particle Traces Colored by Particle Time (s)
3.00e-02
2.80e-02
2.60e-02
2.40e-02
2.20e-02
2.00e-02
1.80e-02
1.60e-02
1.40e-02
1.20e-02
1.00e-02
8.00e-03
6.00e-03
4.00e-03
2.00e-03
0.00e+00
Figure 19.9.10: Stochastic Trajectories in a Turbulent Flow
Cloud Tracking
For turbulent ows, you can also include the eects of turbulent disper-
sion on the injection. When cloud tracking is used, the trajectory will
be tracked as a cloud of particles about a mean trajectory, as described
in Section 19.2.2.
1. Click the Turbulent Dispersion tab in the Set Injection Properties
panel.
2. Enable cloud tracking by turning on the Cloud Model under Cloud
Tracking.
3. Specify the minimum and maximum cloud diameters. Particles
enter the domain with an initial cloud diameter equal to the Min.
Cloud Diameter. The particle clouds maximum allowed diameter
is specied by the Max. Cloud Diameter.
You may want to restrict the Max. Cloud Diameter to a relevant
length scale for the problem to improve computational eciency
in complex domains where the mean trajectory may become stuck
in recirculation regions.
19.9.16 Custom Particle Laws
If the standard FLUENT laws, Laws 1 through 6, do not adequately
describe the physics of your discrete phase model, you can modify them
by creating custom laws with user-dened functions. See the separate
UDF Manual for information about user-dened functions. You can also
create custom laws by using a subset of the existing FLUENT laws (e.g.,
Laws 1, 2, and 4), or a combination of existing laws and user-dened
functions.
Once you have dened and loaded your user-dened function(s), you can
create a custom law by enabling the Custom option under Laws in the
Set Injection Properties panel. This will open the Custom Laws panel.
In the drop-down list to the left of each of the six particle laws, you
can select the appropriate particle law for your custom law. Each list
Figure 19.9.11: The Custom Laws Panel
contains the available options that can be chosen (the standard laws plus
any user-dened functions you have loaded).
There is a seventh drop-down list in the Custom Laws panel labeled
Switching. You may wish to have FLUENT vary the laws used depending
on conditions in the model. You can customize the way FLUENT switches
between laws by selecting a user-dened function from this drop-down
list.
An example of when you might want to use a custom law might be to
replace the standard devolatilization law with a specialized devolatiliza-
tion law that more accurately describes some unique aspects of your
model. After creating and loading a user-dened function that details
the physics of your devolatilization law, you would visit the Custom Laws
panel and replace the standard devolatilization law (Law 2) with your
user-dened function.
19.9.17 Dening Properties Common to More Than One
Injection
If you have a number of injections for which you want to set the same
properties, FLUENT provides a shortcut so that you do not need to visit
the Set Injection Properties panel for each injection to make the same
changes.
As described in Section 19.9.5, if you select more than one injection in
the Injections panel, clicking the Set... button will open the Set Multiple
Injection Properties panel (Figure 19.9.12) instead of the Set Injection
Properties panel.
Depending on the type of injections you have selected (single, group,
atomizers, etc.), there will be dierent categories of properties listed
under Injections Setup. The names of these categories correspond to the
headings within the Set Injection Properties panel (e.g., Particle Type and
Stochastic Tracking). Only those categories that are appropriate for all
of your selected injections (which are shown in the Injections list) will
be listed. If all of these injections are of the same type, more categories
of properties will be available for you to modify. If the injections are of
dierent types, you will have fewer categories to select from.
Modify ing Properties
To modify a property, follow these steps:
1. Select the appropriate category in the Injections Setup list. For
example, if you want to set the same ow rate for all of the selected
injections, select Point Properties. The panel will expand to show
the properties that appear under that heading in the Set Injection
Properties panel.
2. Set the property (or properties) to be modied, as described below.
3. Click Apply. FLUENT will report the change in the console window.
You must click Apply to save the property settings within each !
category. If, for example, you want to modify the ow rate and
the stochastic tracking parameters, you will need to select Point
Figure 19.9.12: The Set Multiple Injection Properties Panel
Properties in the Injections Setup list, specify the ow rate, and
click Apply. You would then repeat the process for the stochastic
tracking parameters, clicking Apply again when you are done.
There are two types of properties that can be modied using the Set
Multiple Injection Properties panel.
The rst type involves one of the following actions:
selecting a value from a drop-down list
choosing an option using a radio button
The second type involves one of the following actions:
entering a value in a eld
turning an option on or o
Setting the rst type of property works the same way as in the Set
Injection Properties panel. For example, if you select Particle Type in the
Injections Setup list, the panel will expand to show the portion of the Set
Injection Properties panel where you choose the particle type. You can
simply choose the desired type and click Apply.
Setting the second type of property requires an additional step. If you
select a category in the Injections Setup list that contains this type of
property, the expanded portion of the panel will look like the corre-
sponding part of the Set Injection Properties panel, with the addition of
Modify check buttons (see Figure 19.9.12). To change one of the prop-
erties, rst turn on the Modify check button to its left, and then specify
the desired status or value.
For example, if you would like to enable stochastic tracking, rst turn on
the Modify check button to the left of Stochastic Model. This will make
the property active so you can modify its status. Then, under Property,
turn on the Stochastic Model check button. (Be sure to click Apply when
you are done setting stochastic tracking parameters.)
If you would like to change the value of Number of Tries, select the Modify
check button to its left to make it active, and then enter the new value
in the eld. Make sure you click Apply when you have nished modifying
the stochastic tracking properties.
The setting for a property that has not been activated with the Modify !
check button is not relevant, because it will not be applied to the selected
injections when you click Apply. After you turn on Modify for a particular
property, clicking Apply will modify that property for all of the selected
injections, so make sure that you have the settings the way that you
want them before you do this. If you make a mistake, you will have to
return to the Set Injection Properties panel for each injection to x the
incorrect setting, if it is not possible to do so in the Set Multiple Injection
Properties panel.
Modify ing Properties Common to a Subset of Selected Injections
Note that it is possible to change a property that is relevant for only a
subset of the selected injections. For example, if some of the selected
injections are using stochastic tracking and some are not, enabling the
Random Eddy Lifetime option and clicking Apply will turn this option on
only for those injections that are using stochastic tracking. The other
injections will be unaected.
19.10 Setting Boundary Conditions for the Discrete Phase
When a particle reaches a physical boundary (e.g., a wall or inlet bound-
ary) in your model, FLUENT applies a discrete phase boundary condition
to determine the fate of the trajectory at that boundary. The boundary
condition, or trajectory fate, can be dened separately for each zone in
your FLUENT model.
19.10.1 Discrete Phase Boundary Condition Ty pes
The available boundary conditions, as noted in Section 19.2, include the
following:
reect rebounds the particle o the boundary in question with a
change in its momentum as dened by the coecient of restitution.
(See Figure 19.10.1.)
coefficient
of
restitution
=
V

2,n
V
1,n
2
Figure 19.10.1: Reect Boundary Condition for the Discrete Phase
The normal coecient of restitution denes the amount of mo-
mentum in the direction normal to the wall that is retained by the
particle after the collision with the boundary [236]:
e
n
=
v
2,n
v
1,n
(19.10-1)
where v
n
is the particle velocity normal to the wall and the sub-
scripts 1 and 2 refer to before and after collision, respectively. Simi-
larly, the tangential coecient of restitution, e
t
, denes the amount
of momentum in the direction tangential to the wall that is retained
by the particle.
A normal or tangential coecient of restitution equal to 1.0 implies
that the particle retains all of its normal or tangential momentum
after the rebound (an elastic collision). A normal or tangential co-
ecient of restitution equal to 0.0 implies that the particle retains
none of its normal or tangential momentum after the rebound.
Non-constant coecients of restitution can be specied for wall
zones with the reect type boundary condition. The coecients
are set as a function of the impact angle,
1
, in Figure 19.10.1.
Note that the default setting for both coecients of restitution
is a constant value of 1.0 (all normal and tangential momentum
retained).
trap terminates the trajectory calculations and records the fate
of the particle as trapped. In the case of evaporating droplets,
their entire mass instantaneously passes into the vapor phase and
enters the cell adjacent to the boundary. See Figure 19.10.2. In the
case of combusting particles, the remaining volatile mass is passed
into the vapor phase.

