CFD analysis of gas flow maldistribution in random packed beds of rings and cylinders

Abstract

In the work, the gas flow through random packings of cylinders and rings is considered assuming that the gas enters the container in the form of a narrow jet. The subject of the numerical analysis is the evolution of the flow maldistribution within the packed bed and in the empty part of the container. The bed geometry for the flow simulations has been obtained numerically using the discrete element method (DEM) approach. The flow solver is based on control volume approach with the immersed boundary method which allowed using flow solver on regular Cartesian meshes for such a complex geometry. The results show that the flow is more uniform within the bed of cylinders but at the cost of a few times larger pressure drop (in comparison with a bed of rings) and significant non-uniformity of the flow at the outlet from the bed.