CFD modeling of a prismatic spouted bed with two adjustable gas inlets

Since the invention of the spouted bed technology by Mathur and Gishler (1955), different kinds of apparatus design were developed and a huge number of applications in nearly all branches of industry have emerged. Modeling of spouted beds by means of modern simulation tools, like discrete particle models or continuum models, has become a precious opportunity to understand the complexity of multiphase flows in these apparatus. In this work, two-dimensional continuum simulations of a novel kind of spouted bed apparatus with adjustable gas inlets are presented. Different gas–particle drag models are used to obtain a realistic flow structure. Simulated solid phase concentrations are compared with images taken during experiments. Furthermore, simulated and measured gas phase pressure fluctuations over the entire bed are contrasted allowing more accurate comparisons between the simulated and the real hydrodynamic behaviour of the spouted bed.