3D simulation of effect of geometry on minimum fluidization velocity and flow regimes in a spout-fluidized bed

Spout–fluid beds are used for a variety of processes involving particulate solids, like coating, drying, granulation and etc. The spout–fluidized bed combines a number of favorable properties of both spouted and fluidized beds. In this study, the Granular Eulerian model is used in 3-D hydrodynamic simulation of spout fluidized bed for calculation of minimum fluidization velocity. The results of simulation were compared with experimental data and good agreement was obtained. Then the effect of geometry on minimum fluidization velocity was studied. Also a review of flow regimes in different spout fluidized bed geometries was studied.     

An extended DEM–CFD model for char combustion in a bubbling fluidized bed combustor of inert sand

This paper proposes a transient three-phase numerical model for the simulation of multiphase flow, heat and mass transfer and combustion in a bubbling fluidized bed of inert sand. The gas phase is treated as a continuum and solved using the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) approach; the solid particles are treated as two discrete phases with different reactivity characteristics and solved on the individual particle scale using an extended discrete element model (DEM). A new char combustion submodel considering sand inhibitory effects is also developed to describe char particle combustion behavior in the fluidized bed. Two conditions, i.e. a single larger graphite particle and a batch of smaller graphite particles, are used to test the prediction capability of the model. The model is validated by comparing the predicted results with the previous measured results and conclusions in the literature in terms of bed hydrodynamics, individual particle temperature, char residence time and concentrations of the products. The effects of bed temperature, oxygen concentration and superficial velocity on char combustion behavior are also examined through model simulation. The results indicate that the proposed model provides a proximal approach to elucidate multiphase flow and combustion mechanisms in fluidized bed combustors.     

Numerical and experimental study on multiple-spout fluidized beds

In this paper we study the effect of multiple spouts on the bed dynamics in a pseudo-2D triple-spout fluidized bed, employing the discrete particle model (DPM) and non-intrusive measurement techniques such as particle image velocimetry (PIV) and positron emission particle tracking (PEPT). A flow regime map was constructed, revealing new regimes that were not reported so far. The multiple-interacting-spouts regime (C) has been studied in detail for a double- and triple-spout fluidized bed, where the corresponding fluidization regime for a single-spout fluidized bed has been studied as a reference case. The experimental results obtained with PIV and PEPT agree very well for all the three cases, showing the good performance of these techniques. The DPM simulation results slightly deviate from the experiments which is attributed to particle–wall effects that are more dominant in pseudo-2D beds than in 3D systems. The investigated multiple-interacting-spouts regime is a fully new flow regime that does not appear in single-spout fluidized beds. Two flow patterns have been observed, viz. particle circulation in between the spouts near the bottom of the bed, and an apparent single-spout fluidization motion at a higher location upwards in the bed. These findings show that the presence of multiple spouts in a spout fluidized bed highly affect the flow behaviour, which cannot be distinguished by solely investigating single-spout fluidized beds.     

Experimental and numerical study on a bubbling fluidized bed with wet particles

As liquid bridge between particles acts an important role in the particle system, it is of considerable significance to analyze the flow hydrodynamics of wet particles in fluidized beds, which will improve the reactor design and process optimization. Thus, experimental and numerical investigations on wet particles in a bubbling fluidized bed are conducted in current work. On experimental side, particle image velocimetry (PIV) technology is employed with a designed bubbling fluidized bed. The silicone oil is used in this work because it is nonvolatile and transparent. On numerical side, a modified discrete element method (DEM) numerical method is developed by compositing an additional liquid‐bridge module into the traditional soft‐sphere interaction model. Most of the physical parameters are chosen to correspond to the experimental settings. Good agreements of particle velocity are found between the DEM simulation and PIV measurement. The performance of different liquid contents and superficial gas velocities are examined. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 62: 1970–1985, 2016     

Heat transfer in a swirling fluidized bed with geldart type-D particles

A relatively new variant in fluidized bed technology, designated as the swirling fluidized bed (SFB), was investigated for its heat transfer characteristics when operating with Geldart type D particles. Unlike conventional fluidized beds, the SFB imparts secondary swirling motion to the bed to enhance lateral mixing. Despite its excellent hydrodynamics, its heat transfer characteristics have not been reported in the published literature. Hence, two different sizes of spherical PVC particles (2.61 mm and 3.65 mm) with the presence of a center body in the bed have been studied at different velocities of the fluidizing gas. The wall-to-bed heat transfer coefficients were measured by affixing a thin constantan foil heater on the bed wall. Thermocouples located at different heights on the foil show a decrease in the wall heat transfer coefficient with bed height. It was seen that only a discrete particle model which accounts for the conduction between the particle and the heat transfer surface and the gas-convective augmentation can adequately represent the mechanism of heat transfer in the swirling fluidized bed.     

