COMPUTATIONAL STUDY OF LAYER INVERSION IN TWO-COMPONENT LIQUID-FLUIDIZED BEDS BY DEM-CFD

Abstract

In the present work the layer inversion phenomenon observed in experiments from the literature is reproduced via discrete element simulations, in which a novel drag force model valid for bi- and poly-disperse particle systems is used. The simulations serve both as validation of the drag model and as a tool to analyze the dynamics of the phenomenon. The comparison with published data is carried out in terms of bed height and component distributions as functions of the liquid velocity, showing very good agreement