CFD Simulation of Geldart D particles in gas-fluidized beds

CARLOS A. RENAUDO; DIEGO E. BERTIN; JOVANI L. FAVERO; VERÓNICA BUCALÁ; LUIS F.L.R. SILVA; PAULO L.C. LAGE

Sheffield

Workshop; 8th International Granulation Workshop; 2017

University of Sheffield

In this work, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modelling has been used to simulate the behaviour of fluidized beds of Geldart D particles, relevant class of particles for several fertilizer granulation processes. The gas phase and the solid phase are both treated as interpenetrating continua, and the particles rheology is described by means of the Kinetic Theory of Granular Flow (KTGF). OpenFOAM software was used for the simulations. Numerical results for 2D planar and 2D axisymmetric simulations are compared with experimental data from a batch pilot-scale fluidized bed.The effect of the air velocity and particle size on the behavior of bed expansion is studied. Characteristics of the bubbling regime are also analyzed by means of the erupting bed surface. It is confirmed that the CFD model is able to capture the gas-solid flow features of the fluidized bed of the studied type of particles