Development and validation of SuperDEM-CFD coupled model for simulating non-spherical particles hydrodynamics in fluidized beds

A SuperDEM-CFD coupled model was developed and validated in open-source MFiX for simulating non-spherical particles fluidization hydrodynamics in fluidized beds. The non-spherical particle was modeled using a superquadric method and shapes can be modeled by only varying five parameters. DPVM-Satellites interpolation scheme was developed to distribute the non-spherical particle volume into the neighboring fluid cells. A general algorithm to calculate the particle projected area perpendicular to the flow was developed. Two hybrid drag models that consider the effects of both particle orientation and cell voidage were implemented and compared. The model was validated by comparing the simulation results with the fluidization experiments of particles of different shapes, including sphere, cylinder, rod, and cuboid. The solver can correctly simulate the pressure drop, particle height distribution, and particle orientation distribution. Finally, large-scale systems with 100 million non-spherical particles were parallel simulated on 6800 cores, which demonstrated the ability of the solver for industrial-relevant flows simulation.

Automated summary

A new SuperDEM-CFD coupled model was developed for simulating the hydrodynamics of non-spherical particles in fluidized beds. The model includes algorithms for modeling and distributing non-spherical particles, as well as drag models that consider particle orientation and cell voidage effects. Experimental validation was conducted, and large-scale simulations demonstrated the solver's capabilities for industrial-relevant flows.