DEM-LES of coal combustion in a bubbling fluidized bed. Part I: gas-particle turbulent flow structure

The gas and particle motions in a bubbling fluidized bed both with and without chemical reactions are numerically simulated. The solid phase is modelled as Discrete Element Method (DEM) and the gas phase is modelled as 2-D Navier-Stokes equations for 2-phase flow with fluid turbulence calculated by large Eddy simulation (LES), in which the effect of particles on subgrid scale gas flow is taken into account. The gas/particle flow structure, the mean velocities and turbulent intensities can be predicted as a function of several operating parameters (particle size, bed temperature, and inlet gas velocity). The lower the inlet gas velocity, the higher the ratio of particle collision. The distributions of the particle anisotropic velocity show that the particles have no local equilibrium, and the distribution of gas kinetic energy corresponds to the distribution of gas-particle coupling moment in the fluidized bed. An intensive particle turbulent region exists near the wall, and the gas Reynolds stress is always much higher than the particle stress. The presence of the large reactive particles in the fluidized bed may affect significantly the gas and particle velocities and turbulent intensities. The effects of the bed temperature and inlet gas velocity on the gas particle flow structure, velocity, and turbulent intensity are also studied.