1
volatile fraction
flashes to vapor
Figure 19.10.2: Trap Boundary Condition for the Discrete Phase
escape reports the particle as having escaped when it encoun-
ters the boundary in question. Trajectory calculations are termi-
nated. See Figure 19.10.3.

particle vanishes
Figure 19.10.3: Escape Boundary Condition for the Discrete Phase
interior means that the particles will pass through the inter-
nal boundary. This option is available only for internal boundary
zones, such as a radiator or a porous jump.
Because you can stipulate any of these conditions at ow boundaries, it
is possible to incorporate mixed discrete phase boundary conditions in
your FLUENT model.
Default Discrete Phase Boundary Conditions
FLUENT assumes the following boundary conditions:
reect at wall, symmetry, and axis boundaries, with both coe-
cients of restitution equal to 1.0
escape at all ow boundaries (pressure and velocity inlets, pres-
sure outlets, etc.)
interior at all internal boundaries (radiator, porous jump, etc.)
The coecient of restitution can be modied only for wall boundaries.
19.10.2 Inputs for Discrete Phase Boundary Conditions
Discrete phase boundary conditions can be set for boundaries in the
panels opened from the Boundary Conditions panel. When one or more
injections have been dened, inputs for the discrete phase will appear in
the panels (e.g., Figure 19.10.4).
Figure 19.10.4: Discrete Phase Boundary Conditions in the Wall Panel
Select reect, trap, or escape in the Boundary Cond. Type drop-down
list under Discrete Phase Model Conditions. (In the Walls panel, you
will need to click on the DPM tab to access the Discrete Phase Model
Conditions.) These conditions are described in Section 19.10.1. You
can also select a user-dened function in this list. For internal boundary
19.11 Setting Material Properties for the Discrete Phase
zones, such as a radiator or a porous jump, you can also choose an interior
boundary condition. The interior condition means that the particles will
pass through the internal boundary.
If you select the reect type at a wall (only), you can dene a constant,
polynomial, piecewise-linear, or piecewise-polynomial function for the Nor-
mal and Tangent coecients of restitution under Discrete Phase Reection
Coecients. See Section 19.10.1 for details about the boundary condi-
tion types and the coecients of restitution. The panels for dening the
polynomial, piecewise-linear, and piecewise-polynomial functions are the
same as those used for dening temperature-dependent properties. See
If the Erosion/Accretion option is selected in the Discrete Phase Model
panel, the erosion rate expression must be specied at the walls. The
erosion rate is dened in Equation 19.2-62 as a product of the mass
ux and specied functions for the particle diameter, impact angle, and
velocity exponent. Under Erosion Model in the Wall panel, you can dene
a constant, polynomial, piecewise-linear, or piecewise-polynomial function
for the Impact Angle Function, Diameter Function, and Velocity Exponent
Function (f(), C(d
p
), and b(v) in Equation 19.2-62). See Section 19.7.6
for a detailed description of these functions and Section 7.1.3 for details
about using the panels for dening polynomial, piecewise-linear, and
piecewise-polynomial functions.
In order to apply the physical models described in earlier sections to
the prediction of the discrete phase trajectories and heat/mass transfer,
FLUENT requires many physical property inputs.
19.11.1 Summary of Property Inputs
Tables 19.11.119.11.4 summarize which of these property inputs are
used for each particle type and in which of the equations for heat and
mass transfer each property input is used. Detailed descriptions of each
input are provided in Section 19.11.2.
Table 19.11.1: Property Inputs for Inert Particles
Property Symbol
density
p
in Eq. 19.2-1
specic heat c
p
in Eq. 19.3-3
particle emissivity
p
in Eq. 19.3-3
particle scattering factor f in Eq. 11.3-20
thermophoretic coecient D
T,p
in Eq. 19.2-14
Table 19.11.2: Property Inputs for Droplet Particles
Properties Symbol
density
p
in Eq. 19.2-1
specic heat c
p
in Eq. 19.3-17
thermal conductivity k
p
in Eq. 19.2-15
viscosity in Eq. 19.4-48
latent heat h
fg
in Eq. 19.3-17
vaporization temperature T
vap
in Eq. 19.3-10
boiling point T
bp
in Eq. 19.3-10, 19.3-18
volatile component fraction f
v0
in Eq. 19.3-11, 19.3-19
binary diusivity D
i,m
in Eq. 19.3-15
saturation vapor pressure p
sat
(T) in Eq. 19.3-13
heat of pyrolysis h
pyrol
in Eq. 19.5-2
droplet surface tension in Eq. 19.4-18, 19.4-47
particle emissivity
p
in Eq. 19.3-17, 19.3-23
T,p
in Eq. 19.2-14
Table 19.11.3: Property Inputs for Combusting Particles (Laws 14)
Properties Symbol
density
p
in Eq. 19.2-1
specic heat c
p
in Eq. 19.3-3
latent heat h
fg
in Eq. 19.5-2
vaporization temperature T
vap
= T
bp
in Eq. 19.3-24
volatile component fraction f
v0
in Eq. 19.3-25
swelling coecient C
sw
in Eq. 19.3-57
burnout stoichiometric ratio S
b
in Eq. 19.3-64
combustible fraction f
comb
in Eq. 19.3-63
heat of reaction for burnout H
reac
in Eq. 19.3-64 19.3-78
fraction of reaction heat given to solid f
h
in Eq. 19.3-78
particle emissivity
p
in Eq. 19.3-58, 19.3-78
T,p
in Eq. 19.2-14
devolatilization model
law 4, constant rate
constant A
0
in Eq. 19.3-26
law 4, single rate
pre-exponential factor A
1
in Eq. 19.3-27
activation energy E in Eq. 19.3-27
law 4, two rates
pre-exponential factors A
1
, A
2
in Eq. 19.3-30, 19.3-31
activation energies E
1
, E
2
in Eq. 19.3-30, 19.3-31
weighting factors
1
,
2
in Eq. 19.3-32
law 4, CPD
initial fraction of bridges in coal lattice p
0
in Eq. 19.3-43
initial fraction of char bridges c
0
in Eq. 19.3-42
lattice coordination number + 1 in Eq. 19.3-54
cluster molecular weight M
w,1
in Eq. 19.3-54
side chain molecular weight M
w,
in Eq. 19.3-53
Table 19.11.4: Property Inputs for Combusting Particles (Law 5)
Properties Symbol
combustion model
law 5, diusion rate
binary diusivity D
i,m
in Eq. 19.3-65
law 5, diusion/kinetic rate
mass diusion limited rate constant C
1
in Eq. 19.3-66
kinetics limited rate pre-exp. factor C
2
in Eq. 19.3-67
kinetics limited rate activ. energy E in Eq. 19.3-67
law 5, intrinsic rate
mass diusion limited rate constant C
1
in Eq. 19.3-66
kinetics limited rate pre-exp. factor A
i
in Eq. 19.3-76
kinetics limited rate activ. energy E
i
in Eq. 19.3-76
char porosity in Eq. 19.3-73
mean pore radius r
p
in Eq. 19.3-75
specic internal surface area A
g
in Eq. 19.3-70, 19.3-72
tortuosity in Eq. 19.3-73
burning mode in Eq. 19.3-77
law 5, multiple surface reaction
binary diusivity D
i,m
in Eq. 19.3-65
19.11.2 Setting Discrete-Phase Phy sical Properties
The Concept of Discrete-Phase Materials
When you create a particle injection and dene the initial conditions for
the discrete phase (as described in Section 19.9), you choose a particular
material as the particles material. All particle streams of that material
will have the same physical properties.
Discrete-phase materials are divided into three categories, corresponding
to the three types of particles available. These material types are inert-
particle, droplet-particle, and combusting-particle. Each material type will
be added to the Material Type list in the Materials panel when an injection
of that type of particle is dened (in the Set Injection Properties or Set
Multiple Injection Properties panel, as described in Section 19.9). The
rst time you create an injection of each particle type, you will be able
to choose a material from the database, and this will become the default
material for that type of particle. That is, if you create another injection
of the same type of particle, your selected material will be used for that
injection as well. You may choose to modify the predened properties for
your selected particle material, if you want (as described in Section 7.1.2).
If you need only one set of properties for each type of particle, you need
not dene any new materials; you can simply use the same material for
all particles.
If you do not nd the material you want in the database, you can select !
a material that is close to the one you wish to use, and then modify
the properties and give the material a new name, as described in Sec-
tion 7.1.2.
Note that a discrete-phase material type will not appear in the Material !
Type list in the Materials panel until you have dened an injection of
