Simulation of Bubbling Fluidized Bed using a One-Dimensional Model Based on the Euler-Euler Method

Abstract

The behaviour of a fluidized bed can be modeled based on the Euler-Euler approach. This method has been fully utilized in both three-dimensional (3D) and twodimensional (2D) systems for obtaining, for example, the axial and radial distribution of fluidized bed properties. However, the bed property such as void fraction distribution along the flow direction can be of great interest for a design purpose. To save computational cost, an appropriate one-dimensional (1D) model can be used to obtain the average bed property along the vertical axis of a fluidized bed. In this paper, a 1D model based on the Euler-Euler method is presented. The results show that the model can be used to describe the behaviour of a fluidized bed. With a reasonable accuracy, the results also show that the 1D model can predict the minimum fluidization velocity and the superficial gas velocity at the onset of slugging regime.