A comparison of hydrodynamics and structure in a random packed bed with cylindrical particles

Catalytic packed bed reactors are widely used in industrial processes. The particle packing structure in the bed introduces complex flow patterns in the system. Therefore, understanding the bed hydrodynamics is key in designing these reactors since it significantly affects the heat and mass transport in the reactor. In industrial reactors often cylindrical particles are used, as they can be prepared via extrusion. However, the orientational freedom of the cylindrical particles compared to spheres results in distinctly different packing configuration and associated flow behavior. Therefore, this study investigates the single-phase flow behavior in slender packed beds of cylindrical particles.

This study compares data on flow measurements obtained from Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) with detailed data obtained from fully resolved simulations using a ghost cell Immersed Boundary Method (IBM). To enable a quantitative comparison, the configuration of the packed bed is reconstructed from MRI. The flow distribution in the beds is compared on a one-to-one basis at several Reynolds numbers. The challenges and opportunities of both the MRI experiments and the fully resolved simulations for investigating flow in chemical reactors are discussed.