The experimental investigation of heat transport and water infiltration in granular packed bed due to supplied hot water from the top: Influence of supplied water flux, particle sizes and supplied water temperature

In the present study an experimental investigation of heat transport and water infiltration in granular packed bed (unsaturated porous media) due to supplied water flux is carried out. The study is focus on the one-dimensional flow in a vertical granular packed bed column assuming local thermal equilibrium between water and particles at any specific space. This experimental study described the dynamics of heat transport and water infiltration in various testing condition. Experimentally, the influences of particle sizes, supplied water flux and supplied water temperature on heat transport and water infiltration during unsaturated flow are clarified in details. The results showed that the granular packed bed with larger particle size results in faster infiltration rate and form a wider infiltration depth. Furthermore, the increase of the supplied water flux and supplied water temperature corresponds to faster infiltration rate, but the results not linearly related to the interference between the heat transport and hydrodynamics characteristics in granular packed bed.     

Flow through isotropic granular porous media

A generalization of the Navier-Stokes equation is developed to include laminar flow through a rigid isotropic granular porous medium of spatially varying permeability. The model is based on a theory of interspersed continua and the mean geometrical properties of an idealized granular porous microstructure. The derived momentum transport equations are applicable to granular porous media over the entire porosity range from zero through unity. No restriction with respect to flow velocity is imposed, except for the assumption of laminar flow within the pores. The results provide useful and versatile equations and substantiate many of the empirical equations currently in use. One of the major advantages of the generalized momentum equation is its adaptability to numerical simulation.     

Coupling between countercurrent gas and solid flows in a moving granular bed: The role of shear bands at the walls

We extended the standard approach to countercurrent gas–solid flow in vertical vessels by explicitly coupling the gas flow and the rheology of the moving bed of granular solids, modelled as a continuum, pseudo-fluid. The method aims at quantitatively accounting for the presence of shear in the granular material that induces changes in local porosity, affecting the gas flow pattern through the solids. Results are presented for the vertical channel configuration, discussing the gas maldistribution both through global and specific indexes, highlighting the effect of the relevant parameters such as solids and gas flowrate, channel width, and wall friction. Non-uniform gas flow distribution resulting from uneven bed porosity is also discussed in terms of gas residence time distribution (RTD). The theoretical RTD in a vessel of constant porosity and Literature data obtained in actual moving beds are qualitatively compared to our results, supporting the relevance under given circumstances of the coupling between gas and solids flow.     

Inertial steady flow of a bed of granular material down a surface with microrelief with allowance for finite time of intergranular contacting

An inertial flow of a granular material can be described by the laws of conservation of mass, momentum, and energy of random motion of solid particles by invoking some closing relations. In this work, these closing relations are inferred from the dimensional theory. The system of equations obtained is used to determine characteristics of a steady flow of a bed of a granular material down an inclined surface with a microrelief for various Richardson numbers and finite contact times of the particles during their collisions. Novosibirsk Military Institute, Novosibirsk 630103. Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 40, No. 6, pp. 128–132, November–December, 1999.     

On flows of granular materials

This article reviews the behavior of materials made up of a large assemblage of solid particles under rapid and quasi static deformations. The focus is on flows at relatively high concentrations and for conditions when the interstitial fluid plays an insignificant role. The momentum and energy exchange processes are then primarily governed by interparticle collisions and Coulomb-type frictional contact. We first discuss some physical behavior —dilatancy, internal friction, fluidization and particle segregation — that are typical to the understanding of granular flows. Bagnold's seminal Couette flow experiments and his simple stress analysis are then used to motivate the first constitutive theories that use a microstructural variable — the fluctuation energy or granular temperature — governing the subscale fluctuating motion. The kinetic theories formalize the derivation of the field equations of bulk mass, momentum and energy, and permit derivation of constitutive relations for stress, flux of fluctuation energy and its dissipation rate for simple particle assemblages and when frictional rubbing contact can be ignored. These statistical considerations also show that formulation of boundary conditions needs special attention. The frictional-collisional constitutive behavior in which both Coulomb-type rubbing contact and collisional encounters are significant are discussed. There is as yet no rigorous formulation. We finally present a phenomenological approach that describes rapid flows of granular materials under simultaneous transport of heat and close with a summary of stability analyses of the basic flow down an inclined plane.Dedicated to Professor Dr.-Ing. Franz Gustav Kollmann on the occasion of his sixtieth brithday     

