A new drag model for TFM simulation of gas–solid bubbling fluidized beds with Geldart-B particles

In this work, a new drag model for TFM simulation in gas–solid bubbling fluidized beds was proposed, and a set of equations was derived to determine the meso-scale structural parameters to calculate the drag characteristics of Geldart-B particles under low gas velocities. In the new model, the meso-scale structure was characterized while accounting for the bubble and meso-scale structure effects on the drag coefficient. The Fluent software, incorporating the new drag model, was used to simulate the fluidization behavior. Experiments were performed in a Plexiglas cylindrical fluidized bed consisting of quartz sand as the solid phase and ambient air as the gas phase. Comparisons based on the solids hold-up inside the fluidized bed at different superficial gas velocities, were made between the 2D Cartesian simulations, and the experimental data, showing that the results of the new drag model reached much better agreement with experimental data than those of the Gidaspow drag model did.     

Time-series analysis of pressure fluctuations in gas–solid fluidized beds – A review

This work reviews methods for time-series analysis for characterization of the dynamics of gas–solid fluidized beds from in-bed pressure measurements for different fluidization regimes. The paper covers analysis in time domain, frequency domain, and in state space. It is a follow-up and an update of a similar review paper written a decade ago. We use the same pressure time-series as used by Johnsson et al. (2000). The paper updates the previous review and includes additional methods for time-series analysis, which have been proposed to investigate dynamics of gas–solid fluidized beds. Results and underlying assumptions of the methods are discussed.     

A review of multiscale CFD for gas–solid CFB modeling

Meso-scale structure is of critical importance to circulating fluidized bed (CFB) applications. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) with consideration of meso-scale structures can help understand the structure-oriented coupling between flow, heat/mass transfer and reactions. This article is to review our recent progress on the so-called multiscale CFD (MSCFD), which characterizes the sub-grid meso-scale structure with stability criteria in addition to conservation equations. It is found that the mesh-independent solution of fine-grid two-fluid model (TFM) without sub-grid structures is inexact, in the sense that it overestimates the drag coefficient and fails to capture the characteristic S-shaped axial profile of voidage in a CFB riser. By comparison, MSCFD approach in terms of EMMS/matrix seems to reach a mesh-independent solution of the sub-grid structure, and succeeds in predicting the axial profile and flow regime transitions. Further application of MSCFD finds that neglect of geometric factors is one of the major reasons that cause disputes in understanding the flow regime transitions in a CFB. The operating diagram should, accordingly, include geometric factors besides commonly believed operating parameters for the intrinsic flow regime diagram. Recent extension of MSCFD to mass transfer finds that Reynolds number is insufficient for correlating the overall Sherwood number in a CFB. This is believed the main reason why the conventional correlations of Sherwood number scatter by several orders of magnitude. Certain jump change of state of motion around Reynolds number of 50–100 can be expected to clarify the abrupt decay of Sherwood number in both classical- and circulating-fluidized beds. Finally, we expect that the real-size, 3-D, full-loop, time-dependent multiscale simulation of CFB is an emerging paradigm that will realize virtual experiment of CFBs.     

Orientation of cylindrical particles in gas–solid circulating fluidized bed

The orientation of cylindrical particles in a gas–solid circulating fluidized bed was investigated by establishing a three-dimensional Euler–Lagrange model on the basis of rigid kinetics, impact kinetics and gas–solid two-phase flow theory. The resulting simulation indicated that the model could well illustrate the orientation of cylindrical particles in a riser during fluidization. The influences of bed structure and operation parameters on orientation of cylindrical particles were then studied and compared with related experimental results. The simulation results showed that the majority of cylindrical particles move with small nutation angles in the riser, the orientation of cylindrical particles is affected more obviously by their positions than by their slenderness and local gas velocities. The simulation results well agree with experiments, thus validating the proposed model and computation.     

A novel dual-material probe for in situ measurement of particle charge densities in gas–solid fluidized beds

Particle charge density is vitally important for monitoring electrostatic charges and understanding particle charging behavior in fluidized beds. In this paper, a dual-material probe was tested in a gas–solid fluidized bed for measuring the charge density of fluidized particles. The experiments were conducted in a two-dimensional fluidized bed with both single bubble injection and freely bubbling, at various particle charge densities and superficial gas velocities. Uniformly sized glass beads were used to eliminate complicating factors at this early stage of probe development. Peak currents, extracted from dynamic signals, were decoupled to determine charge densities of bed particles, which were found to be qualitatively and quantitatively consistent with charge densities directly measured by Faraday cup from the freely bubbling fluidized bed. The current signals were also decoupled to estimate bubble rise velocities, which were found to be in reasonable agreement with those obtained directly by analyzing video images.     

