Bubble Dynamics In Fluidized Bed Research Articles

3D CFD-PBM simulation of gas–solid bubbling beds of Geldart A particles with sub-grid drag correction

The importance of bubble dynamics in fluidized beds is underscored by the efforts undertaken over the past decades through experimental and numerical studies. Nonetheless, the bubble dynamic evolution and its effects on sub-grid closures were neglected in previous coarse-grid CFD models, particularly for Geldart A particles. In this article, a population balance model with improved kernels was employed to describe the bubble dynamic evolution in three-dimensional bubbling beds, whereby the EMMS drag model was closedto be incorporated into an Eulerian continuum model . Furthermore, the Extended Quadrature Method of Moments (EQMOM) was utilized to reconstruct the number density function of bubble size once their lower moments were obtained. The simulation results showed that the hydrodynamics including bed expansion characteristics, solids concentration and bubble size distribution can be well predicted by the model, indicating its capability to capture the heterogeneous structures in three-dimensional bubbling beds of fine particles.

Investigating the bubble dynamics in fluidized bed by CFD-DEM

Fluidized beds are of great importance in various industries and presence of bubbles significantly influence their efficiency. In order to gain a more accurate vision on the dynamics of a single bubble in fluidized beds, formation, rising, and eruption of a single bubble in a rectangular fluidized bed were studied by CFD-DEM and validated by experimental data. Single bubble in a 2-D rectangular fluidized bed at different stages, from forming to erupting, was modeled by the CFD-DEM technique. Investigating the pressure fluctuations and bubble dynamics were the main focus of this study. Pressure fluctuations were measured using a pressure transducer and a high-speed digital camera was used to record the whole bubbling process, from bubble formation on the distributor to its eruption at the surface. Validation was performed by comparing experimental and simulated bubble diameter and pressure fluctuations. CFD-DEM results such as particles and gas velocity vectors, bed voidage and pressure contours revealed new information on characteristics of pressure fluctuations which was not possible to gain by experimental studies. In the formation stage, due to the compression wave from injection, particles accelerate and bed reaches to a packed state. This causes a pressure peak in the pressure. At the beginning of bubble formation on the distributor, pressure decreases and when the bubble detaches from the distributor, pressure reaches a minimum. While bubble is rising through the bed, pressure increases again, however, it remains below zero because of the lower voidage behind the bubble in comparison to pre-injection state and the greater velocity of the gas above and below the bubble. By bubble eruption, another small compression wave is seen in the pressure.

A CFD–DEM study of bubble dynamics in fluidized bed using flood fill method

Bubble dynamics are very important in the design of fluidized beds because they govern hydrodynamics and efficiency of the operation for which the bed is used. A numerical simulation work of two-dimensional gas–solid fluidized bed based on discrete element method (DEM) was carried out in this paper. In order to study bubble statistical properties of a large number of bubbles, the flood fill concept was introduced in this paper to search the bubbles, which used the simulated voidage data directly. Various bubble properties i.e. bubble size and velocity distributions, bubble shape factor and aspect ratio, can be obtained simultaneously using this analysis method. The calculated results of bubble properties are in sound agreement with previous empirical correlations and experimental data in literature.

Bifurcation analysis of bubble dynamics in fluidized beds

We use a low-dimensional, agent-based bubble model to study the changes in the global dynamics of fluidized beds in response to changes in the frequency of the rising bubbles. The computationally based bifurcation analysis shows that at low frequencies, the global dynamics is attracted towards a fixed point since the bubbles interact very little with one another. As the frequency of injection increases, however, the global dynamics undergoes a series of bifurcations to new behaviors that include highly periodic orbits, chaotic attractors, and intermittent behavior between periodic orbits and chaotic sets. Using methods from time-series analysis, we are able to approximate nonlinear models that allow for long-term predictions and the possibility of developing control algorithms.