Numerical and experimental study on spout elevation in spout‐fluidized beds

The effect of elevating the spout on the dynamics of a spout‐fluidized bed, both numerically and experimentally is studied. The experiments were conducted in a pseudo‐two‐dimensional (2‐D) and a cylindrical three dimensional (3‐D) spout‐fluidized bed, where positron emission particle tracking (PEPT) and particle image velocimetry (PIV) were applied to the pseudo‐2‐D bed, and PEPT and electrical capacitance tomography (ECT) to the cylindrical 3‐D bed. A discrete particle model (DPM) was used to perform full 3‐D simulations of the bed dynamics. Several cases were studied, that is, beds with spout heights of 0, 2, and 4 cm. In the pseudo‐2‐D bed, the spout‐fluidization and jet‐in‐fluidized‐bed regime, were considered first, and it was shown that in the spout–fluidization regime, the expected dead zones appear in the annulus near the bottom of the bed as the spout is elevated. However, in the jet‐in‐fluidized‐bed regime, the circulation pattern of the particles is affected, without the development of stagnant zones. The jet‐in‐fluidized‐bed regime was further investigated, and additionally the experimental results obtained with PIV and PEPT were compared with the DPM simulation results. The experimental results obtained with PIV and PEPT agreed mutually very well, and in addition agreed well wtih the DPM results, although the velocities in the annulus region were slightly over predicted. The latter is probably due to the particle‐wall effects that are more dominant in pseudo‐2‐D systems compared with 3‐D systems. In the jet‐in‐fluidized‐bed regime, the background gas velocity is relatively high, producing bubbles in the annulus that interact with the spout channel. In the case of a non elevated spout, this interaction occurs near the bottom of the bed. As the spout is elevated, this interaction is shifted upwards in the bed, which allows the bubbles to remain undisturbed providing the motion of the particles in the annulus near the bottom of the bed. As a result, no dead zones are created and additionally, circulation patterns are vertically stretched. These findings were also obtained for the cylindrical 3‐D bed; although, the effects were less pronounced. In the cylindrical 3‐D bed the PEPT results show that the effect on the bed dynamics starts at h_spout =1 4 cm, which is confirmed by the ECT results. Additionally, ECT measurements were conducted for h_spout =1 6 cm to verify if indeed the effect happens at larger spout heights. The root mean square of the particle volume fraction slightly increased at h_spout =1 2 cm, whereas a larger increase is found at h_spout = 4 and 6 cm, showing that indeed more bubbles are formed. The presented results have not been reported so far and form valuable input information for improving industrial granulators. © 2011 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 58: 2524–2535, 2012     

A second-order moment method of dense gas-solid flow for bubbling fluidization

A gas-solid two-fluid model with the second-order moment method is presented to close the set of equations applied to fluidization. With the kinetic theory of granular flow, transport equations for the velocity moments are derived for the particle phase. Closure equations for the third-order moments of velocity and for the fluid-particle velocity correlation are presented. The former is based on a modified model with the contribution of the increase of the binary collision probability, and the latter uses an algebraic model proposed by Koch and Sangani [1999. Particle pressure and marginal stability limits for a homogeneous monodisperse gas-fluidized bed: kinetic theory and numerical simulations. Journal of Fluid Mechanics 400, 229-263]. Boundary conditions for the set of equations describing flow of particles proposed by Strumendo and Canu [2002. Method of moments for the dilute granular flow of inelastic spheres. Physical Review E 66, 041304/1-041304/20] are modified with the consideration of the momentum exchange by collisions between the wall and particles. Flow behavior of gas and particles is performed by means of gas-solid two-fluid model with the second-order moment model of particles in the bubbling fluidized bed. The distributions of velocity and moments of particles are predicted in the bubbling fluidized bed. Predictions are compared with experimental data measured by Muller et al. [2008. Granular temperature: comparison of magnetic resonance measurements with discrete element model simulations. Powder Technology 184, 241-253] and Yuu et al. [2000. Numerical simulation of air and particle motions in bubbling fluidized bed of small particles. Powder Technology 110, 158-168]. in the bubbling fluidized beds. The simulated second-order moment in the vertical direction is 1.1-2.5 [Muller, C.R., Holland, D.J., Sedeman, A.J., Scott, S.A., Dennis, J.S., Gladden, L.F., 2008. Granular temperature: comparison of magnetic resonance measurements with discrete element model simulations. Powder Technology 184, 241-253] and 1.1-4.0 [Yuu, S., Umekage, T., Johno, Y., 2000. Numerical simulation of air and particle motions in bubbling fluidized bed of small particles. Powder Technology 110, 158-168] times larger than that in the lateral direction because of higher velocity fluctuations for particles in the bubble fluidized bed. The bubblelike Reynolds normal stresses per unit bulk density used by Gidaspow et al. [2004. Hydrodynamics of fluidization using kinetic theory: an emerging paradigm 2002 Flour-Daniel lecture. Powder Technology 148, 123-141.] are computed from the simulated hydrodynamic velocities. The predictions are in agreement with experimental second-order moments measured by Muller et al. [2008. Granular temperature: comparison of magnetic resonance measurements with discrete element model simulations. Powder Technology 184, 241-253] and fluctuating velocity of particles measured by Yuu et al. [2000. Numerical simulation of air and particle motions in bubbling fluidized bed of small particles. Powder Technology 110, 158-168].     

