Analysis of gas flow distribution in a fluidized bed using two-fluid model with kinetic theory of granular flow and coupled CFD-DEM: a numerical study

Založnik, Matija (author), Zadravec, Matej (author)

Fluidized bed systems are widely used in chemical and process engineering due to their excellent heat and mass transfer properties. Numerical modeling plays a crucial role in understanding and optimizing these systems, with the two-fluid model enhanced by the kinetic theory of granular flow (TFM-KTGF) and the coupled computational fluid dynamics-discrete element method (CFD-DEM) emerging as leading techniques. This study employs both models to simulate gas-solid interactions and evaluates their performance using a benchmark single-spout fluidized bed case validated against experimental data. Subsequently, the influence of particle presence on gas flow distribution through a non-uniform distribution plate is analyzed. The results show that the common assumption of proportional flow distribution based on the opening area fraction is inaccurate, particularly in the presence of particles. Both numerical models capture this behavior, with TFM-KTGF showing trends comparable to the coupled CFD-DEM approach but at significantly reduced computational cost. The findings highlight the importance of accounting for particle dynamics in distribution plate design and promote the TFM-KTGF approach as a promising alternative for large-scale simulations.

• Language: English
• Keywords: fluidized bed, distribution plate, two-fluid model with kinetic theory of granular flow, coupled CFD-DEM, flow distribution
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FS - Faculty of Mechanical Engineering
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2025
• Number of pages: 8 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 71, no. 9/10
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-177383
• UDC: 519.6:004.94
• ISSN on article: 2536-3948
• DOI: 10.5545/sv-jme.2025.1365
• COBISS.SI-ID: 260403459
• Publication date in RUL: 22.12.2025

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Strojniški vestnik
• Shortened title: Stroj. vestn.
• Publisher: Fakulteta za strojništvo
• ISSN: 2536-3948
• COBISS.SI-ID: 294943232

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian

Abstract

Sistemi z lebdečim slojem se pogosto uporabljajo v kemičnem in procesnem inženirstvu zaradi svojih odličnih sposobnosti prenosa toplote in snovi. Numerično modeliranje ima ključno vlogo pri razumevanju in optimizaciji teh sistemov, pri čemer se med vodilne uveljavljata model dveh tekočin, dopolnjen s kinetično teorijo granularnega toka (TFM-KTGF) in sklopljena računalniške dinamike tekočin z metodo diskretnih elementov (CFD-DEM). V tej študiji sta uporabljena oba modela za simulacijo interakcij med plinom in trdnimi delci ter ovrednotena njuna učinkovitost na primeru eksperimentalnega primera iz literature. Analiziran je bil tudi vpliv delcev na porazdelitev toka  plina skozi ne-uniformno distribucijsko ploščo. Rezultati kažejo, da je pogosta predpostavka o sorazmerni porazdelitvi toka glede na delež odprtin nepravilna, zlasti v prisotnosti delcev. Oba numerična modela zajameta to vedenje, pri čemer TFM-KTGF kaže trende primerljive s sklopljenim CFD-DEM pristopom a pri bistveno nižjih računskih časih. Ugotovitve poudarjajo pomen upoštevanja dinamike delcev pri oblikovanju distribucijskih plošč ter promovirajo uporabo TFM-KTGF kot obetavno alternativo za simulacije na velikih sistemih.

• Keywords: lebdeči sloj, distribucijska plošča, model dveh tekočin s kinetično teorijo granularnega toka, sklopljen CFD-DEM, distribucija toka

Projects

• Funder: ARIS - Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency
• Project number: P2-0196
• Name: Raziskave v energetskem, procesnem in okoljskem inženirstvu