Evaluation of Eulerian Two-Fluid Numerical Method for the Simulation of Heat Transfer in Fluidized Beds

Accurate modeling of fluidization and heat transfer phenomena in gas-solid fluidized beds is not solely dependent  on the particular selected numerical model and involved algorithms. In fact, choosing the right model for each specific operating condition, the correct implementation of each model, and the right choice of parameters and boundary conditions, determine the accuracy of the results in the evaluation of the performance of fluidized beds. In this research, in order to accurately simulate heat transfer in fluidized beds, important and effective parameters on two-fluid Eulerian model that incorporate the kinetic theory of granular flow were investigated. For this purpose, effects of particle-particle and particle-wall restitution coefficient, specularity coefficient, granular temperature and effective thermal conductivity coefficients determination methods on the numerical solution were evaluated. These investigations were first carried out on heat transfer from hot air to solid particles in an adiabatic fluidized bed, and then on a fluidized bed with constant temperature walls for bubbling and turbulent regimes. Results showed that specularity coefficient and effective thermal conductivity are important parameters in heat transfer process from wall to bed. In this case, the zero value of the specularity coefficient causes the air temperature to increase by about 7 degrees in the bubbling regime and about 5 degrees in the turbulent regime, and its unit value gives the same results with the no-slip condition. In addition, considering the solid and gas material thermal conductivities causes the outlet air temperature to be about 26 degrees higher than the temperature that is obtained by considering the effective thermal conductivity coefficients with standard approach. The partial differential and algebraic form of the conservation equation for the particles kinetic energy show identical results in dense fluidized beds, although considering a constant granular temperature can cause computational errors.