Comparison and evaluation of interphase momentum exchange models for simulation of the solids volume fraction in tapered fluidised beds

An Eulerian computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model with granular flow extension was used to simulate a gas–solid fluidised bed in a tapered reactor. Various drag coefficient models were evaluated, which are used to calculate the drag force, describing the momentum transfer between the gas and solid phases. Comparison and evaluation between time-averaged solids volume fractions obtained from experiments and from simulations with several drag coefficient models were made. The predicted results obtained by the different drag models were verified using experimental data of Depypere et al. (2009). Initial results using a 2-phase Eulerian model showed poor agreement with experimental results. However, extending the Eulerian model to include 3 solid phases—with different mean particle diameter per phase in order to account for the particle size distribution of the fluidised solid material—yielded good agreement with experimental results. Furthermore, quantitative analyses showed that the modified Gidaspow drag model gave the best agreement between CFD simulations and experimental data.     

A fundamental CFD study of the gas–solid flow field in fluidized bed polymerization reactors

A Eulerian–Eulerian model incorporating the kinetic theory of granular flow was applied to describe the gas–solid two-phase flow in fluidized bed polymerization reactors. The model parameters were examined, and the model was validated by comparing the simulation result with the classical calculated data. The effects of distributor shape, solid particle size, operational gas velocity and feed manner on the flow behavior in the reactor were also investigated numerically. The results show that with the increase of solid particle diameter, the bubble numbers decrease and the bubble size increases, resulting in a smaller bed expansion ratio. Bed expansion ratio increases with increasing the gas inlet velocity. Moreover, the final fluidized qualities are almost the same for the plane distributor case and the triangle distributor case. There exists a tempestuous wiggle from side to side in the bed at the continuous feed manner, which could not be obtained at a batch feed manner.     

CFD modeling and validation of the turbulent fluidized bed of FCC particles

An experimental and computational study is presented on the hydrodynamic characteristics of FCC particles in a turbulent fluidized bed. Based on the Eulerian/Eulerian model, a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model incorporating a modified gas‐solid drag model has been presented, and the model parameters are examined by using a commercial CFD software package (FLUENT 6.2.16). Relative to other drag models, the modified one gives a reasonable hydrodynamic prediction in comparison with experimental data. The hydrodynamics show more sensitive to the coefficient of restitution than to the flow models and kinetics theories. Experimental and numerical results indicate that there exist two different coexisting regions in the turbulent fluidized bed: a bottom dense, bubbling region and a dilute, dispersed flow region. At low‐gas velocity, solid‐volume fractions show high near the wall region, and low in the center of the bed. Increasing gas velocity aggravates the turbulent disorder in the turbulent fluidized bed, resulting in an irregularity of the radial particle concentration profile. © 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2009     

Numerical study of the effect of the gas and solids distributors on the uniformity of the radial solids concentration distribution in CFB risers

The non-uniform radial solids distribution usually has a negative effect on the performance of the circulating fluidized bed (CFB) riser since it may greatly decrease the reactor efficiency and controllability. In order to improve the performance of industrial CFB risers, the numerical study of the effects of the gas distributor and solids distributor at the CFB riser inlet on the uniformity of the radial solids distribution was carried out in this study. Two potential approaches to improve the uniformity of radial solids concentration profile were proposed: (1) the use of the center-sparse side-dense air jets arrangement for the gas distributor and (2) the use of the side-covered arrangement for the solids distributor. The Eulerian-Eulerian computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model with kinetic theory of granular flow was adopted to simulate the gas-solids two-phase flow in a CFB riser with FCC particles. The numerical results show that the patterns of the inlet gas distributor and solids distributor have significant effect on the flow structure in both the entrance region and the fully-developed region in the riser. The gas distributor with center-sparse side-dense air jet arrangement improves the uniformity of the radial solids distribution, while the center-dense side-sparse air jet arrangement steepens the non-uniformity of the solids radial profile. The core-annulus structure can be greatly flattened by applying a side-covered solids distributor, while it can be heavily steepened by employing the center-covered solids distributor.     