that type of particles. This means, for example, that you cannot dene
or modify any combusting-particle materials until you have dened a
combusting particle injection (as described in Section 19.9).
Dening Additional Discrete-Phase Materials
In many cases, a single set of physical properties (density, heat capacity,
etc.) is appropriate for each type of discrete phase particle considered
in a given model. Sometimes, however, a single model may contain two
dierent types of inert, droplet, or combusting particles (e.g., heavy par-
ticles and gaseous bubbles or two dierent types of evaporating liquid
droplets). In such cases, it is necessary to assign a dierent set of prop-
erties to the two (or more) dierent types of particles. This is easily
accomplished by dening two or more inert, droplet, or combusting par-
ticle materials and using the appropriate one for each particle injection.
You can dene additional discrete-phase materials either by copying
them from the database or by creating them from scratch. See Sec-
tion 7.1.2 for instructions on using the Materials panel to perform these
actions.
Recall that you must dene at least one injection (as described in Sec- !
tion 19.9) containing particles of a certain type before you will be able
to dene additional materials for that particle type.
Description of Properties
The properties that appear in the Materials panel vary depending on
the particle type (selected in the Set Injection Properties or Set Multiple
Injection Properties panel, as described in Sections 19.9.5 and 19.9.17) and
the physical models you are using in conjunction with the discrete-phase
model.
Below, all properties you may need to dene for a discrete-phase material
are listed. See Tables 19.11.119.11.4 to see which properties are dened
for each type of particle.
Density is the density of the particulate phase in units of mass per unit
volume of the discrete phase. This density is the mass density and
not the volumetric density. Since certain particles may swell dur-
ing the trajectory calculations, your input is actually an initial
density.
Cp is the specic heat, c
p
, of the particle. The specic heat may be
dened as a function of temperature by selecting one of the function
types from the drop-down list to the right of Cp. See Section 7.1.3
for details about temperature-dependent properties.
Thermal Conductivity is the thermal conductivity of the particle. This
input is specied in units of W/m-K in SI units or Btu/ft-h-
F in
British units and is treated as a constant by FLUENT.
Latent Heat is the latent heat of vaporization, h
fg
, required for phase
change from an evaporating liquid droplet (Equation 19.3-17) or
for the evolution of volatiles from a combusting particle (Equa-
tion 19.3-58). This input is supplied in units of J/kg in SI units or
of Btu/lb
m
in British units and is treated as a constant by FLU-
ENT.
Thermophoretic Coecient is the coecient D
T,p
in Equation 19.2-14,
and appears when the thermophoretic force (which is described in
Section 19.2.1) is included in the trajectory calculation (i.e., when
the Thermophoretic Force option is enabled in the Discrete Phase
Model panel). The default is the expression developed by Tal-
bot [237] (talbot-diusion-coe) and requires no input from you.
You can also dene the thermophoretic coecient as a function
of temperature by selecting one of the function types from the
drop-down list to the right of Thermophoretic Coecient. See Sec-
tion 7.1.3 for details about temperature-dependent properties.
Vaporization Temperature is the temperature, T
vap
, at which the calcula-
tion of vaporization from a liquid droplet or devolatilization from
a combusting particle is initiated by FLUENT. Until the particle
temperature reaches T
vap
, the particle is heated via Law 1, Equa-
tion 19.3-3. This temperature input represents a modeling decision
rather than any physical characteristic of the discrete phase.
Boiling Point is the temperature, T
bp
, at which the calculation of the
boiling rate equation (19.3-20) is initiated by FLUENT. When a
droplet particle reaches the boiling point, FLUENT applies Law 3
and assumes that the droplet temperature is constant at T
bp
. The
boiling point should be dened as the saturated vapor temperature
at the system pressure that you dened in the Operating Conditions
panel.
Volatile Component Fraction (f
v0
) is the fraction of a droplet particle
that may vaporize via Laws 2 and/or 3 (Sections 19.3.3 and 19.3.4).
For combusting particles, it is the fraction of volatiles that may be
evolved via Law 4 (Section 19.3.5).
Binary Diusivity is the mass diusion coecient, D
i,m
, used in the va-
porization law, Law 2 (Equation 19.3-15). This input is also used
to dene the mass diusion of the oxidizing species to the sur-
face of a combusting particle, D
i,m
, as given in Equation 19.3-65.
(Note that the diusion coecient inputs that you supply for the
continuous phase are not used for the discrete phase.)
Saturation Vapor Pressure is the saturated vapor pressure, p
sat
, dened
as a function of temperature, which is used in the vaporization
law, Law 2 (Equation 19.3-13). The saturated vapor pressure may
be dened as a function of temperature by selecting one of the
function types from the drop-down list to the right of its name. (See
Section 7.1.3 for details about temperature-dependent properties.)
In the case of unrealistic inputs, FLUENT restricts the range of
P
sat
to between 0.0 and the operating pressure. Correct input of a
realistic vapor pressure curve is essential for accurate results from
the vaporization model.
Heat of Pyrolysis is the heat of the instantaneous pyrolysis reaction, h
pyrol
,
that the evaporating/boiling species may undergo when released to
the continuous phase. This input represents the conversion of the
evaporating species to lighter components during the evaporation
process. The heat of pyrolysis should be input as a positive number
for exothermic reaction and as a negative number for endothermic
reaction. The default value of zero implies that the heat of pyrol-
ysis is not considered. This input is used in Equation 19.5-2.
Swelling Coecient is the coecient C
sw
in Equation 19.3-57, which gov-
erns the swelling of the coal particle during the devolatilization law,
Law 4 (Section 19.3.5). A swelling coecient of unity (the default)
implies that the coal particle stays at constant diameter during the
devolatilization process.
Burnout Stoichiometric Ratio is the stoichiometric requirement, S
b
, for
the burnout reaction, Equation 19.3-64, in terms of mass of oxidant
per mass of char in the particle.
Combustible Fraction is the mass fraction of char, f
comb
, in the coal par-
ticle, i.e., the fraction of the initial combusting particle that will
react in the surface reaction, Law 5 (Equation 19.3-63).
Heat of Reaction for Burnout is the heat released by the surface char
combustion reaction, Law 5 (Equation 19.3-64). This parameter
is input in terms of heat release (e.g., Joules) per unit mass of char
consumed in the surface reaction.
React. Heat Fraction Absorbed by Solid is the parameter f
h
(Equation
19.3-78), which controls the distribution of the heat of reaction
between the particle and the continuous phase. The default value
of zero implies that the entire heat of reaction is released to the
continuous phase.
Devolatilization Model denes which version of the devolatilization model,
Law 4, is being used. If you want to use the default constant rate
devolatilization model, Equation 19.3-26, retain the selection of
constant in the drop-down list to the right of Devolatilization Model
and input the rate constant A
0
in the eld below the list.
You can activate one of the optional devolatilization models (the
single kinetic rate, two kinetic rates, or CPD model, as described
in Section 19.3.5) by choosing single rate, two-competing-rates, or
cpd-model in the drop-down list.
When the single kinetic rate model (single-rate) is selected, the
Single Rate Devolatilization Model panel will appear and you will
enter the Pre-exponential Factor, A
1
, and the Activation Energy, E,
to be used in Equation 19.3-28 for the computation of the kinetic
rate.
When the two competing rates model (two-competing-rates) is se-
lected, the Two Competing Rates Model panel will appear and
you will enter, for the First Rate and the Second Rate, the Pre-
