Development of resolved CFD-DEM coupling model for three-phase flows with non-spherical particles

In this work, a resolved CFD-DEM coupling model for gas-liquid-solid three-phase flows with non-spherical particles is developed where the shape of the particle is implicitly captured by a superquadric function. Both gas-liquid and fluid-solid interfaces are smoothly represented with a specified thickness so that the interface thicknesses and CFD cell size are independent of each other. Several sensitivity stud-ies are carried out and criteria for mesh-and thickness-independent results are proposed. It is confirmed that the proposed model can properly predict the hydrodynamic and capillary forces acting on particles with a wide range of shapes and contact angles. Finally, the model proposed is applied to perform several virtual experiments of typical chemical engineering processes: a liquid-solid fluidised bed and bubbly flow with various particle shapes. It is found that particle shape can have a significant impact on the fluid-particle interactions and resultant particle movement, leading to segregation and preferential alignment.(c) 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

In this work, a CFD-DEM coupling model is developed to simulate gas-liquid-solid flows with non-spherical particles. The model captures the particle shape implicitly using a superquadric function. The model successfully predicts the hydrodynamic and capillary forces on particles with different shapes and contact angles. Virtual experiments of chemical engineering processes show that particle shape significantly affects fluid-particle interactions and particle movement, leading to segregation and preferential alignment.