轴向流固定床内流场的数值模拟与实验验证

The computational fluid dynamics model with porosity and drag coefficient was used to describe fluid flow in an axial flow fixed bed according to the characteristics of fluid flow in the fixed-bed of the reactor. The commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code CFX was used to simulate the flow field in the axial flow fixed bed. The simulation predictions are in good agreement with experimental results of a large cold model. The influence of gas distributor on the flow field in the axial flow fixed bed was studied. A suitable gas distributor was used to attain less than 0.06 kPa radial pressure difference and less than 5.2% radial velocity difference in fixed bed.     

CFD simulation of gas–solid flow in a spouted bed with a non-porous draft tube

A multi-fluid Eulerian–Eulerian approach incorporating the kinetic theory of granular flow was used to simulate a spouted bed containing non-porous draft tube. Drag function and coefficient of restitution were investigated. Solid and gas velocity vector, gas flow rate in annulus and spout regions and longitudinal pressure distribution were evaluated. In addition, the effects of the entrainment height and the draft tube diameter were studied. Simulation indicates the formation of three regions namely, annulus, spout and fountain; similar to a conventional spouted bed. Current model predicts acceptable results in both spout and annulus regions. Simulation results indicate that the model can be employed for both mono-size and multi-size particles reasonably. This paper provides useful basis for further works on understanding gas–solid flow mechanism in spouted beds containing a non-porous draft tube.     

CFD studies of solids hold-up distribution and circulation patterns in gas-solid fluidized beds

Numerical results for a gas-fluidized bed using a 2D Eulerian model including the kinetic theory for the particulate phase were provided. The circulation patterns for various operating conditions were discussed. Modeling parameters of drag function, algebraic and transport equations of granular temperature, frictional stress model, turbulent model and discretization scheme were investigated for a bed with different gas distributors and a slotted draft tube. CFD results showed that the drag model is an important hydrodynamics parameter for gas-fluidized beds with various gas distributors. Transport and algebraic equations for granular temperature should be utilized, respectively, for beds including partial and complete sparging at U_g = 2.18 m/s. Frictional stresses play an important role for the beds containing partial sparging with and without draft tube. Discretization schemes should be examined to achieve better results. The Simonin and k-ε turbulent models can improve the CFD results at high gas velocities. Considering perforated plate distributor improves the results.     

Effect of gas distributor on hydrodynamics in shallow bubble column reactors

The effects of gas distributor on hydrodynamics in an air–water shallow bubble column reactor are investigated. Three types of distributors, namely, single nozzle, perforated plate and porous plate are being studied. The overall gas holdup, bubble size distributions and bubble rise velocity distributions are studied over a range of superficial gas velocities. The results show that single nozzle is not suitable for shallow bed operation. While perforated plate and porous plate distributors have comparable behaviour in the absence of solids, the addition of solids particles causes the two distributors to behaviour differently. The presence of solids promotes bubble coalescence for perforated plate distributor while the same inhibits bubble coalescence for porous plate distributor.     

基于EMMS模型的搅拌釜内气液两相流数值模拟

采用欧拉-欧拉模型对搅拌釜内气液两相流进行了三维CFD模拟,重点研究了采用不同曳力模型时CFD模拟对搅拌桨附近排出流区两相流动的预测能力。模拟结果表明CFD能准确地预测排出流区的液相速度分布,但采用传统的Schiller-Naumann曳力一定程度上低估了排出流区的气液相间曳力,导致在完全扩散区CFD预测的分布器和桨叶下方区域气含率偏小,而基于气液非均匀结构和能量最小多尺度（EMMS）方法得到的DBS-Global曳力模型能更准确地描述完全扩散区气液搅拌釜内流动情况。与传统曳力模型相比,采用DBS-Global曳力模型能显著提高对气含率的预测。     

Profiles of solid fraction and heterogeneous phase structure in a gas–solid airlift loop reactor

