The present contribution describes three-dimensional Euler/Lagrange calculations of confined horizontal gas-particle flows (i.e. channel and pipe flows) emphasizing the importance of elementary processes, such as particle collisions with rough walls and inter-particle collisions, on the predicted overall flow pattern and pressure drop along the duct.

Under certain conditions, a fully developed turbulent flow in a straight pipe may show a secondary flow; for instance, when non-circular cross-section or non-uniform wall roughness around the perimeter of the duct are considered. In horizontal pipe particle-laden gas flow, the non-uniform forcing of the flow by the solids entrained in the gas core may also drive a secondary flow, even with uniform wall roughness along the circumferential direction. In this paper, the effects of wall roughness, particle size and particle mass loading ratio on the secondary flow developing in a horizontal pipe of circular cross-section under turbulent conditions are analysed. The computations are based on the Euler-Lagrange approach accounting for wall roughness and inter-particle collisions (i.e., four-way coupling). In the case of inertial particles, if inter-particle collisions are disregarded, the secondary flow consists of two recirculation cells with an upward flow near the vertical (symmetry) axis and a downward flow close to the walls. On the other hand, when inter-particle collisions are accounted for, the pattern depends on the particle concentration profile: with relatively smooth walls (low roughness), two recirculation cells are found, but with rough walls four recirculation cells are generated. For smaller particles, a transition between two and four recirculation cells in the secondary flow is observed by increasing the mass loading ratio.

In this work, the pneumatic conveying of non-spherical isometric particles with different degrees of non-sphericity is studied. The solids mass loading fraction is small enough in order to have a dilute flow, so inter-particle collisions can be neglected. As a first approximation, only the aerodynamic drag force acting on the particles is considered, neglecting the lift forces and the particle rotation. The drag coefficient is calculated using the correlations of Haider and Levenspiel (1989) and Ganser (1993). The numerical simulations are compared with experimental data in a narrow six meters long horizontal channel flow laden with quartz and duroplastic particles with mean diameters of 185 and 240 mu m, respectively (Kussin, 2004).