Energy budget of cold and hot gas-solid fluidized beds through CFD-DEM simulations

Direct energy budget is carried out for both cold and hot flow in gas–solid fluidization systems.First,the energy paths are proposed from thermodynamic viewpoints.Energy consumption means total power input to the specific system,and it can be decomposed into energy retention and energy dissipation.Energy retention is the variation of accumulated mechanical energy in the system,and energy dissipation is the energy converted to heat by irreversible processes.Then based on the Computational Fluid Dynamics-Discrete Element Method(CFD-DEM)framework,different energy terms are quantified from the specific flow elements of fluid cells and particles as well as their interactions with the wall.In order to clarify the energy budget,it is important to identify which system is studied:the particle-fluid system or the particle sub-system.For the cold flow,the total energy consumption of the particle sub-system can well indicate the onset of bubbling and turbulent,while the variation of local energy consumption terms can reflect the evolution of heterogeneous structures.For the hot flow,different heat transfer mechanisms are analyzed and the solver is modified to reproduce the experimental results.The impact of the heat transfer mechanisms and heat production on energy consumption is also investigated.The proposed budget method has proven to be energy-conservative and easy to conduct,and it is hopeful to be applied to other multiphase flow systems.

Multi-Scale Numerical Simulation of Flow,Heat and Mass Transfer Behaviors in Dense Gas-Solid Flows:A Brief Review

Dense gas-solid flows are very common in actual production and industrial fields,so it is significant to understand their hydrodynamic characteristics and heat and mass transfer behaviors.This article provides a brief review of multi-scale numerical simulation of flow,heat and mass transfer behaviors in dense gas-solid flows.It describes multiscale models(direct numerical simulation,discrete particle model,and two-fluid model)and the results of related research.Finally,it discusses possible future developments in research on the flow,heat and mass transfer characteristics of dense gas-solid two-phase flows.

Numerical Simulation of Heat Transfer in a Gas Solid Crossflow Moving Packed Bed Heat Exchanger

The mechanism of heat transfer in a crossflow moving packed bed heat transfer exchanger is analyzed and a two dimensional heat transfer mathematical model has been developed based on the two fluid model (TFM)approach, in which both phases are considered to be continuous and fully interpenetrating.This model is solved by means of numerical method and the results are approximately in agreement with the experimental ones.

Numerical study of collection efficiency and heat-transfer characteristics of packed granular filter

The collection mechanism and heat-transfer characteristics of a packed granular filter were investigated using a three-dimensional randomly packed granular filter model. The bridging method was introduced to optimize the grids of contact points between granules. The influences of granular bed depth, gas velocity, and gas temperature on grade collection efficiency were investigated. The results indicated that a decrease of temperature improved collection efficiency when the particle diameter was greater than 5 |xm. The grade collection efficiency maintained a stable value when the Stokes number, St, was less than 0.009, but increased linearly with ig(St) when St > 0.009. A logarithmic mean temperature difference method was used to obtain overall heat-transfer coefficients of gas-solid two-phase flow through the packed granular filter. The results showed that convective heat transfer was enhanced due to the intro-duction of solid particles in the bed. The overall heat-transfer coefficient increased approximately linearly with an increase in particle loading ratio. The Nusselt number was related to the Reynolds number, the Archimedes number, and the particle loading ratio.

Particle shape effect on hydrodynamics and heat transfer in spouted bed:A CFD-DEM study

Spouted bed has drawn much attention due to its good heat and mass transfer efficiency in many chemical units.Investigating the flow patterns and heat and mass transfer inside a spouted bed can help optimize the spouting process.Therefore,in this study,the effects of particle shape on the hydrodynamics and heat transfer in a spouted bed are investigated.This is done by using a validated computational fluid dynamics-discrete element method(CFD-DEM)model,considering volume-equivalent spheres and oblate and prolate spheroids.The results are analysed in detail in terms of the flow pattern,microstruc-ture,and heat transfer characteristics.The numerical results show that the prolate spheroids(Ar=2.4)form the largest bubble from the beginning of the spouting process and rise the highest because the fluid drag forces can overcome the interlocking and particle-particle frictional forces.Compared with spherical particles,ellipsoidal spheroids have better mobility because of the stronger rotational kinetic energy resulting from the rough surfaces and nonuniform torques.In addition,the oblate spheroid system exhibits better heat transfer performance benefiting from the larger surface area,while prolate spheroids have poor heat transfer efficiency because of their orientation distribution.These findings can serve as a reference for optimizing the design and operation of complex spouted beds.

