Chemical Engineering & Technology, Vol.36, No.12, 2035-2043, 2013
Numerical Investigation of the Gas-Solid Flow Characteristics in a Three-Dimensional Spouted Bed with a Draft Tube
Gas-solid motions in a three-dimensional conical spouted bed with a draft tube are investigated based on a simulation carried out by the coupling approach of computational fluid dynamics combined with the discrete-element method. The distribution properties of the velocity, the concentration, and the flux of the solid phase are discussed. The vertical solid velocity in the central region initially increases, diminishes gradually, and finally decreases sharply in the region above the draft tube. Vigorous lateral solid motion occurs in the periphery of the fountain and the spout-annulus interface. In addition, the vertical solid flux shows a large value in the spout. A larger vertical velocity but a more dilute solid concentration can be detected along the axial direction when enlarging the gas flow rate.