Predicting continuous dispersion and deposition of explosive dust in confined spaces using a discrete phase model

Abstract

Dust dispersion and deposition are of great concern when designing dust control systems. In this study, suspension and deposition of dust in an enclosed chamber was simulated using a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) - discrete phase model (DPM) with a particle-wall stick-rebound feature. The dispersion and deposition of dust at explosive concentrations of 15, 30, and 45 g/m 3 were simulated in this study. The dust rebounding at particle-wall interaction and particles sticking to wall were also simulated. The rate of dust-deposition and particle-size distribution of settled dust were obtained during simulation from selected locations within the chamber. The results showed that the larger particles tend to settle closer to the dispersion nozzle when compared with the smaller particles. The suspended dust concentration increased with the rate of dispersion, but after 30 s of continuous dispersion, the rate of dispersion did not alter the suspended dust concentration changing rate. The low prediction errors showed that the CFD-DPM model is accurate in predicting the rate of dust-deposition in confined chambers by tracking the particle motion. • A CFD-DPM approach was used to simulate the dust dispersion and deposition. • With time, the rate of dust dispersion did not influence suspended dust concentration. • Tracking particle motion aids in accurate prediction of dust-deposition.