Numerical Investigation of Particulate Flow over a Backward‐Facing Step

Flow separation and recirculation caused by a sudden expansion in the channel geometry in the form of a backwardfacing step (BFS) appear in numerous practical applications. Additionally, BFS flow has been used as a generic test case to study fundamental flow properties, such as separation or re‐attachment. In the present work, BFS flow laden with dispersed particles is investigated by numerical simulations using a spectral element method [1]. The motion of the dispersed particles is computed by Lagrangian particle tracking. In a first step, only the influence of the flow on the particles is accounted for, while possible effects of the particle motion on the flow are neglected. Spatial distribution of the particles is investigated, and effects of different wall‐particle interaction models on the computational results are examined.