An exploratory study of three-dimensional MP-PIC-based simulation of bubbling fluidized beds with and without baffles

Abstract

In this study, the flow characteristics of Geldart A particles in a bubbling fluidized bed with and without perforated plates were simulated by the multiphase particle-in-cell (MP-PIC)-based Eulerian–Lagrangian method. A modified structure-based drag model was developed based on our previous work. Other drag models including the Parker and Wen–Yu–Ergun drag models were also employed to investigate the effects of drag models on the simulation results. Although the modified structure-based drag model better predicts the gas–solid flow dynamics of a baffle-free bubbling fluidized bed in comparison with the experimental data, none of these drag models predict the gas–solid flow in a baffled bubbling fluidized bed sufficiently well because of the treatment of baffles in the Barracuda software. To improve the simulation accuracy, future versions of Barracuda should address the challenges of incorporating the bed height and the baffles.