Numerical simulation of the transport and deposition behaviour of particles on filter fibres using Euler-Lagrange Method and coupling of CFD and DEM

Abstract

The aim of this investigation is the development of a simulation method which accounts for the transport behaviour of particles in the vicinity of a single filter fibre and describes the particle deposition on the fibre element correctly. Two coupling schemes are used to connect the CFD software Fluent™ with the DEM software EDEM, the Euler‐Lagrange as well as the Euler‐Euler coupling. In this study both methods will be compared to each other and with results where the motion and reallocation of dendrite structures is neglected. Furthermore, the numerical results are compared to experimental data. The investigation is aimed for the consideration of spherical particles but the method can be expanded easily to calculate the transport behaviour of non spherical particles. The motion and reallocation of dendrite structures on a filter fibre which are built‐up from deposited particles is analysed. To determine the transport behaviour of particles in the fluid flow in respect of their finite size of the Euler‐Euler coupling method is used which is accounted for the particles in the fluid domain by the solid volume fraction. The results indicate the great influence of the reallocation to the dendrite formation and on the separation efficiency.