Multiscale modelling of wall-to-bed heat transfer in fixed beds with non-spherical pellets: From particle-resolved CFD to pseudo-homogenous models

E. M. Moghaddam, Esmail A. Foumeny, A. I. Stankiewicz, J. T. Padding*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

7 Citations (Scopus)
203 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

We investigate forced convective heat transfer in packings of spheres, cylinders and Raschig rings, made of glass, steel and alumina, in relatively narrow tubes. A detailed comparison is made between resolved pellet-scale, azimuthally-averaged temperature profiles, and 2D-axially-dispersed pseudo-homogenous plug flow (2D-ADPF) predictions. The local temperature deviates significantly from azimuthally-averaged profiles, which in turn deviate from 2D-ADPF predictions. We show that the length dependency of effective heat transfer parameters is caused by thermal (non-)equilibrium between fluid and solid phases along the bed and not related to inadequate insulation of the calming section or the thermocouple's cross or an under-developed velocity and thermal field at the bed inlet. The influence of pellet shape and thermal conductivity and tube-to-pellet diameter ratio on ker and hw are assessed. We conclude that the models of Specchia/Baldi/Gianetto/Sicardi for all flow regimes and of Martin/Nilles for the turbulent regime are recommended for practical use for spherical particles.

Original languageEnglish
Article number116532
Number of pages15
JournalChemical Engineering Science
Volume236
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2021

Keywords

  • Effective heat transfer parameters
  • Length dependency
  • Packing
  • Particle-resolved CFD Simulations
  • Raschig rings
  • Rigid Body Dynamics

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