The time-averaged and transient local solid fractions in a gas–solid airlift loop reactor (ALR) were investigated systematically by experiments and CFD simulations. To demonstrate the macro-flow pattern, the time-averaged local solid fractions in four regions of the ALR were measured by optical fiber probe under the conditions of different superficial gas velocities and particle circulation fluxes. The experimental results show that the lateral distribution of time-averaged local solid fraction is a core-annulus or heterogeneous structure in the three regions (draft tube, bottom region, particle diffluence region), but a uniform lateral distribution in the annulus. The operating conditions have different effects on the lateral distribution of time-averaged local solid fraction in each region. In the CFD simulation, a modified Gidaspow drag model considering the formation of particle clusters was incorporated into the Eulerian–Eulerian CFD model with particulate phase kinetic theory to simulate and analyze the transient local solid fraction and the two-phase micro-structures in the gas–solid ALR. The predicted values of solid fraction were compared with the experimental results, validating the drag model. The contours of transient flow field indicate that the flow field of the ALR should be divided into five flow regions, i.e., draft tube, annulus, bottom region, particle diffluence region and constrained back-mixing region, which further improves the understanding of the airlift reactor where only four divisions were determined from the experiments. The transient local solid fraction and its probability density function profoundly reveal the two-phase micro-structures (dilute phase and emulsion phase or cluster phase in the constrained back-mixing region) and explain the heterogeneous phenomenon of solid fraction in the ALR. The dilute phase tends to exist in the center of bed, while the emulsion phase mainly appears in the wall region. The results also indicate that the gas–solid ALR has the common characteristic of aggregative fluidization similar to that in normal fluidized beds. The simulated two-phase transient micro-structures provide the appropriate explanations for the experimental core-annulus macro-structures of time-averaged local solid fraction.     

固定床反应器内气体预分布器研究

研究了直径1 000 mm,高3 000 mm的固定床冷模装置中气体预分布器对反应器内气流分布的影响。结果表明:气体分布器可改变床层内气流流形并使径向气流的速度分布趋于均匀;随着表观气速的增加,反应器内气流的不均匀程度增加;分布器的环隙高度在一定的范围可使反应器内气流的不均匀程度相对较好。应用计算流体力学软件CFX对固定床反应器内的流场进行模拟计算,并与大型冷模试验测试结果进行比较,模型计算值和冷模试验测量值吻合较好。     

Modeling of gas–liquid flow in a rotating packed bed using an Eulerian multi-fluid approach

Rotating packed beds (RPBs) are ideal candidates for CO₂ removal from offshore natural gas due to their good mass transfer performance and significant volume savings. This article proposes an Eulerian multi-fluid approach to simulate the gas–liquid flow in RPBs. Three new multiphase drag force models are constructed based on single-phase drag force models for wire mesh packings. Based on the Eulerian multi-fluid approach, a new RPB simulation framework is developed. The predicted results using the new simulation framework with the new drag force models are compared with the experimental data. When using the Kołodziej model and the modified Kołodziej model, the predicted overall liquid holdup shows good agreement with the experimental data with errors less than 20%. In addition, the pressure drop predicted by these three models are reasonable compared with the experimental data. This work lays a foundation for RPB simulation of gas–liquid flow using Eulerian multi-fluid approach.     

Improvement of the Uniformity of Radial Solids Concentration Profiles in Circulating Fluidized‐Bed Risers

In order to enhance the uniformity of the radial solids distribution and thereby the performance of industrial circulating fluidized‐bed (CFB) risers, an approach by using the air jet from the riser circumference is proposed. The Eulerian‐Eulerian computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model with the kinetic theory of granular flow is adopted to simulate the gas‐solids two‐phase flow in a CFB riser with fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) particles. The numerical results indicate that by employing the circumferential air jet approach under appropriate jet velocities, the maximum solids concentration in the near‐wall region can be greatly reduced, the entrance region can be shortened, and the uniformity of the flow structure can be significantly improved.     

