Improved DEM-CFD Model and Validation: A Conical-Base Spouted Bed Simulation Study

An improved and efficient DEM-CFD approach is developed for spouted beds. A nonlinear Discrete Element Method (DEM), with a concept of spring, dash-pot and friction slider, is used for tracing the movement of each individual particle. The gas flow is described by a set of reorganized governing equations. Two phases are coupled through contributions due to effects of porosity, viscosity and drag. All equations are solved with the commercial package Fluent with an implementation of User Defined Functions (UDF). To validate the improved model, a two-dimensional conical-base spouted bed is chosen as a case study. An unstructured mesh system is adopted instead of regular grid system. The simulation also takes the Saffman force and Magnus effect into account. The calculation results show good agreement with the experimental observations which are taken from the literature.