A hydrodynamic analysis of a rotating drum operating in the rolling regime

•The hydrodynamic behavior in a rotating drum operated in the rolling regime has been studied.•The influence of different drag models on particle velocity profile was analyzed.•CFD simulations using a Eulerian approach showed good agreement with experimental data.•It was analyzed that the effect of the rotation speed and filling degree on the active region thickness.

An experimental and numerical investigation of the hydrodynamic behavior in a rotating drum, operated in the rolling regime, was performed in the present work. For all the simulations, the Euler–Euler approach was used. A high-speed video camera technique was used in order to measure, experimentally, the particle velocity distribution. The CFD simulations showed good agreement with the experimental results. The influence of different drag models on particle velocity profile was analyzed. It was observed that, the drag force can be neglected in the case of a rotating drum operated in the rolling regime where there is no fluid entering or leaving the system. From the experimental and simulated results it was possible to verify the effect of the rotation speed and filling degree on the particle velocity in the active region and on its thickness.