Validation of a Discrete Particle Model in a 2D Spout‐Fluid Bed Using Non‐Intrusive Optical Measuring Techniques

To gain insight into the hydrodynamics of spout‐fluid beds, an experimental and numerical study was carried out. Particle image velocimetry was successfully developed and applied to determine particle velocity profiles, whereas voidage profiles were determined by digital image analysis. A 3D hard‐sphere discrete particle model was used to simulate the flow in a spout‐fluid bed. The simulations and experiments showed a similar influence of the background fluidization velocity on the spout behaviour.     

Numerical simulation of temperature and concentration distributions in fluidized beds with liquid injection

In this paper a numerical simulation study of dynamic behavior of a fluidized bed with liquid injection is presented. A continuum model has been developed taking into account the mass and energy balances of solid, gas as well as liquid to describe the temperature and concentration distributions in gas-solid-fluidized beds. The model considers the deposition efficiency of the liquid droplets as well as the influence of the spray nozzle region. For solving the non-linear partial differential equations with discrete boundary conditions a finite element method is used. Numerical computations have been done with two different schemes of time integration, a fully implicit and a semi implicit scheme. The complex correlations of mass and liquid flow rates, mass and heat transfer, drying, and transient two-dimensional air humidity, air temperature, particle wetting, liquid film temperature and particle temperature were simulated. The model was validated with transient measurements of the air temperature and air humidity at the outlet of a fluidized bed with water injection.     

Coupling of smoothed particle hydrodynamics and finite volume method for two-dimensional spouted beds

A coupled method with smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) and finite volume method (FVM) is proposed in this work for the simulation of the particle dynamics in two-dimensional spouted beds. Based on the pseudo-fluid model, SPH is used for discrete phase to trace the movement of each individual particle and FVM for continue phase to compute the turbulent fluid. Two phases are coupled through effects of drag force, gas pressure and volume fraction of each phase. A two-dimensional tapered-based spouted bed is chosen as a case study to demonstrate the performance of the SPH–FVM coupled algorithm. The simulation results show a good agreement with the experimental data and other simulation results by the two-fluid model and discrete element method in the literature. The spouted shape, time-averaged particle velocities and particle vertical velocities in the spout are analyzed and the distribution of gas flow field and turbulent kinetic energy are then discussed. It indicates that the present method is more suitable to study the fluidization within the spouted beds.     

Particle scale study of heat transfer in packed and bubbling fluidized beds

The approach of combined discrete particle simulation (DPS) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD), which has been increasingly applied to the modeling of particle‐fluid flow, is extended to study particle‐particle and particle‐fluid heat transfer in packed and bubbling fluidized beds at an individual particle scale. The development of this model is described first, involving three heat transfer mechanisms: fluid‐particle convection, particle‐particle conduction and particle radiation. The model is then validated by comparing the predicted results with those measured in the literature in terms of bed effective thermal conductivity and individual particle heat transfer characteristics. The contribution of each of the three heat transfer mechanisms is quantified and analyzed. The results confirm that under certain conditions, individual particle heat transfer coefficient (HTC) can be constant in a fluidized bed, independent of gas superficial velocities. However, the relationship between HTC and gas superficial velocity varies with flow conditions and material properties such as thermal conductivities. The effectiveness and possible limitation of the hot sphere approach recently used in the experimental studies of heat transfer in fluidized beds are discussed. The results show that the proposed model offers an effective method to elucidate the mechanisms governing the heat transfer in packed and bubbling fluidized beds at a particle scale. The need for further development in this area is also discussed. © 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2009     

