Influence of rolling friction on single spout fluidized bed simulation

In this paper we study the effect of rolling friction on the dynamics in a single spout fluidized bed using Discrete Element Method (DEM) coupled to Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). In a first step we neglect rolling friction and show that the results delivered by the open source CFD–DEM framework applied in this study agree with previous simulations documented in literature. In a second step we include a rolling friction sub-model in order to investigate the effect of particle non-sphericity. The influence of particle–particle as well as particle–wall rolling friction on the flow in single spout fluidized bed is studied separately. Adequate rolling friction model parameters are obtained using first principle DEM simulations and data from literature. Finally, we demonstrate the importance of correct modelling of rolling friction for coupled CFD–DEM simulations of spout fluidized beds. We show that simulation results can be improved significantly when applying a rolling friction model, and that experimental data from literature obtained with Positron Emission Particle Tracking (PEPT) technique can be satisfactorily reproduced.