exponential Factor (A
1
in Equation 19.3-30 and A
2
in Equation
19.3-31), Activation Energy (E
1
in Equation 19.3-30 and E
2
in
Equation 19.3-31), and Weighting Factor (
1
and
2
in Equation
19.3-32). The constants you input are used in Equations 19.3-30
through 19.3-32.
When the CPD model (cpd-model) is selected, the CPD Model panel
will appear and you will enter the Initial Fraction of Bridges in Coal
Lattice (p
0
in Equation 19.3-43), Initial Fraction of Char Bridges (c
0
in Equation 19.3-42), Lattice Coordination Number ( +1 in Equa-
tion 19.3-54), Cluster Molecular Weight (M
w,1
in Equation 19.3-54),
and Side Chain Molecular Weight (M
w,
Note that the Single Rate Devolatilization Model, Two Competing
Rates Model, and CPD Model panels are modal panels, which means
that you must tend to them immediately before continuing the
property denitions.
Combustion Model denes which version of the surface char combustion
law (Law 5) is being used. If you want to use the default diusion-
limited rate model, retain the selection of diusion-limited in the
drop-down list to the right of Combustion Model. No additional
inputs are necessary, because the binary diusivity dened above
will be used in Equation 19.3-65.
To use the kinetics/diusion-limited rate model for the surface
combustion model, select kinetics/diusion-limited in the drop-down
list. The Kinetics/Diusion Limited Combustion Model panel will
appear and you will enter the Mass Diusion Limited Rate Constant
(C
1
in Equation 19.3-66), Kinetics Limited Rate Pre-exponential Fac-
tor (C
2
in Equation 19.3-67), and Kinetics Limited Rate Activation
Energy (E in Equation 19.3-67).
Note that the Kinetics/Diusion Limited Combustion Model panel is
a modal panel, which means that you must tend to it immediately
before continuing the property denitions.
To use the intrinsic model for the surface combustion model, se-
lect intrinsic-model in the drop-down list. The Intrinsic Combustion
Model panel will appear and you will enter the Mass Diusion Lim-
ited Rate Constant (C
1
in Equation 19.3-66), Kinetics Limited Rate
Pre-exponential Factor (A
i
in Equation 19.3-76), Kinetics Limited
Rate Activation Energy (E
i
in Equation 19.3-76), Char Porosity (
in Equation 19.3-73), Mean Pore Radius (r
p
in Equation 19.3-75),
Specic Internal Surface Area (A
g
in Equations 19.3-70 and 19.3-72),
Tortuosity ( in Equation 19.3-73), and Burning Mode, alpha ( in
Equation 19.3-77).
Note that the Intrinsic Combustion Model panel is a modal panel,
which means that you must tend to it immediately before contin-
uing the property denitions.
To use the multiple surface reactions model, select multiple-surface-
reactions in the drop-down list. FLUENT will display a dialog box
informing you that you will need to open the Reactions panel, where
you can review or modify the particle surface reactions that you
specied as described in Section 13.1.2.
If you have not yet dened any particle surface reactions, you must !
be sure to dene them now. See Section 13.3.3 for more information
about using the multiple surface reactions model.
You will notice that the Burnout Stoichiometric Ratio and Heat of
Reaction for Burnout are no longer available in the Materials panel,
as these parameters are now computed from the particle surface
reactions you dened in the Reactions panel.
Note that the multiple surface reactions model is available only if
the Particle Surface option for Reactions is enabled in the Species
Model panel. See Section 13.3.2 for details.
When the eect of particles on radiation is enabled (for the P-1 or dis-
crete ordinates radiation model only) in the Discrete Phase Model panel,
you will need to dene the following additional parameters:
Particle Emissivity is the emissivity of particles in your model,
p
, used to
compute radiation heat transfer to the particles (Equations 19.3-3,
19.3-17, 19.3-23, 19.3-58, and 19.3-78) when the P-1 or discrete
ordinates radiation model is active. Note that you must enable
radiation to particles, using the Particle Radiation Interaction option
in the Discrete Phase Model panel. Recommended values of particle
emissivity are 1.0 for coal particles and 0.5 for ash [143].
Particle Scattering Factor is the scattering factor, f
p
, due to particles in
the P-1 or discrete ordinates radiation model (Equation 11.3-20).
Note that you must enable particle eects in the radiation model,
using the Particle Radiation Interaction option in the Discrete Phase
Model panel. The recommended value of f
p
for coal combustion
modeling is 0.9 [143]. Note that if the eect of particles on radiation
is enabled, scattering in the continuous phase will be ignored in the
radiation model.
When an atomizer injection model and/or the spray breakup or collision
model is enabled in the Set Injection Properties panel (atomizers) and/or
Discrete Phase Model panel (spray breakup/collision), you will need to
dene the following additional parameters:
Viscosity is the droplet viscosity,
l
. The viscosity may be dened as
a function of temperature by selecting one of the function types
from the drop-down list to the right of Viscosity. See Section 7.1.3
for details about temperature-dependent properties. You also have
the option of implementing a user-dened function to model the
droplet viscosity. See the separate UDF Manual for information
about user-dened functions.
Droplet Surface Tension is the droplet surface tension, . The surface
tension may be dened as a function of temperature by selecting
one of the function types from the drop-down list to the right
of Droplet Surface Tension. See Section 7.1.3 for details about
temperature-dependent properties. You also have the option of
implementing a user-dened function to model the droplet surface
tension. See the separate UDF Manual for information about user-
dened functions.
19.12 Calculation Procedures for the Discrete Phase
Solution of the discrete phase implies integration in time of the force
balance on the particle (Equation 19.2-1) to yield the particle trajectory.
As the particle is moved along its trajectory, heat and mass transfer
between the particle and the continuous phase are also computed via
the heat/mass transfer laws (Section 19.3). The accuracy of the dis-
crete phase calculation thus depends on the time accuracy of the in-
tegration and upon the appropriate coupling between the discrete and
continuous phases when required. Numerical controls are described in
Section 19.12.1. Coupling and performing trajectory calculations are
described in Section 19.12.2. Sections 19.12.3 and 19.12.4 provide infor-
mation about resetting interphase exchange terms and using the parallel
solver for a discrete phase calculation.
19.12.1 Parameters Controlling the Numerical Integration
You will use two parameters to control the time integration of the particle
trajectory equations:
the length scale or step length factor, used to set the time step for
integration within each control volume
the maximum number of time steps, used to abort trajectory cal-
culations when the particle never exits the ow domain
Each of these parameters is set in the Discrete Phase Model panel (Fig-
ure 19.12.1) under Tracking Parameters.
Max. Number Of Steps is the maximum number of time steps used to
compute a single particle trajectory via integration of Equations
19.2-1 and 19.2-21. When the maximum number of steps is ex-
ceeded, FLUENT abandons the trajectory calculation for the cur-
rent particle injection and reports the trajectory fate as incom-
plete. The limit on the number of integration time steps elimi-
nates the possibility of a particle being caught in a recirculating
Figure 19.12.1: The Discrete Phase Model Panel
region of the continuous phase ow eld and being tracked in-
nitely. Note that you may easily create problems in which the
default value of 500 time steps is insucient for completion of the
trajectory calculation. In this case, when trajectories are reported
as incomplete within the domain and the particles are not recircu-
lating indenitely, you can increase the maximum number of steps
(up to a limit of 10
9
).
Length Scale controls the integration time step size used to integrate the
equations of motion for the particle. The integration time step is
computed by FLUENT based on a specied length scale L, and the
velocity of the particle (u
p
