Numerical simulations of hydrodynamic behaviors in conical spouted beds

The axial and radial distributions of static pressures and vertical particle velocities of conical spouted beds have been simulated and compared with experimental data. Simulation results show that, among all factors investigated, the Actual Pressure Gradient (the APG term) in conical spouted beds, introduced as the default gravity term plus an empirical axial solid phase source term, has the most significant influence on static pressure profiles, followed by the restitution coefficient and frictional viscosity, while other factors almost have no effect. Apart from the solid bulk viscosity, almost all other factors affect the radial distribution of the axial particle velocity, although the influence of the APG term is less significant. For complex systems such as conical spouted beds where a fluidized spout region and a defluidized annulus region co-exist, the new term introduced in this work can improve the CFD simulation. Furthermore, for other systems with the Actual Pressure Gradient different from either fluidized beds or packed beds, the new approach can also be applied.