Computational fluid dynamics simulations of interphase heat transfer in a bubbling fluidized bed

Numerical simulations based on the Eulerian-Eulerian approach have been performed in the study of interphase heat transfer in a gas solid fluidized bed. The kinetic theory of granular flow (KTGF) has been used to describe the solid phase rheology. An assessment of drag models in the prediction of heat transfer coefficients shows that no major difference is observed in the choice of the drag model used. Fluctuations of the interphase heat transfer coefficient have been found to be closely related to the bubble motion in the bed. Effects of the wall boundary condition, inlet gas velocity, initial bed height and particle size on the predicted heat transfer coefficient have also been investigated. Typical temperature profiles in the bed show that thermal saturation is attained instantaneously close to the gas distributor. Simulated results of the coefficients are in fair agreement with those reported in literature.     

Distributor effects near the bottom region of turbulent fluidized beds

The distributor plate effects on the hydrodynamic characteristics of turbulent fluidized beds are investigated by obtaining measurements of pressure and radial voidage profiles in a column diameter of 0.29 m with Group A particles using bubble bubble-cap or perforated plate distributors. Distributor pressure drop measurements between the two distributors are compared with the theoretical estimations while the influence of the mass inventory is studied. Comparison is established for the transition velocity from bubbling to turbulent regime, U_c, deduced from the pressure fluctuations in the bed using gauge pressure measurements. The effect of the distributor on the flow structure near the bottom region of the bed is studied using differential and gauge pressure transducers located at different axial positions along the bed. The radial voidage profile in the bed is also measured using optical fiber probes, which provide local measurements of the voidage at different heights above the distributor. The distributor plate has a significant effect on the bed hydrodynamics. Owing to the jetting caused by the perforated plate distributor, earlier onset of the transition to the turbulent fluidization flow regime was observed. Moreover, increased carry over for the perforated plate compared with the bubble caps has been confirmed. The results have highlighted the influence of the distributor plate on the fluidized bed hydrodynamics which has consequences in terms of comparing experimental and simulation results between different distributor plates.     

湍动流化床过渡段固含率分布特征的实验及数值模拟

在湍动流化床中,过渡段对于包括甲醇制烯烃在内的气固催化快反应有着重要的作用。采用PV6D反射型光纤探针对内径95 mm的湍动流化床内过渡段的固含率分布和脉动参数进行了测量,分别考察了表观气速和静床高的影响,并采用修正的基于颗粒动力学的三段曳力双流体模型进行模拟。实验表明,湍动流化床过渡段中固含率的轴向分布呈现S型和指数型两种类型,固含率轴向与径向分布都在过渡段内出现最大梯度,表明过渡段中固体浓度分布比稀相段和密相段更不均匀。表观气速和静床高的变化将导致S型和指数型分布的相互转变,并且对过渡段底部与壁面附近的固体高浓度区影响最为显著。局部固含率脉动概率密度分布表明,在静床高较小时,随着气速的增大,床层下部气含率最大值位置将从中心区移动至环隙区,呈现气含率的双峰型分布。本文提出的修正三段曳力模型考虑了颗粒团聚的影响,对过渡段中分布板影响区之外的固含率分布均能较好地模拟。     

The effect of distributor design on gas dispersion in a bubbling fluidized bed

In this study, the behavior of gas dispersion in a bubbling fluidized bed was investigated. Carbon dioxide was used as the tracer gas. Most of the gas jets from tuyeres are towards the same direction, parallel with the longitudinal axis. The movement of particles in the lateral direction was enhanced by the momentum of horizontal gas jets within the bed.The experimental results show that the effect of superficial gas velocity on the gas mixing depends on the distributor type. Comparing with perforated distributor, a better performance of gas mixing was observed while the bed was equipped with horizontal nozzle distributor.     

液固分布器的数值模拟和结构优化

流化床内液固两相流的均布问题一直是制约流化床发展的难点。本文采用颗粒动力学双流体模型来描述液固两相流，应用CFD方法模拟了二维液固流化床换热器下管箱中的流场流动特性，并用模拟手段优化了下管箱中液固分布器的结构参数。模拟结果与试验值吻合较好，模拟结果表明：在V型挡板角度小于滑落角的挡板型式下，多孔板的开孔率在35%左右，开孔直径大小在12mm左右时，下管箱中固含率的不均匀度最小，这种结构参数下液固分布器的分布效果最好。