Computer simulations of gas-solid flow in spouted beds using kinetic-frictional stress model of granular flow

Abstract : A gas-solid two-fluid flow model is presented. The kinetic-frictional constitutive model for dense assemblies of solids is incorporated in the simulations of spouted beds. This model treats the kinetic and frictional stresses of particles additively. The kinetic stress is modeled using the kinetic theory of granular flow, while the friction stress is from the combination of the normal frictional stress model proposed by Johnson et al. (J. Fluid Mech. 210 (1990) 501) and the modified frictional shear viscosity model proposed by Syamlal et al. (MFIX documentation. US Department of Energy, Federal Energy Technology Center, Morgantown, 1993). The body-fitted coordination is used to make the computational grids best fit the shape of conical contour of the base in the spouted beds. The effects of inclined angle of conical base on the distributions of particle velocities and concentrations in the spout, annulus and fountain zones were numerical studied. Calculated particle velocities and concentrations in spouted beds were in agreement with experimental data obtained by He et al. (Can. J. Chem. Eng. 72 (1994a) 229; (1994b) 561) and San Jose et al. (Chem. Eng. Sci. 53 (1998) 3561).