The BubbleTree toolset: CFD-integrated algorithm for Lagrangian tracking and rigorous statistical analysis of bubble motion and gas fluxes for application to 3D fluidized bed simulations

Abstract

Bubbling dynamics and distribution of gas flow critically influence the performance of fluidized bed reactors and must be quantified accurately for their design and performance optimization. In this study, a new toolset called the BubbleTree toolset (BT) was developed using Python and the Visualization Tool Kit (VTK) for analyzing computational fluid dynamics simulation data and performing statistical analysis of bubbling dynamics such as their volume, location, and velocity. In addition, the BT toolset provides the capability to (a) track bubbles through coalescence and splitting events and (b) compute throughflow by integrating gas fluxes through the bubble surface. The toolkit was verified using the method of manufactured solutions as well as by comparing bubbling dynamics predictions in large-scale simulations with relevant open-source software. The BT toolset also incorporates tools for rigorous statistical analysis in selected regions of interest as well as the reactor in its entirety. The BT will be integrated with MFiX CFD simulations which will enable the fundamental investigation of gas-solids flow interaction in complex reacting particulate flows, in situ estimation of bubbling (and cluster) dynamics dependent sub-grid models and performance optimization of fluidized bed reactors using CFD-simulations.