Hydrodynamic mixing in a granular bed with irregular packing

In investigating longitudinal [1–4] and transverse [5] mixing in a granular bed described by a cellular model it has so far been assumed that all the cells are identical, while the parameters of the distribution function of the residence time in the individual cell (henceforth called the microdistribution) are strictly fixed. In an actual granular bed with irregular packing the identical cell condition is obviously not satisfied and the microdistribution parameters may be regarded as random quantities. This paper is concerned with an investigation of the effect of the spread of microdistribution parameters on the characteristics of the process of longitudinal and transverse transport of a neutral fluid in a granular bed.While retaining the general structure of the cellular model [5], we assume that the gas or liquid passing through the bed flows from the cells on one horizontal level into the cells on the next level downstream, its motion in the transverse direction being random. Obviously, a particle of the fluid passing through the granular bed can then occupy one cell on each horizontal level. Dropping the identical cell condition, we assume that the bed is homogeneous and that the parameters of the cells successively occupied by a fluid particle are statistically independent. This assumption means that cells with different values of the parameters have been well mixed, so that inside the bed there are no fluctuations significantly exceeding the cell dimension in extent.The authors thank V. G. Levich for his interest and helpful advice.     

The spatial inhomogeneity of turbulence above a fully rough, packed bed in open channel flow

Single point turbulence statistics measured directly above and in close proximity to the wall in a fully developed, fully rough, turbulent open channel flow are reported. In order to investigate the spatial inhomogeneity of the turbulence, the measurements were obtained over a matrix of measurement points in a plane parallel to the roughness-bed surface. The measurements were obtained with a three-component laser Doppler velocimeter (3D-LDV) system. The turbulence statistics associated with the vertical velocity component, including conditioned mean vertical velocities, rms distributions, and mean vertical momentum fluxes are emphasized. For the Reynolds and Froude numbers associated with this investigation, and with the specific roughness geometry employed in this study (a packed bed of uniform-diameter spheres), it is found that the distribution of the local mean vertical velocity, <w>, has non-zero contributions over the roughness pattern and that this contributes to a mean net vertical momentum flux into the roughness bed. However, the net vertical momentum flux due to turbulent fluctuations is positive out of the bed, consistent with smooth-wall behavior. These results are relevant to the study of sediment entrainment and suspension/deposition as well as the exchange and transport of chemical species between the channel core flow and the fluid within the roughness bed. Received: 21 July 1998/Accepted: 20 November 1999     

Simulated configurational temperature of particles and a model of constitutive relations of rapid-intermediate-dense granular flow based on generalized granular temperature

In gas–solid flat-base spout bed with a jet, the flow of particles must go through an intermediate regime where both kinetic/collisional and frictional contributions play a role. In this paper, the statistical framework is proposed to define the generalized granular temperature which sums up the configurational temperature and translational granular temperature. The configurational temperature, translational and rotational granular temperatures of particles are simulated by means of CFD-DEM (discrete element method) in a 3D flat-base spout bed with a jet. The configurational temperatures of particles are calculated from instantaneous overlaps of particles. The translational and rotational granular temperatures of particles are calculated from instantaneous translational and angular velocities of particles. Roughly, the simulated translational and rotational granular temperatures increase, reach maximum, and then decrease with the increase of solids volume fractions. However, the configurational temperature increases with the increase of solids volume fractions. At high solid volume fraction, the predicted configurational temperatures are larger than the translational and rotational granular temperatures, indicating that the rate of energy dissipation do contributes by contact deformation of elastic particles. The generalized granular temperature is proposed to show the relation between the variance of the fluctuation velocity of deformation and the variance of the translational fluctuation velocity of particles. The constitutive relations of particle pressure, viscosity, granular conductivity of fluctuating energy and energy dissipation in rapid-intermediate-dense granular flows are correlated to the generalized granular temperature. The variations of particle pressure, shear viscosity, energy dissipation and granular conductivity are analyzed on the basis of generalized granular temperature in a flat-base spout bed with a jet. The axial velocities of particles predicted by a gas–solid two-fluid model of rapid-intermediate-dense granular flows agree with experimental results in a spout bed.     

Modeling fluid and heat transport in the reactive, porous bed of downdraft (biomass) gasifier

A fluid flow and heat transfer model has been developed for the reactive, porous bed of the biomass gasifier to simulate pressure drop, temperature profile in the bed and flow rates. The conservation equations, momentum equation and energy equation are used to describe fluid and heat transport in porous gasifier bed. The model accounted for drag at wall, and the effect of radial as well as axial variation in bed porosity to predict pressure drop in bed. Heat transfer has been modeled using effective thermal conductivity approach. Model predictions are validated against the experiments, while effective thermal conductivity values are tested qualitatively using models available in literature. Parametric analysis has been carried out to investigate the effect of various parameters on bed temperature profile and pressure drop through the gasifier. The temperature profile is found to be very sensitive to gas flow rate, and heat generation in oxidation zone, while high bed temperature, gas flow rate and the reduction in feedstock particle size are found to cause a marked increase in pressure drop through the gasifier. The temperatures of the down stream zones are more sensitive to any change in heat generation in the bed as compared to upstream zone. Author recommends that the size of preheating zone may be extended up to pyrolysis zone in order to enhance preheating of input air, while thermal insulation should not be less than 15 cm.     