) and of the continuous phase (u
c
):
t =
L
u
p
+u
c
(19.12-1)
where L is the Length Scale that you dene. As dened by Equa-
tion 19.12-1, L is proportional to the integration time step and is
equivalent to the distance that the particle will travel before its
motion equations are solved again and its trajectory is updated. A
smaller value for the Length Scale increases the accuracy of the tra-
jectory and heat/mass transfer calculations for the discrete phase.
(Note that particle positions are always computed when particles
enter/leave a cell; even if you specify a very large length scale, the
time step used for integration will be such that the cell is traversed
in one step.)
Length Scale will appear in the Discrete Phase Model panel when
the Specify Length Scale option is on (the default setting).
Step Length Factor also controls the time step size used to integrate the
equations of motion for the particle. It diers from the Length
Scale in that it allows FLUENT to compute the time step in terms
of the number of time steps required for a particle to traverse a
computational cell. To set this parameter instead of the Length
Scale, turn o the Specify Length Scale option.
The integration time step is computed by FLUENT based on a char-
acteristic time that is related to an estimate of the time required
for the particle to traverse the current continuous phase control
volume. If this estimated transit time is dened as t
, FLUENT
chooses a time step t as
t =
t
(19.12-2)
where is the Step Length Factor. As dened by Equation 19.12-2,
is inversely proportional to the integration time step and is
roughly equivalent to the number of time steps required to tra-
verse the current continuous phase control volume. A larger value
for the Step Length Factor decreases the discrete phase integration
time step. The default value for the Step Length Factor is 20.
One simple rule of thumb to follow when setting the parameters above
is that if you want the particles to advance through a domain of length
D, the Length Scale times the Max. Number Of Steps should be approx-
imately equal to D.
19.12.2 Performing Trajectory Calculations
The trajectories of your discrete phase injections are computed when
you display the trajectories using graphics or when you perform solu-
tion iterations. That is, you can display trajectories without impacting
the continuous phase, or you can include their eect on the continuum
(termed a coupled calculation). In turbulent ows, trajectories can be
based on mean (time-averaged) continuous phase velocities or they can
be impacted by instantaneous velocity uctuations in the uid. This sec-
tion describes the procedures and commands you use to perform coupled
or uncoupled trajectory calculations, with or without stochastic tracking
or cloud tracking.
Uncoupled Calculations
For the uncoupled calculation, you will perform the following two steps:
1. Solve the continuous phase ow eld.
2. Plot (and report) the particle trajectories for discrete phase injec-
tions of interest.
In the uncoupled approach, this two-step procedure completes the mod-
eling eort, as illustrated in Figure 19.12.2. The particle trajectories are
computed as they are displayed, based on a xed continuous-phase ow
eld. Graphical and reporting options are detailed in Section 19.13.
continuous phase flow field calculation
particle trajectory calculation
Figure 19.12.2: Uncoupled Discrete Phase Calculations
This procedure is adequate when the discrete phase is present at a low
mass and momentum loading, in which case the continuous phase is not
impacted by the presence of the discrete phase.
Coupled Calculations
In a coupled two-phase simulation, FLUENT modies the two-step pro-
cedure above as follows:
1. Solve the continuous phase ow eld (prior to introduction of the
discrete phase).
2. Introduce the discrete phase by calculating the particle trajectories
for each discrete phase injection.
3. Recalculate the continuous phase ow, using the interphase ex-
change of momentum, heat, and mass determined during the pre-
vious particle calculation.
4. Recalculate the discrete phase trajectories in the modied contin-
uous phase ow eld.
5. Repeat the previous two steps until a converged solution is achieved
in which both the continuous phase ow eld and the discrete phase
particle trajectories are unchanged with each additional calcula-
tion.
This coupled calculation procedure is illustrated in Figure 19.12.3. When
your FLUENT model includes a high mass and/or momentum loading in
the discrete phase, the coupled procedure must be followed in order to
include the important impact of the discrete phase on the continuous
phase ow eld.
particle trajectory calculation
update continuous phase source terms
continuous phase flow field calculation
Figure 19.12.3: Coupled Discrete Phase Calculations
When you perform coupled calculations, all dened discrete phase injec- !
tions will be computed. You cannot calculate a subset of the injections
you have dened.
Procedures for a Coupled Two-Phase Flow
If your FLUENT model includes prediction of a coupled two-phase ow,
you should begin with a partially (or fully) converged continuous phase
ow eld. You will then create your injection(s) and set up the coupled
calculation.
For each discrete-phase iteration, FLUENT computes the particle/droplet
trajectories and updates the interphase exchange of momentum, heat,
and mass in each control volume. These interphase exchange terms then
impact the continuous phase when the continuous phase iteration is per-
formed. During the coupled calculation, FLUENT will perform the dis-
crete phase iteration at specied intervals during the continuous-phase
calculation. The coupled calculation continues until the continuous phase
ow eld no longer changes with further calculations (i.e., all convergence
criteria are satised). When convergence is reached, the discrete phase
trajectories no longer change either, since changes in the discrete phase
trajectories would result in changes in the continuous phase ow eld.
The steps for setting up the coupled calculation are as follows:
1. Solve the continuous phase ow eld.
2. In the Discrete Phase Model panel (Figure 19.12.1), enable the In-
teraction with Continuous Phase option.
3. Set the frequency with which the particle trajectory calculations
are introduced in the Number Of Continuous Phase Iterations Per
DPM Iteration eld. If you set this parameter to 5, for example,
a discrete phase iteration will be performed every fth continu-
ous phase iteration. The optimum number of iterations between
trajectory calculations depends upon the physics of your FLUENT
model.
Note that if you set this parameter to 0, FLUENT will not perform !
any discrete phase iterations.
During the coupled calculation (which you initiate using the Iterate panel
in the usual manner) you will see the following information in the FLU-
ENT console as the continuous and discrete phase iterations are per-
formed:
iter continuity x-velocity y-velocity k epsilon energy time/ite
314 2.5249e-01 2.8657e-01 1.0533e+00 7.6227e-02 2.9771e-02 9.8181e-03 0:00:05
315 2.7955e-01 2.5867e-01 9.2736e-01 6.4516e-02 2.6545e-02 4.2314e-03 0:00:03
DPM Iteration ....
number tracked= 9, number escaped= 1, aborted= 0, trapped= 0, evaporated = 8, i
Done.
316 1.9206e-01 1.1860e-01 6.9573e-01 5.2692e-02 2.3997e-02 2.4532e-03 0:00:02
317 2.0729e-01 3.2982e-02 8.3036e-01 4.1649e-02 2.2111e-02 2.5369e-01 0:00:01
318 3.2820e-01 5.5508e-02 6.0900e-01 5.9018e-02 2.6619e-02 4.0394e-02 0:00:00
Note that you can perform a discrete phase calculation at any time by
using the solve/dpm-update text command.
Stochastic Tracking in Coupled Calculations
If you include the stochastic prediction of turbulent dispersion in the
coupled two-phase ow calculations, the number of stochastic tries ap-
plied each time the discrete phase trajectories are introduced during
coupled calculations will be equal to the Number of Tries specied in the
Set Injection Properties panel. Input of this parameter is described in
Section 19.9.15.
Note that the number of tries should be set to 0 if you want to per-
form the coupled calculation based on the mean continuous phase ow
eld. An input of n 1 requests n stochastic trajectory calculations for
each particle in the injection. Note that when the number of stochastic
tracks included is small, you may nd that the ensemble average of the
