Hybrid two-fluid DEM simulation of gas-solid fluidized beds

Simulations of gas-solid fluidized beds have been performed using a hybrid simulation method, which couples the discrete element method (DEM) for particle dynamics with the averaged two-fluid (TF) continuum equations for the gas phase. The coupling between the two phases is modeled using an interphase momentum transfer term. The results of the hybrid TF-DEM simulations are compared to experimental data and TF model simulations. It is found that the TF-DEM simulation is capable of predicting general fluidized bed dynamics, i.e., pressure drop across the bed and bed expansion, which are in agreement with experimental measurements and TF model predictions. Multiparticle contacts and large contact forces distribute in the regions away from bubbles, as demonstrated from the TF-DEM simulation results. The TF-DEM model demonstrates the capability to capture more heterogeneous structural information of the fluidized beds than the TF model alone. The implications to the solid phase constitutive closures for TF models are discussed. However the TF-DEM simulations depend on the form of the interphase momentum transfer model, which can be computed in terms of averaged or instantaneous particle quantities. Various forms of the interphase momentum transfer model are examined, and simulation results from these models are compared.