Numerical simulation of counter-current flow field in the downcomer of a liquid–solid circulating fluidized bed

A comprehensive study on the hydrodynamics in the downcomer of a liquid–solid circulating fluidized bed (LSCFB) is crucial in the control and optimization of the extraction process using an ion exchange LSCFB. A computational fluid dynamics model is proposed in this study to simulate the counter-current two-phase flow in the downcomer of the LSCFB. The model is based on the Eulerian–Eulerian approach incorporating the kinetic theory of granular flow. The predicted results agree well with our earlier experimental data. Furthermore, it is shown that the bed expansion of the particles in the downcomer is directly affected by the superficial liquid velocity in downcomer and solids circulation rate. The model also predicts the residence time of solid particles in the downcomer using a pulse technique. It is demonstrated that the increase in the superficial liquid velocity decreases the solids dispersion in the downcomer of the LSCFB.     

Numerical simulation of counter-current flow field in the downcomer of a liquid-solid circulating fluidized bed

A comprehensive study on the hydrodynamics in the downcomer of a liquid-solid circulating fluidized bed(LSCFB) is crucial in the control and optimization of the extraction process using an ion exchange LSCFB.A computational fluid dynamics model is proposed in this study to simulate the counter-current two-phase flow in the downcomer of the LSCFB.The model is based on the Eulerian-Eulerian approach incorporating the kinetic theory of granular flow.The predicted results agree well with our earlier experimental data.Furthermore,it is shown that the bed expansion of the particles in the downcomer is directly affected by the superficial liquid velocity in downcomer and solids circulation rate.The model also predicts the residence time of solid particles in the downcomer using a pulse technique.It is demonstrated that the increase in the superficial liquid velocity decreases the solids dispersion in the downcomer of the LSCFB.     

Effects of initial static bed height on fractional conversion and bed pressure drop in tapered-in and tapered-out fluidized bed reactors

In this article, a standard 2D Two-Fluid Model (TFM) closed by the kinetic theory of granular flow (KTGF) has been applied to simulate the behavior of tapered-in and tapered-out fluidized bed reactors. In this regard, two types of chemical reactions with gas volume reduction and increase were considered to investigate the effects of initial static bed height on the fractional conversion and bed pressure drop. To validate the CFD model predictions, the results of hydrodynamic simulations concerning bed pressure drop and bed expansion ratio were compared against experimental data reported in the literature and excellent agreement was observed. The obtained simulation results clearly indicate that there is an appropriate static bed height in a tapered-in reactor in which the fractional conversion becomes maximum at this height; whereas variations of static bed height in a tapered-out reactor have insignificant influences on the fractional conversion. Moreover, it was found that the residence time, temperature, and intensity of turbulence of the gas phase are three important factors affecting the fractional conversion in tapered fluidized bed reactors. In addition, it was observed that increasing the static bed height increases the bed pressure drop for both the tapered-in and tapered-out fluidized bed reactors.     

Multiple time scales of fluvial processes — theory and applications

Fluvial processes comprise water flow, sediment transport and bed evolution, which normally feature distinct time scales. The time scales of sediment transport and bed deformation relative to the flow essentially measure how fast sediment transport adapts to capacity region in line with local flow scenario and the bed deforms in comparison with the flow, which literally dictates if a capacity based and/or decoupled model is justified. This paper synthesizes the recently developed multiscale theory for sediment-laden flows over erodible bed, with bed load and suspended load transport, respectively. It is unravelled that bed load transport can adapt to capacity sufficiently rapidly even under highly unsteady flows and thus a capacity model is mostly applicable, whereas a non-capacity model is critical for suspended sediment because of the lower rate of adaptation to capacity. Physically coupled modelling is critical for fluvial processes characterized by rapid bed variation. Applications are outlined on very active bed load sediment transported by flash floods and landslide dam break floods.     

Experimental and computational studies on flow behavior of gas-solid fluidized bed with disparately sized binary particles

This paper presents experimental and computational studies on the flow behavior of a gas-solid fluidized bed with disparately sized binary particle mixtures. The mixing/segregation behavior and segregation efficiency of the small and large particles are investigated experimentally.Particle composition and operating conditions that influence the fluidization behavior of mixing/segregation are examined. Based on the granular kinetics theory, a multi-fluid CFD model has been developed and verified against the experimental results. The simulation results are in reasonable agreement with experimental data. The results showed that the smaller particles are found near the bed surface while the larger particles tend to settle down to the bed bottom in turbulent fluidized bed. However, complete segregation of the binary particles does not occur in the gas velocity range of 0.695--0.904 m/s. Segregation efficiency increases with increasing gas velocity and mean residence time of the binary particles, but decreases with increasing the small particle concentration. The calculated results also show that the small particles move downward in the wall region and upward in the core. Due to the effect of large particles on the movement of small particles, the small particles present a more turbulent velocity profile in the dense phase than that in the dilute phase.     

