(210f) A General Approach for Modeling Fluidized Beds and Slurries Using CFD-DEM Simulations

Modeling the behavior of fluidized beds and slurries is a critical aspect of chemical and process engineering, with applications ranging from pharmaceutical production to mineral processing. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) methods combined with Discrete Element Method (DEM) simulations have emerged as a powerful tool for studying these systems, enabling researchers to gain insights into complex particle-fluid interactions and to optimize system performance. In this study, we present a detailed investigation of DEM simulations of fluidized beds and slurries, focusing on the modeling and simulation of the fluid-particle interactions, as well as the prediction of bulk properties such as bed height and pressure drop.

Our work utilizes a novel approach to modeling the particle-fluid interactions, based on the use of coarse-grained particles that capture the essential physics of the system while reducing the computational cost of the simulation. We also incorporate a high-fidelity treatment of the fluid phase using Lattice-Boltzmann (LB)-based CFD techniques. The resulting DEM-CFD framework allows us to accurately capture the dynamics of fluid-particle systems over a range of operating conditions. We demonstrate the validity of our approach by comparing our simulation results with experimental data from packed beds, pipeline transport, and agitated tanks.