trajectories is quite dierent each time the trajectories are computed.
These dierences may, in turn, impact the convergence of your coupled
solution. For this reason, you should include an adequate number of
stochastic tracks in order to avoid convergence troubles in coupled cal-
culations.
Under-Relaxation of the Interphase Exchange Terms
When you are coupling the discrete and continuous phases for steady-
state calculations, using the calculation procedures noted above, FLU-
ENT applies under-relaxation to the momentum, heat, and mass trans-
fer terms. This under-relaxation serves to increase the stability of the
coupled calculation procedure by letting the impact of the discrete phase
change only gradually:
E
new
= E
old
+(E
calculated
E
old
) (19.12-3)
where E
new
is the exchange term, E
old
is the previous value, E
calculated
is
the newly computed value, and is the particle/droplet under-relaxation
factor. FLUENT uses a default value of 0.5 for . You can modify
by changing the value in the Discrete Phase Sources eld under Under-
Relaxation Factors in the Solution Controls panel. You may need to de-
crease in order to improve the stability of coupled discrete phase cal-
culations.
19.12.3 Resetting the Interphase Exchange Terms
If you have performed coupled calculations, resulting in non-zero inter-
phase sources/sinks of momentum, heat, and/or mass that you do not
want to include in subsequent calculations, you can reset these sources
to zero.
Solve Initialize Reset DPM Sources
When you select the Reset DPM Sources menu item, the sources will
immediately be reset to zero without any further conrmation from you.
19.12.4 Parallel Processing for the Discrete Phase Model
If you are running FLUENT on a shared-memory multiprocessor machine
(see the Release Notes for platform limitations), you will need to specify
explicitly that you want to perform the discrete phase calculation in par-
allel. In the Discrete Phase Model panel, turn on the Workpile Algorithm
option under Parallel and specify the Number of Threads. By default,
the Number of Threads is equal to the number of compute nodes you
specied for the parallel solver. You can modify this value based on the
computational requirements of the particle calculations. If, for example,
the particle calculations require more computation than the ow calcu-
lation, you can increase the Number of Threads (up to the number of
available processors) to improve performance.
Note that the discrete phase model is also available when solving in
parallel on a distributed memory machine or compute cluster. However,
as when running on a shared-memory machine, the particle calculations
will take place entirely within the Host process. Therefore, you will need
to make sure that there is enough memory to store the entire grid on the
machine executing the Host process. In such a situation, the number of
threads should not exceed the number of CPUs on the host machine.
19.13 Postprocessing for the Discrete Phase
After you have completed your discrete phase inputs and any coupled
two-phase calculations of interest, you can display and store the particle
trajectory predictions. FLUENT provides both graphical and alphanu-
meric reporting facilities for the discrete phase, including the following:
Graphical display of the particle trajectories
Summary reports of trajectory fates
Step-by-step reports of the particle position, velocity, temperature,
and diameter
Alphanumeric reports and graphical display of the interphase ex-
change of momentum, heat, and mass
Sampling of trajectories at boundaries and lines/planes
Histograms of trajectory data at sample planes
Display of erosion/accretion rates
This section provides detailed descriptions of each of these postprocessing
options.
(Note that plotting or reporting trajectories does not change the source
terms.)
19.13.1 Graphical Display of Trajectories
When you have dened discrete phase particle injections, as described in
Section 19.9, you can display the trajectories of these discrete particles
using the Particle Tracks panel (Figure 19.13.1).
Display Particle Tracks...
Figure 19.13.1: The Particle Tracks Panel
The procedure for drawing trajectories for particle injections is as follows:
1. Select the particle injection(s) you wish to track in the Release From
Injections list. (You can choose to track a specic particle, instead,
as described below.)
2. Set the length scale and the maximum number of steps in the
Discrete Phase Model panel, as described in Section 19.12.1.
If stochastic and/or cloud tracking is desired, set the related pa-
rameters in the Set Injection Properties panel, as described in Sec-
tion 19.9.15.
3. Set any of the display options described below.
4. Click on the Display button to draw the trajectories or click on the
Pulse button to animate the particle positions. The Pulse button
will become the Stop ! button during the animation, and you must
click on Stop ! to stop the pulsing.
For unsteady particle tracking simulations, clicking on Display will !
show only the current location of the particles. Typically, you
should select point in the Style drop-down list when displaying tran-
sient particle locations since individual positions will be displayed.
The Pulse button option is not available for unsteady tracking.
Specify ing Individual Particles for Display
It is also possible to display the trajectory for an individual particle
stream instead of for all the streams in a given injection. To do so, you
will rst need to determine which particle is of interest. Use the Injections
panel to list the particle streams in the desired injection, as described in
Section 19.9.4.
Dene Injections...
Note the ID numbers listed in the rst column of the listing printed
in the FLUENT console. Then perform the following steps after step 1
above:
1. Enable the Track Single Particle Stream option in the Particle Tracks
panel.
2. In the Stream ID eld, specify the ID number of the particle stream
for which you want to plot the trajectory.
Options for Particle Trajectory Plots
The options mentioned above include the following: You can include
the grid in the trajectory display, control the style of the trajectories
(including the twisting of ribbon-style trajectories), and color them by
dierent scalar elds and control the color scale. You can also choose
node or cell values for display. If you are pulsing the trajectories, you
can control the pulse mode. Finally, you can generate an XY plot of the
particle trajectory data (e.g., residence time) as a function of time or
path length and save this XY plot data to a le.
These options are controlled in exactly the same way that pathline-
plotting options are controlled. See Section 25.1.4 for details about set-
ting the trajectory plotting options mentioned above.
Note that in addition to coloring the trajectories by continuous phase
variables, you can also color them according to the following discrete
phase variables: particle time, particle velocity, particle diameter, par-
ticle density, particle mass, particle temperature, particle law number,
particle time step, and particle Reynolds number. These variables are
included in the Particle Variables... category of the Color By list. To dis-
play the minimum and maximum values in the domain, click the Update
Min/Max button.
Graphical Display in Axisy mmetric Geometries
For axisymmetric problems in which the particle has a non-zero circum-
ferential velocity component, the trajectory of an individual particle is
often a spiral about the centerline of rotation. FLUENT displays the r
and x components of the trajectory (but not the component) projected
in the axisymmetric plane.
19.13.2 Reporting of Trajectory Fates
When you perform trajectory calculations by displaying the trajecto-
ries (as described in Section 19.13.1), FLUENT will provide information
about the trajectories as they are completed. By default, the number of
trajectories with each possible fate (escaped, aborted, evaporated, etc.)
is reported:
DPM Iteration ....
number tracked = 7, escaped = 4, aborted = 0, trapped = 0, evaporated = 3, inco
Done.
You can also track particles through the domain without displaying the
trajectories by clicking on the Track button at the bottom of the panel.
This allows the listing of reports without also displaying the tracks.