Evaluation of the dimensionless groups based scale-up of gas–solid spouted beds

In this work, the scale-up methodology of He et al. (1997) that is based on maintaining similar or close dimensionless groups in gas–solid spouted beds has been evaluated. Two geometrically similar spouted beds of 0.152 m and 0.076 m diameter have been used. It has been demonstrated experimentally, that there is non-similarity in the local hydrodynamic parameters such as solids holdup and dimensionless solids velocity, when all the dimensionless groups have been matched or close to each other in the two studied spouted beds. This confirms that the global hydrodynamic parameters should not be used to confirm the validity of or to evaluate the dimensionless groups scale-up based methodologies.     

Particle size distribution in CPFD modeling of gas–solid flows in a CFB riser

A computational particle fluid dynamics (CPFD) numerical method to model gas–solid flows in a circulating fluidized bed (CFB) riser was used to assess the effects of particle size distribution (PSD) on solids distribution and flow. We investigated a binary PSD and a polydisperse PSD case. Our simulations were compared with measured solids concentrations and velocity profiles from experiments, as well as with a published Eulerian-Eulerian simulation. Overall flow patterns were similar for both simulation cases, as confirmed by experimental measurements. However, our fine-mesh CPFD simulations failed to predict a dense bottom region in the riser, as seen in other numerical studies. Above this bottom region, distributions of particle volume fraction and particle vertical velocity were consistent with our experiments, and the simulated average particle diameter decreased as a power function with riser height. Interactions between particles and walls also were successfully modeled, with accurate predictions for the lateral profiles of particle vertical velocity. It was easy to implement PSD into the CPFD numerical model, and it required fewer computational resources compared with other models, especially when particles with a polydisperse PSD were present in the heterogeneous flow.     

Gas–liquid mass transfer in the gas–liquid–solid mini fluidized beds

The gas–liquid–solid mini fluidized bed (GLSMFB) combines the advantages of fluidized bed and micro-reactor, and meets the requirements for safety and efficiency of green development of process industry. However, there are few studies on its flow performance and no studies on its mass and heat transfer performance. In this paper, the characteristics of gas–liquid mass transfer in a GLSMFB were studied in order to provide basic guidance for the study of GLSMFB reaction performance and application. Using CO₂ absorption by NaOH as the model process, the gas–liquid mass transfer performance of GLSMFB was investigated. The results show that the liquid volumetric mass transfer coefficient and the gas–liquid interfacial area both increase with the increase of the superficial gas velocity within the experimental parameter range under the same given superficial liquid velocity. At the same ratio of superficial gas to liquid velocity, the liquid volumetric mass transfer coefficient increases with the increase of the superficial liquid velocity. Fluidized solid particles strengthen the liquid mass transfer process, and the liquid volumetric mass transfer coefficient is about 13% higher than that of gas–liquid mini bubble column.     

Modified correlation for minimum fluidization velocity of low-density particles in inverse liquid–solid fluidized beds

The minimum fluidization velocity (U_mf) is a key parameter for the scale-up of inverse liquid–solid fluidized beds. Theoretical predictions using common correlations were compared against experimental minimum fluidization velocity measurements of low density (28–638 kg/m³), 0.80–1.13 mm Styrofoam particles in a fluidized bed with a height of 4.5 m and 0.2 m diameter. The average absolute relative deviation for the predicted minimum fluidization velocity for particles below 300 kg/m³ was above 40% using the studied common correlations. A modified Wen and Yu correlation was thus proposed based on novel and past measurements with low-density and small-diameter particles, expanding the range for predicting U_mf. The new correlation predicted U_mf with deviations below 15% for ST028, ST122 and ST300. This modified correlation also improved U_mf predictions for comparable particles from a previous study, demonstrating its validity for a larger range of low-density particles.     

