Experimental and computational studies of gas-particle flow in a 'sand-blast' type of erosion tester are described. Values of the particle velocity distribution have been obtained under various set-up conditions for three abrasives: glass beads, crushed glass, and olivine sand, each in two size ranges. The particle velocities were measured using laser Doppler anemometry (LDA). The divergence of the particle plume was investigated with a video camera. A computational fluid dynamics model has been developed using the Fluent package. Both the Euler-Lagrangian approach and the Euler-Euler approach are used to calculate the particle velocity distribution and plume divergence. Discussions and analyses of the experimental as well as the computational results are included. The simulations show altogether good agreement with experimental data. The experimental observations together with the computed results should increase the depth of understanding of the underlying physics. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.