Riser simulation and radial porosity distribution characterization for gas-fluidized bed of cork particles

Numerical simulations are carried out for gas-solid fluidized bed of cork particles, using discrete element method. Results exhibit the existence of a so-called anti core-annular porosity profile with lower porosity in the core and higher porosity near the wall for non-slugging fluidization. The tendency to form this unfamiliar anti core-annular porosity profile is stronger when the solid flux is higher. There exist multiple inflection points in the simulated axial solid volume fraction profile for non-slugging fluidization. Results also show that the familiar core-annular porosity profile still appears for slugging fluidization. In addition, the classical choking phenomenon can be captured at the superficial gas velocity slightly lower than the correlated transport velocity.