Velocity and acceleration statistics in particle-laden turbulent swirling flows

Particle-laden turbulent flows in von Karman laboratory experiments and in Taylor-Green direct numerical simulations display remarkable similarities, both for tracers as well as for inertial particles. A method to test models for particle dynamics in turbulent flows, exploiting these similarities, is presented. The effect of the mean flow is also considered, showing how it impacts scaling properties of particles' statistics, and how it affects inertial range behavior.