流化床内颗粒流体两相流的CFD模拟

采用先进的CFD模拟技术分析流化床内两相复杂体系的非线性流体动力学特征已得到普遍认同,但是由于不同研究者对颗粒与颗粒以及颗粒与流体之间相互作用力认识的差异,导致欧拉-欧拉框架下动量守恒方程的不同表达形式。本文在总结文献中有关颗粒黏性力、固相压力和两相间作用力的基础上,从双流体理论出发,提出了一个考虑拟平衡态下固体颗粒对流体相和固相动量守恒方程均有影响的简捷流体动力学模型。该模型的主要特点是表征颗粒离散属性的特征长度视为颗粒直径的同一数量级。随后在CFX4.4商业化软件平台上通过增加用户自定义子程序,对网格尺度、时间步长和最大颗粒堆积率的无关性进行检验,介绍了作者近年来采用该模型模拟二维/三维流化床内液固体系的散式流态化、气固Geldart A类物料的散式/聚式流态化和床层塌落特性以及Geldart B/D类物料的鼓泡/射流流态化和床层塌落的研究进展。模拟的主要结果与经典理论、本研究实验和文献报道数据相一致,说明该模型可以用来预测流化床内密相颗粒流体体系的动力学特性。     

Hydrodynamics of a Novel Biomass Autothermal Fast Pyrolysis Reactor: Flow Pattern and Pressure Drop

A novel biomass, autothermal, fast pyrolysis reactor with a draft tube and an internal dipleg dividing the reactor into two interconnected beds is proposed. This internally interconnected fluidized beds (IIFB) reactor is designed to produce high‐quality bio‐oil using catalysts. Meanwhile, the pyrolysis by‐products, i.e., char, coke and non‐condensable gases, are expected to burn in the combustion bed to provide the heat for the pyrolysis. On the other hand, the catalysts can be regenerated simultaneously. In this study, experiments on the hydrodynamics of a cold model IIFB reactor are reported. Geldart group B and D sand particles were used as the bed materials. The effects of spouting and fluidizing gas velocities, particle size, static bed height and the total pressure loss coefficient of the pyrolysis bed exit, on the flow patterns and pressure drops of the two interconnected beds are studied. Six distinct flow patterns, i.e., fixed bed (F), periodic spouted/bubbling bed (PS/B), spouted bed with aeration (SA), spout‐fluidized bed (SF), spout‐fluidized bed with slugging (SFS) and spouted bed with backward jet (SBJ) are identified. The investigations on the pressure drops of the two beds show that both of them are seen to increase at first (mainly in the F flow pattern), then to decrease (mainly in the PS/B and SA flow patterns) and finally to increase again (mainly in the SA and SF flow patterns), with the increase of the spouting gas velocity. It is observed that a larger particle size and lower static bed height lead to lower pressure drops of the two beds.     

Wärme- und Stoffübertragung in der Wirbelschicht

Heat and mass transfer in fluidized beds . Methods of calculation are presented which enable reasonably accurate prediction of heat and mass transfer coefficients in fluidized beds. Some well established equations already given in the literature could be used for estimating the range of existence of the fluidized bed and for calculating maximum fluidization velocities, bed expansion, and particle-to-fluid heat and mass transfer. However, a new model had to be developed for the wall-to-bed heat transfer from solid surfaces immersed in fluidized beds. This model makes use of some basic ideas adopted from the kinetic theory of gases in order to describe the mechanism of energy transfer through the moving particles. Predictions with this new model are in good agreement with most of the experimental observations, particularly regarding the effects of particle diameter, temperature, pressure, physical properties of gas and particles, and gas velocity.     

Particle‐resolved direct numerical simulation of gas–solid dynamics in experimental fluidized beds

Particle‐resolved direct numerical simulations (PR‐DNS) of a simplified experimental shallow fluidized bed and a laboratory bubbling fluidized bed are performed by using immersed boundary method coupled with a soft‐sphere model. Detailed information on gas flow and individual particles’ motion are obtained and analyzed to study the gas–solid dynamics. For the shallow bed, the successful predictions of particle coherent oscillation and bed expansion and contraction indicate all scales of motion in the flow are well captured by the PD‐DNS. For the bubbling bed, the PR‐DNS predicted time averaged particle velocities show a better agreement with experimental measurements than those of the computational fluid dynamics coupled with discrete element models (CFD‐DEM), which further validates the predictive capability of the developed PR‐DNS. Analysis of the PR‐DNS drag force shows that the prevailing CFD‐DEM drag correlations underestimate the particle drag force in fluidized beds. The particle mobility effect on drag correlation needs further investigation. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 62: 1917–1932, 2016     