Numerical simulation of heat transfer process in cement grate cooler based on dynamic mesh technique

A grate cooler is key equipment in quenching clinker and recovering heat in cement production. A two-dimensional numerical model based on a 5000 t/d cement plant is proposed to for a study on the gas-solid coupled heat transfer process between the cooling air and clinker in a grate cooler. In this study, we use the Fluent dynamic mesh technique and porous media model through which the transient temperature distribution with the clinker motion process and steady temperature and pressure distribution are obtained. We validate the numerical model with the operating data of the cooling air outlet temperature. Then, we discuss the amount of mid-temperature air outlet and average diameter of clinker particles, which affect the heat effective utilization and cooling air pressure drop in clinker layer. We found that after adding one more mid-temperature air outlet, the average temperature of the air flowing into the heat recovery boiler increases by 29.04℃ and the ratio of heat effective utilization increases by 5.3%. This means heat recovery is more effective on adding one more mid-temperature air outlet. Further, the smaller the clinker particles, the more is the pressure drop in clinker layer; thus more power consumption is needed by the cooling fan.

Improved filtered mesoscale interphase heat transfer model

Mesoscale structures that form in gas-solid flows considerably affect interphase heat transfer.A filtered interphase heat transfer model accounts for the effects of unresolved mesoscale structures is required in coarse-grid simulations.In the literature,researchers obtain the filtered interphase heat transfer coefficient using a correction(Q)to the microscopic interphase heat transfer coefficient.Available models are based on filtered data in the range 0<Q<1.However,the percentage of filtered data in the range Q<0 and Q>1 is non-negligible.This percentage can reach approximately 20%when the dimensionless filter size is smaller than 1.028(66.7×the particle diameter).We proposed an improved filtered interphase heat transfer model by considering the data in the range Q<0 and Q>1.We evaluated the predictive power of our model in an a priori test.Our model has much better performance than other models when the dimensionless filter size△<8.222.

Heat transfer characterization and improvement in an external catalyst cooler fluidized bed

Gas-solid fluidized beds have been widely used in heat transfer processes,and so there have been many studies focused on increasing heat transfer in such units.In the present work,a pilot scale cold mode experimental rig was constructed to assess the effects of hydrodynamics on bed-to-wall heat transfer and to investigate various means of enhancing heat transfer in a dense gas-solid fluidized bed with external solid circulation.The experimental results show that heat transfer in the dense region played a dominant role in total bed-to-wall heat transfer,accounting for more than 88%of the total heat transfer load.Heat transfer could be lowered as a result of solids bypass that occurred because of external solids circulation,but this effect was weakened by the radial mixing of particles.The heat transfer characteristics identified in this study indicate that a specially designed baffle can be used to enhance bed-to-wall heat transfer.After installing such baffles in the fluidized bed test structure,a 70%increase in the total heat transfer coefficient was obtained.

A high precision computing method for heat transfer in the process of oil-water displacement

The process of oil-water displacement is one of the key technologies in offshore underwater tank.When hot oil is contacting the normal-temperature water,the interfacial heat transfer should be investigated as the heat loss may result in wax precipitation and solidification which will reduce the flowing of oil and thus affect the process.As for the numerical simulation of heat transfer,the calculation is costly as the underwater tank is usually large and the displacement period is long.A high precision computing method would greatly reduce the mesh scale.Therefore,this research is performed to establish a high precision computing solver.Based on volume of fluid(VOF),a new form of energy equation is proposed.This equation is derived from temperature equation and the variable internal energy per volume is used.This variable is additive and has a close relationship with volume fraction.With algorithm implantation to OpenFOAM,two non-isothermal VOF solvers are established corresponding to temperature equation and the new equation respectively.After an analytical solution is built,the two solvers are compared.The solver based on the new equation presents far more accurate results than the solver based on temperature equation.An energy weighted scheme is more reasonable than a linear temperature distribution for the mixture phase.

Further Stabilization and Power Density Improvement of Stack-Type Thermoelectric Power Generating Module with Biphasic Medium by Using Various Flexible Metals as Electrodes

In order to realize further stability of a stack-type thermoelectric power generating module (i.e. no electrical connections inside), flexible materials of metal springs and/or rods having restoring forces were installed between lower-temperature-sides of thermoelectric elements. These flexible materials were expected to play three important roles of interpolating different thermal expansions of the module components, enlarging heat removal area and penetration of any media through themselves. Then, a low-boiling-point medium (i.e. NOVEC manufactured by 3M Japan Ltd.) was also applied for a high-speed direct heat removal via its phase change from the lower-temperature-sides of the thermoelectric elements in the proposing stack-type thermoelectric power generating module. No electrical disconnections inside the module were confirmed for more than 9 years of use, indicating further module stability. The power generating density was improved to about 120 mW·m-2 with SUS304 springs having 0.7 mm diameter. Increasing power generating density can be expected in terms of suitable selection of flexible metal with high Vickers hardness, cavities control on the spring surface, more vigorous multiphase flow with adding powders to the medium and optimization of the module configurations according to numerical simulations.