Drag models for simulating gas–solid flow in the turbulent fluidization of FCC particles

This paper examines the suitability of various drag models for predicting the hydrodynamics of the turbulent fluidization of FCC particles on the Fluent V6.2 platform.The drag models included those of Syamlal–O’Brien,Gidaspow,modified Syamlal–O’Brien,and McKeen.Comparison between experimental data and simulated results showed that the Syamlal–O’Brien,Gidaspow,and modified Syamlal–O’Brien drag models highly overestimated gas–solid momentum exchange and could not predict the formation of dense phase in the fl...     

Determination of hydrodynamic behavior of gas–solid fluidized beds using statistical analysis of acoustic emissions

In the processes involving the movement of solid particles, acoustic emissions are caused by particle friction, collision and fluid turbulence. Particle behavior can therefore be monitored and characterized by assessing the acoustic emission signals. Herein, extensive measurements were carried out by microphone at different superficial gas velocities with different particle sizes. Acoustic emission signals were processed using statistical analysis from which the minimum fluidization velocity was determined from the variation of standard deviation, skewness and kurtosis of acoustic emission signals against superficial gas velocity. Initial minimum fluidization velocity, corresponding to onset of fluidization of finer particles in the solids mixture, at which isolated bubbles occur, was also detected by this method. It was shown that the acoustic emission measurement is highly feasible as a practical method for monitoring the hydrodynamics of gas–solid fluidized beds.     

Effect of Gaussian size distribution width on minimum fluidization velocity in tapered gas–solid fluidized beds

This paper investigated the effect of Gaussian distribution width, average particle diameter, particle loading, and the tapered angle on minimum fluidization velocity (U_mf) by conducting extensive experiments in tapered fluidized beds. Three powders with Gaussian size distribution and different distribution widths were used in the experiments. An increase in U_mf with increasing the average particle diameter, particle loading, and the tapered angle was observed. There was also a nonmonotonic behavior of U_mf as the Gaussian distribution width increased. An empirical correlation including dimensionless groups for predicting U_mf in tapered beds was developed in which the effect of distribution width was considered. The proposed correlation predictions were in good agreement with the experimental data, with a maximum deviation of 16.5% and average and standard deviations of, respectively, 6.4% and 7.4%. The proposed correlation was also compared with three earlier models, and their accuracy was discussed.     

X-ray measurements on the influence of optical probes on gas–solid fluidized beds

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Dynamics of fine particles in liquid-solid fluidized beds

On the basis of the Local Equilibrium Model （LEM）, fine particles with large Richardson-Zaki exponent n show, under certain conditions during bed expansion and collapse, different dynamic behavior from particles with small n. For an expansion process there may be a concentration discontinuity propagating upward from the distributor, and, on the contrary, for a collapse process there may be a progressively broadening and upward-propagating continuous transition zone instead of discontinuity. The predictions of the bed height variation and the discontinuity trace have been validated experimentally.     

Blockage of constrictions by particles in fluid–solid transport

Blockage is an important phenomenon in particulate flow. Work was undertaken to provide a better understanding of key hydrodynamic multiphase flow factors which cause, or contribute to, stalling and blockage in particulate feeding systems such as those used for feeding biomass into reactors. Rubber and plastic particles were hydraulically conveyed along a horizontal rectangular duct leading to constrictions of different geometries. Experimental results showed that large size, irregular shape, high volumetric concentrations of particles, small constriction dimensions and particle compressibility all increased the likelihood of blockage. Reynolds number also had a significant effect on particle behaviour and blockage propensity. The pressure drop needed to break a blockage is also considered, based on a simple horizontal packed bed model.     

Modelling of gas–solid turbulent channel flow with non-spherical particles with large Stokes numbers

