LDA measurements and CFD modelling of gas-liquid flow in a stirred vessel

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