CFD-DEM investigation of fluidization of the non-monodisperse particle system in a spouted bed--颗粒学报PARTICUOLOGY

a Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Particle Technology, Jiangxi University of Science and Technology, Nanchang 330013, China
b Research Centre for Intelligent Mineral Processing & Metallurgy, International Institute for Innovation, Jiangxi University of Science and Technology, Nanchang, 330013, China
c School of Civil Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, China
d Advanced Technology Research Institute, Beijing Institute of Technology, Jinan, 250307, China
e School of Qilu Transportation, Shandong University, Jinan 250061, China

10.1016/j.partic.2025.07.014

Volume 105, October 2025, Pages 51-63

Received 29 May 2025, Revised 6 July 2025, Accepted 16 July 2025, Available online 25 July 2025, Version of Record 11 August 2025.

E-mail: mhq@sdu.edu.cn; jiaxin.cui@jxust.edu.cn

Highlights

• Spouting behaviors of non-monodisperse systems are studied by CFD-DEM.

• Mixture of spheres and ellipsoids, which is rarely studied in prior similar studies, is considered.

• Three binary mixture and one ternary mixture systems are included.

• Particle shape has important influence on particle behaviors in the spouted bed.

• Altering components for non-monodisperse systems greatly affects spouting behaviors.

Abstract

Spouted bed is a type of fluidized bed that has been widely used in various industrial processes because of its excellent mass and heat transfer efficiency. In practical applications, the fluidization of the multicomponent particle system containing non-spherical particles is frequently encountered in spouted beds. To better understand the spouting behaviors of the multicomponent particle system, therefore, this study employs a CFD-DEM (Computational Fluid Dynamics-Discrete Element Method) coupling approach to investigate the spouting behaviors. Spherical particles along with two types of ellipsoidal particles (i.e., oblate ellipsoid, and prolate ellipsoid) are included in this paper. Through the combination of these three particle types, seven distinct systems (three monodisperse systems, three binary mixtures, and one ternary mixture) are simulated to analyze the effects of particle shape and composition of particle systems on spouting behaviors. The simulation results reveal that introducing non-spherical particles into systems containing either spherical or oblate ellipsoidal particles tends to enhance spouting behaviors, whereas adding spherical particles to prolate ellipsoidal particle systems inclines to suppress it. The addition of non-spherical particles into the spherical particle system can enhance the particle interlocks, and using the oblate particles should have more important influence than prolate particles. Moreover, the influence of particle shape on the spout deflection behaviors is quite complicated, and the use of prolate ellipsoidal particles versus oblate ellipsoidal particles may produce opposite effects. These findings should provide valuable insights for optimizing spouted bed operations involving complex particle mixtures.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Spouted bed; CFD-DEM; Non-monodisperse particle system; Fluidization; Non-spherical ellipsoidal particle

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