This paper describes a complete framework to predict the behaviour of interacting non-spherical particles with large Stokes numbers in a turbulent flow. A summary of the rigid body dynamics of particles and particle collisions is presented in the framework of Quaternions. A particle-rough wall interaction model to describe the collisions between non-spherical particles and a rough wall is put forward as well. The framework is coupled with a DNS-LES approach to simulate the behaviour of horizontal turbulent channel flow with 5 differently shaped particles: a sphere, two types of ellipsoids, a disc, and a fibre. The drag and lift forces and the torque on the particles are computed from correlations which are derived using true DNS.The simulation results show that non-spherical particles tend to locally maximise the drag force, by aligning their longest axis perpendicular to the local flow direction. This phenomenon is further explained by performing resolved direct numerical simulations of an ellipsoid in a flow. These simulations show that the high pressure region on the acute sides of a non-spherical particle result in a torque if an axis of the non-spherical particle is not aligned with the flow. This torque is only zero if the axis of the particle is perpendicular to the local direction of the flow. Moreover, the particle is most stable when the longest axis is aligned perpendicular to the flow.The alignment of the longest axis of a non-spherical particle perpendicular to the local flow leads to non-spherical particles having a larger average velocity compared to spherical particles with the same equivalent diameter. It is also shown that disc-shaped particles flow in a more steady trajectory compared to elongated particles, such as elongated ellipsoids and fibres. This is related to the magnitude of the pressure gradient on the acute side of the non-spherical particles. Finally, it is shown that the effect of wall roughness affects non-spherical particles differently than spherical particles. Particularly, a collision of a non-spherical particle with a rough wall induces a significant amount of rotational energy, whereas a corresponding collision with a spherical particle results in mostly a change in translational motion.     

Direct numerical simulations of gas–solid–liquid interactions in dilute fluids

The dynamic interactions between gas bubbles, rigid particles and liquid can lead to profound nonlinearities in the aggregate behavior of a multiphase fluid. Predicting the nonlinear dynamics of the multiphase mixture hence requires understanding how the phases interact at the scale of individual interfaces, but these interactions are notoriously difficult to resolve in models. The goal of this paper is to develop and validate a computational method capable of capturing the complex flow interactions between gas bubbles and rigid particles immersed in a Newtonian liquid. We focus on multiphase systems that are dilute enough for the solid and gas components to move through and be moved by the ambient liquid. We use level sets with a topology-preserving advection scheme to track the gas interfaces. To include the motion of the rigid particles, we couple distributed Lagrange multipliers to an immersed-boundary method. The high viscosity contrast between the liquid and the gas requires both time splitting and approximate factorization to efficiently solve the governing equations consisting of the conservation of mass, momentum and energy. To resolve interactions between interfaces that vary drastically in size, we refine our mesh adaptively in the vicinity of the boundary.     

Numerical simulations of gas–liquid–solid flows in a hydrocyclone separator

The flow behavior in hydrocyclones is quite complex. In this study, the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method was used to simulate the flow fields inside a hydrocyclone in order to investigate its separation efficiency. In the computational fluid dynamics study of hydrocyclones, the air-core dimension is a key to predicting the mass split between the underflow and overflow. In turn, the mass split influences the prediction of the size classification curve. Three models, the model, the Reynolds stress model (RSM) without considering the air-core, and the Reynolds stress turbulence model with the volume of fluid (VOF) multiphase model for simulating the air-core, were compared in terms of their predictions of velocity, axial and tangential velocity distributions, and separation proportion. The RSM with air-core simulation model, since it reproduces some detailed features of the turbulence and multiphase, clearly predicted the experimental data more closely than did the other two models.     

Magnetic resonance studies of jets in a gas–solid fluidised bed

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been used to study the behaviour of jets at the distributor of a 50 mm diameter fluidised bed of 0.5 mm diameter poppy seeds. Two perforated-plate distributors were examined, containing either 10 or 14 holes, each 1 mm diameter. Ultra-fast MR imaging was able to show the transient nature of the upper parts of the jets, where discrete bubbles are formed. Imaging in 3D showed that the central jets were the longest for flow rates below minimum fluidisation. Above minimum fluidisation, the outer jets, nearest the wall of the fluidised bed, arched inward towards the central axis. In this latter case, interpretation of the time-averaged 3D image required the use of ultra-fast MR imaging to identify the approximate height above the distributor at which discrete bubbles were formed. The apparently continuous void extending along the central axis above this height in the time-averaged 3D image was thus identified, using ultra-fast MR imaging, as representing the averaged paths of released bubbles. Time-averaged MR velocity mapping was also used to identify dead zones of stationary particles resting on the distributor between the jets. The dead zones could be observed when the superficial velocity of the gas approached minimum fluidisation, but they were smaller than those observed at lower gas superficial velocity. Comparable images of a single jet through 1.2 mm diameter poppy seeds from MRI and electrical capacitance volume tomography (ECVT) are also demonstrated.