Two fluid modelling of 3D cylindrical fluidized beds using kinetic theory for rough spheres

Cylindrical fluidized beds are mostly encountered in industry. This work involves a study of the hydrodynamics of large scale cylindrical fluidized beds. The Euler-Euler approach (two-fluid model) is considered to be the most effective for these larger scale applications. The challenge of this model incorporated with kinetic theory of granular flow (KTGF) is to establish an accurate hydrodynamic and rheological description of the solid phase. KTGF for frictional spheres developed by Yang et al. (2016) has been incorporated into our in-house two-fluid model (TFM) code for the modeling 3D cylindrical bubbling fluidized beds. For verification, a comparison of the present model in the limit of zero friction with the original (frictionless) KTGF model is made. Simulation results of both models agree well. Numerical tests on bubbling fluidized beds are carried out using present KTGF and the KTGF model from Jenkins and Zhang (2002). The simulation results show good agreement with the simulation results obtained from the KTGF model from Jenkins and Zhang for solids circulation pattern and solids volume fraction distribution. In addition, a comparative study has been performed to investigate the effects of inlet gas velocity on bubble behavior in fluidized beds.