Particle-resolved simulations and measurements of the flow through a uniform packed bed

Abstract

The present study focuses on the assessment of the performance of a finite volume method based, particle-resolved simulation approach to predict the flow through a model packed-bed consisting of 21 layers of spheres arranged in the body centered cubic packing. The unsteady flow developing in the freeboard is also considered. Two highly resolved large eddy simulation were preformed, for two Reynolds numbers, 300 and 500, based on the particle diameter, employing a polyhedral, boundary-conforming mesh. The geometry and the flow conditions are set to reproduce the flow conditions investigated in the experiment carried out by Velten and Zähringer [“Flow field characterisation of gaseous flow in a packed bed by particle image velocimetry,” Transp. Porous Media 150, 307 (2023)] using particle image velocimetry. The numerical results compare favorably with the measurements both inside and above the bed. The effect of differences arising between the physical and numerical configurations is thoroughly discussed alongside the impact of meshing strategy on the accuracy of the predictions.