Trajectory Fates
The possible fates for a particle trajectory are as follows:
Escaped trajectories are those that terminate at a ow boundary
for which the escape condition is set.
Incomplete trajectories are those that were terminated when the
maximum allowed number of time stepsas dened by the Max.
Number Of Steps input in the Discrete Phase Model panel (see Sec-
tion 19.12.1)was exceeded.
Trapped trajectories are those that terminate at a ow boundary
where the trap condition has been set.
Evaporated trajectories include those trajectories along which
the particles were evaporated within the domain.
Aborted trajectories are those that fail to complete due to round-
o reasons. You may want to retry the calculation with a modied
length scale and/or dierent initial conditions.
Summary Reports
You can request additional detail about the trajectory fates as the parti-
cles exit the domain, including the mass ow rates through each bound-
ary zone, mass ow rate of evaporated droplets, and composition of the
particles.
1. Follow steps 1 and 2 in Section 19.13.1 for displaying trajectories.
2. Select Summary as the Report Type and click Display or Track.
A detailed report similar to the following example will appear in the
console window. (You may also choose to write this report to a le by
selecting File as the Report to option, clicking on the Write... button
(which was originally the Display button), and specifying a le name for
the summary report le in the resulting Select File dialog box.)
DPM Iteration ....
number tracked = 10, escaped = 8, aborted = 0, trapped = 0, evaporated = 0, inc
Fate Number Elapsed Time (s)
Min Max Avg Std Dev
---- ------ ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---
Incomplete 2 1.485e+01 2.410e+01 1.947e+01 4.623e+00
Escaped - Zone 7 8 4.940e+00 2.196e+01 1.226e+01 4.871e+00
(*)- Mass Transfer Summary -(*)
Fate Mass Flow (kg/s)
Initial Final Change
---- ---------- ---------- ----------
Incomplete 1.388e-03 1.943e-04 -1.194e-03
Escaped - Zone 7 1.502e-03 2.481e-04 -1.254e-03
(*)- Energy Transfer Summary -(*)
Fate Heat Content (W)
---- ---------- ---------- ----------
Incomplete 4.051e+02 3.088e+02 -9.630e+01
Escaped - Zone 7 4.383e+02 3.914e+02 -4.696e+01
(*)- Combusting Particles -(*)
Fate Volatile Content (kg/s) Char Content (kg/s)
Initial Final %Conv Initial Final
---- ---------- ---------- ------- ---------- ---------- --
Incomplete 6.247e-04 0.000e+00 100.00 5.691e-04 0.000e+00 1
Escaped - Zone 7 6.758e-04 0.000e+00 100.00 6.158e-04 3.782e-05
Done.
The report groups together particles with each possible fate, and re-
ports the number of particles, the time elapsed during trajectories, and
the mass and energy transfer. This information can be very useful for
obtaining information such as where particles are escaping from the do-
main, where particles are colliding with surfaces, and the extent of heat
and mass transfer to/from the particles within the domain. Additional
information is reported for combusting particles.
Elapsed Time
The number of particles with each fate is listed under the Number head-
ing. (Particles that escape through dierent zones or are trapped at
dierent zones are considered to have dierent fates, and are therefore
listed separately.) The minimum, maximum, and average time elapsed
during the trajectories of these particles, as well as the standard devi-
ation about the average time, are listed in the Min, Max, Avg, and Std
Dev columns. This information indicates how much time the particle(s)
spent in the domain before they escaped, aborted, evaporated, or were
trapped.
Fate Number Elapsed Time (s)
Min Max Avg Std Dev
---- ------ ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---
Incomplete 2 1.485e+01 2.410e+01 1.947e+01 4.623e+00
Escaped - Zone 7 8 4.940e+00 2.196e+01 1.226e+01 4.871e+00
Also, on the right side of the report are listed the injection name and
index of the trajectories with the minimum and maximum elapsed times.
(You may need to use the scroll bar to view this information.)
Elapsed Time (s) Injection, Index
Min Max Avg Std Dev Min Max
--- ---------- ---------- ---------- -------------------- --------------------
+01 2.410e+01 1.947e+01 4.623e+00 injection-0 1 injection-0 0
+00 2.196e+01 1.226e+01 4.871e+00 injection-0 9 injection-0 2
Mass Transfer Summary
For all droplet or combusting particles with each fate, the total initial
and nal mass ow rates and the change in mass ow rate are reported
in the Initial, Final, and Change columns. With this information, you
can determine how much mass was transferred to the continuous phase
from the particles.
(*)- Mass Transfer Summary -(*)
Fate Mass Flow (kg/s)
---- ---------- ---------- ----------
Incomplete 1.388e-03 1.943e-04 -1.194e-03
Escaped - Zone 7 1.502e-03 2.481e-04 -1.254e-03
Energy Transfer Summary
For all particles with each fate, the total initial and nal heat content
and the change in heat content are reported in the Initial, Final, and
Change columns. This report tells you how much heat was transferred
from the continuous phase to the particles.
(*)- Energy Transfer Summary -(*)
Fate Heat Content (W)
---- ---------- ---------- ----------
Incomplete 4.051e+02 3.088e+02 -9.630e+01
Escaped - Zone 7 4.383e+02 3.914e+02 -4.696e+01
Combusting Particles
If combusting particles are present, FLUENT will include additional re-
porting on the volatiles and char converted. These reports are intended
to help you identify the composition of the combusting particles as they
exit the computational domain.
(*)- Combusting Particles -(*)
Fate Volatile Content (kg/s) Char Content (kg/s)
Initial Final %Conv Initial Final %Conv
---- ---------- ---------- ------- ---------- ---------- -------
Incomplete 6.247e-04 0.000e+00 100.00 5.691e-04 0.000e+00 100.00
Escaped - Zone 7 6.758e-04 0.000e+00 100.00 6.158e-04 3.782e-05 93.86
The total volatile content at the start and end of the trajectory is re-
ported in the Initial and Final columns under Volatile Content.
The percentage of volatiles that has been devolatilized is reported in the
%Conv column.
The total reactive portion (char) at the start and end of the trajectory is
reported in the Initial and Final columns under Char Content. The
percentage of char that reacted is reported in the %Conv column.
19.13.3 Step-by -Step Reporting of Trajectories
At times, you may want to obtain a detailed, step-by-step report of
the particle trajectory/trajectories. Such reports can be obtained in
alphanumeric format. This capability allows you to monitor the particle
position, velocity, temperature, or diameter as the trajectory proceeds.
The procedure for generating les containing step-by-step reports is
listed below:
You may want to track only one particle at a time, using the Track
Single Particle Stream option.
2. Select Step By Step as the Report Type.
3. Select File as the Report to option. (The Display button will become
the Write... button.)
4. In the Signicant Figures eld, enter the number of signicant g-
ures to be used in the step-by-step report.
5. Click on the Write... button and specify a le name for the step-
by-step report le in the resulting Select File dialog box.
A detailed report similar to the following example will be saved to the
specied le before the trajectories are plotted. (You may also choose
to print the report in the console by choosing Console as the Report to
option and clicking on Display or Track, but the report is so long that it
is unlikely to be of use to you in that form.)
The step-by-step report lists the particle position and velocity of the
particle at selected time steps along the trajectory:
Time X-Position Y-Position Z-Velocity X-Velocity Y-Velocity Z-Veloc
0.000e+00 1.411e-03 3.200e-03 0.000e+00 2.650e+01 0.000e+00 0.000e
3.773e-05 2.411e-03 3.200e-03 0.000e+00 2.648e+01 0.000e+00 0.000e
5.403e-05 2.822e-03 3.192e-03 0.000e+00 2.647e+01 0.000e+00 0.000e
9.181e-05 3.822e-03 3.192e-03 0.000e+00 2.644e+01 0.000e+00 0.000e
1.296e-04 4.821e-03 3.192e-03 0.000e+00 2.642e+01 0.000e+00 0.000e
1.608e-04 5.644e-03 3.192e-03 0.000e+00 2.639e+01 0.000e+00 0.000e
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
Also listed are the diameter, temperature, density, and mass of the par-
ticle. (You may need to use the scroll bar to view this information.)
elocity Y-Velocity Z-Velocity Diameter Temperature Density Mass
