Euler-Euler CFD modeling of fluidized bed:Influence of specularity coefficient on hydrodynamic behavior

Euler-Euler two-fluid model is used to simulate the hydrodynamics of gas-solid flow in a bubbling flu- idized bed with Geldert B particles where the solid property is calculated by applying the kinetic theory of granular flow （KTGF）. Johnson and Jackson wall boundary condition is used for the particle phase, and different amount of slip between particle and wall is given by varying the specularity coefficient （φ） from 0 to 1. The simulated particle velocity, granular temperature and particle volume fraction are compared to investigate the effect of different wall boundary conditions on the hydrodynamic behavior, Some of the results are also compared with the available experimental data from the literature. It was found that the model predictions are sensitive to the specularity coefficient. The hydrodynamic behavior deviated sig- nificantly for φ = 0 and φ = 0.01 with maximum deviation found at φ = 0 i.e. free-slip condition. However, the overall bed height predicted by all the conditions is similar.

Hydrodynamic behavior of magnetized fluidized beds with admixtures of Geldart-B magnetizable and nonmagnetizable particles

This work focuses on the hydrodynamic behavior of admixtures of Geldart-B magnetizable and non- magnetizable particles in a magnetized fluidized bed. The applied magnetic field was axial, uniform, and steady. In operating the beds, the magnetization-LAST mode was adopted under which four distinct flow regimes exist： fixed, magnetized-bubbling, partial segregation-bubbling, and total segregation-bubbling, The operational phase diagram was drawn to display the transitions between flow regimes in an intuitive manner. Only in the magnetized-bubbling regime could the magnetic field reduce the bubble size and improve fluidization quality. In the segregation-bubbling regimes, fluidization quality deteriorated as segregation developed. The segregation of the binary mixture was quantitatively studied by observing pressure drops in the local bed. Reasons for the improvement in fluidization quality as well as the occur- rence of segregation were analyzed. Furthermore. the flow regime transition under magnetization-LAST operation mode was different from that under magnetization-FIRST mode. The magnetically stabilized bed （MSB） flow regime, which could be easily created under magnetization-FIRST mode, could no longer be achieved under magnetization-LAST mode. With the admixture, the MSB was proved to be a metastable equilibrium state. Under the magnetization-LAST mode, the admixture bed reached directly the stable equilibrium state-bubbling with segregation.

Numerical simulation of flow hydrodynamics of struvite pellets in a liquid–solid fluidized bed

Phosphorus recovery in the form of struvite has been aroused in recent decades for its dual advantages in eutrophication control and resource protection.The usage of the struvite products is normally determined by the size which is largely depended on the hydrodynamics.In this study,flow behavior of struvite pellets was simulated by means of Eulerian–Eulerian two-fluid model combining with kinetic theory of granular flow in a liquid–solid fluidized bed reactor（FBR）.A parametric study including the mesh size,time step,discretization strategy,turbulent model and drag model was first developed,followed by the evaluations of crucial operational conditions,particle characteristics and reactor shapes.The results showed that a cold model with the mesh resolution of 16 × 240,default time step of 0.001 sec and first order discretization scheme was accurate enough to describe the fluidization.The struvite holdup profile using Syamlal–O＇Brien drag model was best fitted to the experimental data as compared with other drag models and the empirical Richardson–Zaki equation.Regarding the model evaluation,it showed that liquid velocity and particle size played important roles on both solid holdups and velocities.The reactor diameter only influenced the solid velocity while the static bed height almost took no effect.These results are direct and can be applied to guide the operation and process control of the struvite fluidization.Moreover,the model parameters can also be used as the basic settings in further crystallization simulations.

A comparative assessment of empirical and lattice Boltzmann method-based drag models for simulation of gas-solid flow hydrodynamics in a bubbling fluidized bed

In simulations of fluidized beds using computational fluid dynamics （CFD）, the description of gas-solid flow hydrodynamics relies on a drag model to account for the momentum transfer between gas and solid phases. Although several studies of drag models have been published, there have been few investigations of the application of lattice Boltzmann method （LBM）-based drag models to bubbling fluidized bed simu- lations. In the present study, a comprehensive comparison of empirical and LBM-based drag models was carried out to assess the performance of these models during simulations of gas-solid flow hydrodynam- ics in a bubbling fluidized bed. A CFD model using the MFIX code based on the Eulerian-Eulerian approach and the kinetic theory of granular flow was used to simulate a 2D bubbling fluidized bed with Geldart B particles. The simulation results were validated by comparison with experimental data. Statistical anal- ysis of the results shows that LBM-based drag models can reliably model gas-solid flow hydrodynamics in a bubbling fluidized bed.