磁场对湿颗粒流化床系统中介尺度结构影响机制研究

湿颗粒系统在自然界及工业过程非常普遍,例如喷雾造粒、反应器中矿物黏结、催化以及制药等,这其中含有大量典型介尺度结构如颗粒聚团、结块以及气泡等结构,这些结构的存在导致颗粒系统的流动及热质传递特性发生明显改变。针对鼓泡流化床湿颗粒系统中颗粒聚团以及气泡等介尺度结构,应用离散单元模型并引入外加磁场,研究磁场作用下湿颗粒系统中介尺度结构的演化机制,探究磁场力、液桥力、接触力对气泡演化过程的影响。研究发现,在不考虑磁场的条件下,颗粒易形成聚团并存在气泡边界不规则等现象,引入外加匀强磁场后,磁场力对鼓泡流化床内气泡结构存在破坏和抑制作用。     

DSMC-LES方法研究循环流化床内颗粒团聚物的流动特性

采用直接模拟Monte Carlo方法法DSMC）模拟颗粒间的碰撞,采用考虑颗粒脉动流动对气相湍流流动影响的大涡模拟（LES）研究气相湍流.单颗粒运动满足牛顿第二定律,颗粒相和气相相间作用的双向耦合由牛顿第三定律确定.数值模拟垂直管内气固两相上升流动,对管内气相速度和颗粒相速度、浓度以及聚团流动进行分析.研究平均单个颗粒团聚物的存在时间、颗粒团聚物的时间份额和颗粒团聚物的生成频率分布特性,模拟结果与文献的实验结果基本吻合.     

连续操作密相流化床颗粒停留时间分布特性模拟放大研究

采用基于GPU（graphics processing unit）大规模并行的粗粒化CFD-DEM（computational fluid dynamics-discrete element method）方法,耦合多分散、非球形颗粒曳力模型,对连续操作的三维流化床进行了长时间颗粒停留时间模拟。通过对不同尺寸（长度）流化床的模拟发现不同粒径颗粒平均停留时间（mean residence time,MRT）与流化床长度呈线性关系,该关系可以用来预测更大尺寸流化床内的颗粒停留时间。随着流化床长度的增加,不同粒径颗粒MRT的差异变大,说明流化床长度的增加对不同尺寸颗粒的停留时间具有一定的调控能力。     

Heat transfer within dynamically structured bubbling fluidized beds subject to vibration: A two-fluid modeling study

Bubbling fluidized beds are often used to achieve a uniform particle temperature distribution in industrial processes involving gas and particles. However, the chaotic bubble dynamics pose significant challenges in scale-up. Recent work (Guo et al., 2021, PNAS 118, e2108647118) has shown that using vibration can structure the bubbling pattern to a highly predictable manner with the characteristic bubble properties independent of system width, opening opportunities to address key issues associated with conventional bubbling fluidized beds. Herein, using two-fluid modeling simulations, we studied heat transfer characteristics within the dynamically structured bubbling fluidized bed and compared to unstructured bubbling fluidized beds and packed beds. Simulations show that the structured bubbling fluidized bed can achieve the most uniform particle temperature distribution because it can achieve the best particle mixing while maintaining a global heat transfer coefficient similar to that of a freely bubbling fluidized bed.     

Modeling of radiative heat transfer between high-temperature fluidized beds and immersed walls

This paper presents a theoretical model for predicting the radiative heat transfer rate between high-temperature fluidized bed and immersed walls, which can be used upon the base of emulsion packet model of heat transfer in bubbling fluidized bed. The model adopted radiative flux computation method to calculate radiative heat transfer between fluidized disperse phase contacting to the wall and immersed walls, in which the absorption and back-scattering coefficients was obtained from the reflectivity and the absorptivity of a layer of disperse media of a single particle thickness. In such a model, many factors, such as particle size, particle emissivity, bed void fraction, fluidized bed and wall temperatures, and so on, are included theoretically to calculate radiative heat transfer between immersed walls and fluidized beds. As a result, the model results provide a reasonable explanation of the experimental observation of that radiative heat transfer rate in fluidized beds increases with the increases of the superficial fluidizing velocity. In addition, the modeling prediction for the trend of radiative heat transfer rate between the fluidized bed and its immersed surface on the variation of wall temperature conforms to the classical experimental trend.