Modeling bubble heat transfer in gas-solid fluidized beds using DEM

Discrete element method (DEM) simulations of a pseudo 2-D fluidized bed at non-isothermal conditions are presented. First implementation details are discussed. This is followed by a validation study where heating of a packed column by a flow of heated fluid is considered. Next hot gas injected into a colder bed that is slightly above minimum fluidization conditions is modeled. In this study bubbles formed in monodisperse beds of different glass particle sizes (1 mm, 2 mm and 3 mm) and with a range of injection temperatures (300–900 K) are analyzed. Bubble heat transfer coefficients in fluidized beds are reported and compared with values produced by the Davidson and Harrison model.