650e+01 0.000e+00 0.000e+00 2.000e-04 3.000e+02 1.300e+03 5.445e-09
648e+01 0.000e+00 0.000e+00 2.000e-04 3.006e+02 1.300e+03 5.445e-09
647e+01 0.000e+00 0.000e+00 2.000e-04 3.009e+02 1.300e+03 5.445e-09
644e+01 0.000e+00 0.000e+00 2.000e-04 3.015e+02 1.300e+03 5.445e-09
642e+01 0.000e+00 0.000e+00 2.000e-04 3.022e+02 1.300e+03 5.445e-09
639e+01 0.000e+00 0.000e+00 2.000e-04 3.027e+02 1.300e+03 5.445e-09
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
19.13.4 Reporting Current Positions for Unsteady Tracking
When using unsteady tracking, you may want to obtain a report of the
particle trajectory/trajectories showing the current positions of the par-
ticles. Selecting Current Positions under Report Type in the ParticleTracks
panel enables the display of the current positions of the particles.
The procedure for generating les containing current position reports is
listed below:
You may want to track only one particle stream at a time, using
the Track Single Particle Stream option.
2. Select Current Position as the Report Type.
3. Select File as the Report to option. (The Display button will become
the Write... button.)
4. In the Signicant Figures eld, enter the number of signicant g-
ures to be used in the step-by-step report.
5. Click on the Write... button and specify a le name for the current
position report le in the resulting Select File dialog box.
The current position report lists the positions and velocities of all parti-
cles that are currently in the domain:
Time X-Position Y-Position Z-Position X-Velocity Y-Velocity Z-Veloc
0.000e+00 1.000e-03 3.120e-02 0.000e+00 1.000e+01 5.000e+00 0.000e
1.672e-05 1.168e-03 3.128e-02 0.000e+00 1.010e+01 4.988e+00 0.000e
3.342e-05 1.337e-03 3.137e-02 0.000e+00 1.019e+01 4.977e+00 0.000e
5.010e-05 1.508e-03 3.145e-02 0.000e+00 1.028e+01 4.965e+00 0.000e
6.675e-05 1.680e-03 3.153e-02 0.000e+00 1.038e+01 4.954e+00 0.000e
8.338e-05 1.854e-03 3.161e-02 0.000e+00 1.047e+01 4.942e+00 0.000e
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
Also listed are the diameter, temperature, density, and mass of the par-
ticles. (You may need to use the scroll bar to view this information.)
elocity Y-Velocity Z-Velocity Diameter Temperature Density Mass
000e+01 5.000e+00 0.000e+00 7.000e-05 3.000e+02 1.300e+03 2.335e-10
010e+01 4.988e+00 0.000e+00 7.000e-05 3.009e+02 1.300e+03 2.335e-10
019e+01 4.977e+00 0.000e+00 7.000e-05 3.019e+02 1.300e+03 2.335e-10
028e+01 4.965e+00 0.000e+00 7.000e-05 3.028e+02 1.300e+03 2.335e-10
038e+01 4.954e+00 0.000e+00 7.000e-05 3.037e+02 1.300e+03 2.335e-10
047e+01 4.942e+00 0.000e+00 7.000e-05 3.046e+02 1.300e+03 2.335e-10
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
19.13.5 Reporting of Interphase Exchange Terms and Discrete
Phase Concentration
FLUENT reports the magnitudes of the interphase exchange of momen-
tum, heat, and mass in each control volume in your FLUENT model. It
can also report the total concentration of the discrete phase. You can
display these variables graphically, by drawing contours, proles, etc.
They are all contained in the Discrete Phase Model... category of the
variable selection drop-down list that appears in postprocessing panels:
DPM Concentration
DPM Mass Source
DPM X,Y,Z Momentum Source
DPM Swirl Momentum Source
DPM Sensible Enthalpy Source
DPM Enthalpy Source
DPM Absorption Coecient
DPM Emission
DPM Scattering
DPM Burnout
DPM Evaporation/Devolatilization
DPM (species) Source
DPM Erosion
DPM Accretion
See Chapter 27 for denitions of these variables.
Note that these exchange terms are updated and displayed only when
coupled calculations are performed. Displaying and reporting particle
trajectories (as described in Sections 19.13.1 and 19.13.2) will not aect
the values of these exchange terms.
19.13.6 Trajectory Sampling
Particle states (position, velocity, diameter, temperature, and mass ow
rate) can be written to les at various boundaries and planes (lines in
2D) using the Sample Trajectories panel (Figure 19.13.2).
Report Discrete Phase Sample...
Figure 19.13.2: The Sample Trajectories Panel
The procedure for generating les containing the particle samples is listed
below:
1. Select the injections to be tracked in the Release From Injections
list.
2. Select the surfaces at which samples will be written. These can be
boundaries from the Boundaries list or planes from the Planes list
(in 3D) or lines from the Lines list (in 2D).
3. Click on the Compute button. Note that for unsteady particle
tracking, the Compute button will become the Start button (to
initiate sampling) or a Stop button (to stop sampling).
Clicking on the Compute button will cause the particles to be tracked and
their status to be written to les when they encounter selected surfaces.
The le names will be formed by appending .dpm to the surface name.
For unsteady particle tracking, clicking on the Start button will open
the les and write the le header sections. If the solution is advanced
in time by computing some time steps, the particle trajectories will be
updated and the particle states will be written to the les as they cross
the selected planes or boundaries. Clicking on the Stop button will close
the les and end the sampling.
For stochastic tracking, it may be useful to repeat this process multiple
times and append the results to the same le, while monitoring the
sample statistics at each update. To do this, enable the Append Files
option before repeating the calculation (clicking on Compute). Similarly,
you can cause erosion and accretion rates to be accumulated for repeated
trajectory calculations by turning on the Accumulate Erosion/Accretion
Rates option. (See also Section 19.13.8.) The format and the information
written for the sample output can also be controlled through a user-
dened function, which can be selected in the Output drop-down list. See
the separate UDF Manual for information about user-dened functions.
19.13.7 Histogram Reporting of Samples
Histograms can be plotted from sample les created in the Sample Trajec-
tories panel (as described in Section 19.13.6) using the Trajectory Sample
Histograms panel (Figure 19.13.3).
Report Discrete Phase Histogram...
The procedure for plotting histograms from data in a sample le is listed
below:
Figure 19.13.3: The Trajectory Sample Histograms Panel
1. Select a le to be read by clicking on the Read... button. After
you read in the sample le, the boundary name will appear in the
Sample list.
2. Select the data sample in the Sample list, and then select the data
to be plotted from the Fields list.
3. Click on the Plot button at the bottom of the panel to display the
histogram.
By default, the percent of particles will be plotted on the y axis. You can
plot the actual number of particles by deselecting Percent under Options.
The number of bins or intervals in the plot can be set in the Divisions
eld. You can delete samples from the list with the Delete button and
update the Min/Max values with the Compute button.
19.13.8 Postprocessing of Erosion/Accretion Rates
You can calculate the erosion and accretion rates in a cumulative man-
ner (over a series of injections) by using the Sample Trajectories panel.
First select an injection in the Release From Injections list and compute
its trajectory. Then turn on the Accumulate Erosion/Accretion Rates op-
tion, select the next injection (after deselecting the rst one), and click
Compute again. The rates will accumulate at the surfaces each time you
click Compute.
Both the erosion rate and the accretion rate are dened at wall face !
surfaces only, so they cannot be displayed at node values.

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Chapter 19.

Discrete Phase Models

(t), along the par-

that prevail during the lifetime of the turbu-

= local temperature of the continuous phase (K)

= thermal conductivity of the continuous phase (W/m-K)

is the local bulk temperature in the gas.

= temperature of continuous phase (K)

= thermal conductivity of the gas (W/m-K)

. For the reactive bridges, two competing paths are available.

are, respectively, the pre-exponential factor, the ac-

is the root of the following

. In all other respects, the at-fan atomizer

Figure 19.9.1: Particle Injection Dening a Single Particle Stream

Figure 19.9.2: Particle Injection Dening an Initial Spatial Distribution

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