Validation study on large-scale gas–solid–liquid flow simulation in a rotational vessel
Please login to view abstract download link
Industrial processes often involve large-scale gas–solid–liquid systems, such as slurry reactors, deep-sea mining operations, and mineral flotation. To gain deeper insight into the complex phenomena in gas–solid–liquid flows, numerical simulation is widely employed as a powerful tool. The DEM–VOF method [1], where the discrete element method (DEM) and volume of fluid (VOF) are coupled, is a reliable method for the numerical simulations of gas–solid–liquid flow. In previous studies, the validity of the DEM–VOF method has been demonstrated [2]. Although the DEM–VOF method is established, its application to industrial-scale processes remains challenging due to limitations on the number of particles that can be simulated and insufficient resolution of the gas–liquid interface. To address these issues, the coarse-graining DEM [3], where a coarse-grained particle represents a crowd of original particles, and the refined grid model [4], which refines the local volume average (LVA) grid, are developed. In the present study, the validity and efficiency of large-scale DEM–VOF simulation were revealed in a lab-scale rotational vessel. The particle motion near the vessel bottom observed in the high-speed camera experiments agreed well with the numerical simulations, confirming the validity of the DEM–VOF simulation. Regarding the coarse-grained model, the particle motion in the vessel was consistent between the original and coarse-grained particles. Consequently, these results indicate that the coarse-graining DEM and the refined grid model are applicable to simulation of industrial-scale gas–solid–liquid flow systems.
