Development of a drag force correlation for assemblies of cubic particles: The effect of solid volume fraction and Reynolds number

The accurate prediction of the drag force exerted by a fluid on assemblies of particles is critical to simulate key characteristics of gas-solid systems such as the bed expansion in fluidized beds. To this end, a lattice Boltzmann method has been applied to compute the drag force acting on assemblies of cubes for a wide range of Reynolds numbers, ReV=0-200, and solid volume fractions, ϕ=0.1-0.45. The numerical data was used to propose a new drag force correlation for assemblies of cubes as a function of the Reynolds number and solid volume fraction. The new drag force correlation is expected to improve the accuracy of Euler-Euler and Euler-Lagrangian simulations of cubic particles.