Computational fluid dynamic simulation of a gas-solid fluidized bed system

Abstract

The study of the gas-solid system was performed through an analysis of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) in a fluidized bed reactor. This process begins with the interaction between the particles and the gas phase. The fluidization process analysis is achieved through the Eulerian approach represented in the behavior of the solid phase dynamics during the bed expansion process. Within the process, the formation of the dense phase was demonstrated and how it could affect the effects of temperature, pressure and surface velocity of the gas in the fluidized bed system. The purpose of this work is to establish hydrodynamic parameters by evaluating the volumetric fraction of the particles and the axial and radial velocity profile using the drag models of Syamlal O'Brien and Gibilaro. In addition, it should be considered the analysis of the computational dynamics of fluids, such as the generation of the mesh, the selection of the models, and the run time of the simulation. The results of the simulations showed that the solid phase concentration has had a uniform distribution, a dense phase formation, given the changes in operating conditions and a reasonable expansion of the bed in the final simulation time.