A CFD ANALYSIS OF THE INFLUENCE OF PLENUM CONFIGURATIONS ON GAS DISTRIBUTION IN A FLUIDIZED BED

Authors

  • JOSE MIGUEL SORIA Institute for Research and Development in Process Engineering, Biotechnology and Alternative Energies, (PROBIEN, CONICET - UNCo) http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3293-1902
  • TATIANA MARIEL AUSINA Institute for Research and Development in Process Engineering, Biotechnology and Alternative Energies, (PROBIEN, CONICET - UNCo)
  • GERMAN DELFOR MAZZA Institute for Research and Development in Process Engineering, Biotechnology and Alternative Energies, (PROBIEN, CONICET - UNCo) http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1362-8521

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.52292/j.laar.2020.410

Keywords:

CFD, Plenum chamber, Distributor, Flow uniformity

Abstract

Fluidized beds are widely used in many industries. The fluidization quality of these units is strongly related to the characteristics of the plenum and distributor (grid). In this work, the effect of different plenum geometries, and gas entrance sizes and locations on the velocity profile above the distributor was analyzed by Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). The results showed that flow uniformity above the distributor improved with an increase in the gas inlet diameter and the plenum height. Channeling was observed for the bottom central inlet. Additionally, simulations for plenum heights predicted by one of the frequently used correlations (Litz correlation) were also carried out and showed, especially for a bottom central gas inlet, a poor quality flow distribution. This behavior indicated that Litz correlation tends to underestimate the plenum height for obtaining a uniform flow downstream the distributor.

Author Biographies

JOSE MIGUEL SORIA, Institute for Research and Development in Process Engineering, Biotechnology and Alternative Energies, (PROBIEN, CONICET - UNCo)

Ph.D in Chemical Engineering

Adjoint Researcher at CONICET

Assistant Professor at National University of Comahue

 

TATIANA MARIEL AUSINA, Institute for Research and Development in Process Engineering, Biotechnology and Alternative Energies, (PROBIEN, CONICET - UNCo)

Undergraduate Chemical Engineering Student

GERMAN DELFOR MAZZA, Institute for Research and Development in Process Engineering, Biotechnology and Alternative Energies, (PROBIEN, CONICET - UNCo)

PhD in Chemical Engineering

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Published

2020-02-21

Issue

Vol. 50 No. 2 (2020): Latin American Applied Research

Section

Chemical Engineering

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