Analytical quantification of coefficients in the Ergun equation for fluid friction in a packed bed

A new analytical derivation for momentum transport during laminar flow through granular porous media is discussed and some of its implied results described. In the very low Reynolds number regime fully developed laminar flow is assumed and in the higher laminar Reynolds number regime the Forchheimer (non-Darcy) effect is modelled through reference to form drag induced by the solid constituents of the porous medium. The results are compared to the Ergun equation, which is empirically based on experimental measurements, and the correspondence is shown to be remarkably close.     

Modeling the fluid dynamics and heat transfer in unsteady and periodic flow of a highly concentrated granular medium over an obstacle in a channel

The unsteady isothermal flow of a dense layer of a granular medium around an obstacle in a plane channel is modeled using the momentum transfer equations for an incompressible viscous liquid medium based on the slip of the medium at the walls. The validity of this approach is tested by comparing the calculated and experimental data for the flow of a highly concentrated granular medium with high flowability. The effect of periodic change in the flow rate of the granular medium over time in the inlet section of the plane channel on the unsteady distributions of the velocity and temperature fields is studied.     

A two-phase mixture theory for the deflagration-to-detonation transition (ddt) in reactive granular materials

In this paper, a two-phase mixture theory is presented which describes the deflagration-to-detonation transition (DDT) in reactive granular materials. The theory is based on the continuum theory of mixtures formulated to include the compressibility of all phases and the compaction behavior of the granular material. By requiring the model to satisfy an entropy inequality, specific expressions for the exchange of mass, momentum and energy are proposed which are consistent with known empirical models. The model is applied to describe the combustion processes associated with DDT in a pressed column of HMX. Numerical results, using the method-of-lines, are obtained for a representative column of length 10 cm packed to a 70% density with an average grain size of 100 μm. The results are found to predict the transition to detonation in run distances commensurate with experimental observations. Additional calculations have been carried out to demonstrate the effect of particle size and porosity and to study bed compaction by varying the compaction viscosity of the granular explosive.     

Experimental and computational studies on flow behavior of gas–solid fluidized bed with disparately sized binary particles

This paper presents experimental and computational studies on the flow behavior of a gas-solid fluidized bed with disparately sized binary particle mixtures. The mixing/segregation behavior and segregation efficiency of the small and large particles are investigated experimentally. Particle composition and operating conditions that influence the fluidization behavior of mixing/segregation are examined. Based on the granular kinetics theory, a multi-fluid CFD model has been developed and verified against the experimental results. The simulation results are in reasonable agreement with experimental data. The results showed that the smaller particles are found near the bed surface while the larger particles tend to settle down to the bed bottom in turbulent fluidized bed. However, complete segregation of the binary particles does not occur in the gas velocity range of 0.695-0.904 m/s. Segregation efficiency increases with increasing gas velocity and mean residence time of the binary particles, but decreases with increasing the small particle concentration. The calculated results also show that the small particles move downward in the wall region and upward in the core. Due to the effect of large particles on the movement of small particles, the small particles present a more turbulent velocity profile in the dense phase than that in the dilute phase.     

一种改进的颗粒移动床μ(I)拟流体模型及应用

颗粒移动床在工业领域应用广泛, 发展实用可靠的颗粒移动床模型具有理论和应用价值. 本文基于颗粒流μ(I)模型, 补充局部颗粒体积分数与颗粒局部压力和局部颗粒流密度的关系式, 将移动床内密集颗粒处理成可压缩拟流体, 建立了颗粒流单相可压缩流μ(I)模型, 并建立了颗粒流?壁面摩擦条件, 在计算中对颗粒流拟黏度和拟压力项进行正则化处理. 采用上述模型与方法对3种典型散料在移动床缩口料仓内的流动进行模拟, 与实验对比, 得到了玻璃珠、刚玉球和粗沙的μ(I)模型参数, 分析了3种不同散料在料仓内的颗粒速度、体积分数等分布特性, 模拟结果较好地揭示了料仓内不同物料的整体流和漏斗流特性; 进而以玻璃珠为例, 对移动床颗粒单管绕流流动进行了模拟, 所得结果合理揭示了管流附近的流动特性. 计算结果表明, 对于本文的计算工况, 颗粒体积分数变化最大范围为0.510 ~ 0.461, 绝大部分区域流动惯性数小于0.1, 改进的单相μ(I)模型能合理预测出密集颗粒流移动床内的流动特性, 方法可行且较多相流算法能明显减小计算量.