Particle shape effect on hydrodynamics and heat transfer in spouted bed: A CFD-DEM study

Spouted bed has drawn much attention due to its good heat and mass transfer efficiency in many chemical units. Investigating the flow patterns and heat and mass transfer inside a spouted bed can help optimize the spouting process. Therefore, in this study, the effects of particle shape on the hydrodynamics and heat transfer in a spouted bed are investigated. This is done by using a validated computational fluid dynamics-discrete element method (CFD-DEM) model, considering volume-equivalent spheres and oblate and prolate spheroids. The results are analysed in detail in terms of the flow pattern, microstructure, and heat transfer characteristics. The numerical results show that the prolate spheroids (Ar = 2.4) form the largest bubble from the beginning of the spouting process and rise the highest because the fluid drag forces can overcome the interlocking and particle-particle frictional forces. Compared with spherical particles, ellipsoidal spheroids have better mobility because of the stronger rotational kinetic energy resulting from the rough surfaces and nonuniform torques. In addition, the oblate spheroid system exhibits better heat transfer performance benefiting from the larger surface area, while prolate spheroids have poor heat transfer efficiency because of their orientation distribution. These findings can serve as a reference for optimizing the design and operation of complex spouted beds. (c) 2021 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Chinese Society of Particuology and Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences.