Numerical study of the influence of the electric charge of a dispersed phase on the propagation of a shock wave from homogeneous gas to a dusty medium

Background and Objectives: The currents of heterogeneous media occur in nature and in industrial technologies. In this paper, we consider the propagation of shock waves from pure gas to a heterogeneous mixture consisting of particles suspended in gas and having an electric charge. A mathematical model is used which takes into account the difference between the velocity and temperature of the components of the mixture. The force of aerodynamic drag describes interphase force interaction. Materials and Methods: The carrier medium is described as a viscous compressible heat conducting gas. The equations of the mathematical model are solved by an explicit method of finite differences of second order accuracy, using a nonlinear correction of the mesh function obtained using a numerical method. The system of equations of the mathematical model is supplemented with boundary conditions. Results: Due to numerical modeling, it has been found that in the electrically charged gas slurry there is a difference in the pressure and velocity of the gas, the “average density”, and the velocity of the dispersed component from similar values in the gas slurry to the electrically neutral dispersed component. In addition, in the regions of the channel where the “average density” in the electrically charged gas slurry is greater than in the neutral gas slurry, there is an increase in pressure and a decrease in the velocity of the carrier medium. It is also apparent from the calculations that the particle velocity of the dispersed component of the electrically charged gas suspension of the particles is less than the particle velocity of the neutral gas suspension. Thus, the concentration of dispersed phase particles in the electrically charged gas slurry in the gas/dust contact zone is higher, resulting in a difference in the velocity and pressure distribution relative to that observed in the electrically neutral gas slurry. Conclusions: The revealed differences in the parameters of the carrier medium during the propagation of a shock wave from a pure gas into a neutral and electrically charged dusty medium arise due to the force interaction of the gas and solid components of a heterogeneous mixture. The differences were caused by the effect of Coulomb force on the dispersed component of the mixture.