Droplet collisions and interaction with the turbulent flow within a two-phase wind tunnel

作者：Bordas Robert^*; Hagemeier Thomas; Wunderlich Bernd; Thevenin Dominique

来源：Physics of Fluids, 2011, 23(8): 085105.

DOI：10.1063/1.3609275

Experiments in wind tunnels concerning meteorological issues are not very frequent in the literature. However, such experiments might be essential, for instance for a careful investigation of droplet-droplet interactions in turbulent flows. This issue is crucial for many configurations, in particular to understand warm rain initiation. It is clearly impossible to completely reproduce cloud turbulence within a wind tunnel due to the enormous length scales involved. Nevertheless, it is not necessary to recover the whole spectrum in order to quantify droplet interactions. It is sufficient for this purpose to account correctly for the relevant properties only. In the present paper, these properties and a methodology for setting those in a two-phase wind tunnel are first described. In particular, droplet size and number density, velocities, turbulent kinetic energy, k, and its dissipation rate, e, are suitably reproduced, as demonstrated by non-intrusive measurement techniques. A complete experimental characterization of the air and droplet properties is freely available in a database accessible at http://www.ovgu.de/isut/lss/metstroem. Finally, quantifications of droplet collision rates and comparisons with theoretical predictions are presented, showing that measured collision rates are higher, typically by a factor of 2 to 5.

• 出版日期2011-8