Scaling Laws for Metering the Flow of Gas-Particle Suspensions Through Venturis

An experimental investigation was undertaken to determine those scaling parameters applicable to measuring the mass flow rate of gas-particle suspensions through venturis. It was found that Stokes number and the particle/gas loading ratio are the two most important parameters. The results show that pressure drop increases linearly with loading ratio and decreases monotonically with increasing Stokes number. The results also indicate that β-ratio and orientation of venturi do not significantly affect the pressure drop. Data for irregularly shaped pulverized coal particles show higher pressure drop compared with those for spherical particles. A quasi one-dimensional numerical model overpredicts the pressure drop, but a two-dimensional model demonstrates improved agreement.