Detailed parametric design methodology for hydrodynamics of liquid-solid circulating fluidized bed using design of experiments

A design-of-experiments methodology is used to develop a statistical model for the prediction of the hydrodynamics of a liquid–solid circulating fluidized bed. To illustrate the multilevel factorial design approach, a step by step methodology is taken to study the effects of the interactions among the independent factors considered on the performance variables. A multilevel full factorial design with three levels of the two factors and five levels of the third factor has been studied. Various statistical models such as the linear, two-factor interaction, quadratic, and cubic models are tested. The model has been developed to predict responses, viz., average solids holdup and solids circulation rate. The validity of the developed regression model is verified using the analysis of variance. Furthermore, the model developed was compared with an experimental dataset to assess its adequacy and reliability. This detailed statistical design methodology for non-linear systems considered here provides a very important tool for design and optimization in a cost-effective approach

Hydrodynamic modeling strategy for dense to dilute gas-solid fluidized beds

When investigating the hydrodynamic behavior of gas–solid flow systems, there are several options for the drag function, viscosity model, and other parameters. The low accuracy obtained with a random trial and error modeling strategy has led researchers to develop new drag models that are fine-tuned for their specific studies. However, besides the drag functions, an appropriate viscosity model together with radial distribution function have a great impact on the hydrodynamic modeling of fluidized beds. In this study, a detailed validation and verification task is conducted using three different experimental datasets to derive a modeling strategy for predicting hydrodynamic behavior in dense to dilute flow regimes of various fluidized beds. For this purpose, the steady-state Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations are solved in a finite volume scheme using the twoPhaseEulerFoam solver in the OpenFOAM 2.1.1 software. A comparative study of different drag and viscosity models enables an optimal modeling strategy to be determined for the accurate prediction of the bed pressure drop, bed expansion ratio, time-averaged solid hold-up, and bed height in various dense and dilute flow regimes. Our results show that the modeling strategy prescribed in this study is widely applicable for identifying the hydrodynamic characteristics of various gas–solid fluidized beds with different operating conditions.

Experimental analysis of volatile liquid injection into a fluidized bed

Experiments were conducted on a lab-scale fluidized bed to study the distribution of liquid ethanol injected into fluidized catalyst particles. Electrical capacitance measurements were used to study the liquid distribution inside the bed, and a new method was developed to determine the liquid content inside fluidized beds of fluid catalytic cracking particles. The results shed light on the complex liquid injection region and reveal the strong effect of superficial gas velocity on liquid distribution inside the fluidized bed, which is also affected by the imbibition of liquid inside particle pores. Particle internal porosity was found to play a major role when the changing mass of liquid in the bed was monitored. The results also showed that the duration of liquid injection affected liquid-solid contact inside the bed and that liouid-solid mixin~ was not homogeneous durin~ the limited liouid injection time.

CFD simulation of gas-solid flow patterns in a downscaled combustor-style FCC regenerator

To investigate the gas-solid flow pattern of a combustor-style fluid catalytic cracking regenerator, a laboratory-scale regenerator was designed. In scaling down from an actual regenerator, large-diameter hydrodynamic effects were taken into consideration. These considerations are the novelties of the present study. Applying the Eulerian-Eulerian approach, a three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics （CFD） model of the regenerator was developed. Using this model, various aspects of the hydrodynamic behavior that are potentially effective in catalyst regeneration were investigated. The CFD simulation results show that at various sections the gas-solid flow patterns exhibit different behavior because of the asymmetric location of the catalyst inlets and the lift outlets. The ratio of the recirculated catalyst to spent catalyst determines the quality of the spent and recirculated catalyst mixing and distribution because the location and quality of vortices change in the lower part of the combustor. The simulation results show that recirculated catalyst considerably reduces the air bypass that disperses the catalyst particles widely over the cross section. Decreasing the velocity of superficial air produces a complex flow pattern whereas the variation in catalyst mass flux does not alter the flow pattern significantly as the flow is dilute.