Effects of heterogeneity on the drag force in random arrays of spheres

S.H.L. Kriebitzsch, M.A. Hoef, van der, J.A.M. Kuipers

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

The modelling of the gas-solid interaction is a prerequisite in order to accurately predict fluidized bed behaviour using models such as the Discrete Particle Model (DPM) or the Two Fluid Model (TFM). Currently, the drag force is usually modelled purely based on porosity and slip velocity, which are averaged with respect to the grid size used to solve the model equations. Interfaces at heterogenous structures such as bubbles or free board are not accounted for. As recently pointed out by Xu et al. (2007), sub-grid information for the particle position is available in DPM simulations, thus the local porosity is known and can be used when calculating the drag. Direct Numerical Simulation of flow in particulate systems were done using the lattice Boltzmann method. These simulations were carried out with random arrays of spheres which only have a slight degree of heterogeneity and the gas-solid interaction force on each particle was measured. First we compared these results, which can be considered as the "true drag force, with the drag force one would predict from a correlation typically used in larger scale models (such as the relation of van der Hoef et al. (2005)). Even for the random arrays, the drag on some individual particles differed considerably (up to 40%) from the predicted drag. Then we evaluate the effectiveness of improved drag models, that use information on local porosity.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings of the 6th International Conference on Computational Fluid Dynamics in the Oil & Gas, Metallurgical and Process Industries (CFD08), 10 - 12 June 2008, Trondheim, Norway
PagesCFD08-68-1/7
Publication statusPublished - 2008

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Effects of heterogeneity on the drag force in random arrays of spheres'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this