A force coupling method for computing particulate flows is verified by comparison with experiments. The force coupling method and the experimental method are briefly described. In the comparison three examples are considered: a single particle rising in an inclined channel, two particles rising in a vertical channel and three particles rising in a vertical channel. It is shown that for the particle Reynolds numbers considered in this paper (Re-p < 15) the force coupling method provides qualitatively and quantitatively good results. Consequently, the method is an attractive alternative to direct methods for simulations of particulate flows. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.