Accelerated Heat Transfer Simulations Using Coupled CFD and DEM

This work presents an accelerated simulation of heat and mass transfer by coupling Discrete Element Methodologies (DEMs) and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), utilising Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) technology. The presented model is a continuation of previous work[1] and focuses on demonstrating the capabilities and effectiveness of implementing the GPU combined with the Central Processing Unit (CPUs) technologies to run a complex industrial simulation. A model of an aggregate drum dryer was used to produce hot mix asphalt and different configurations have been implemented to investigate the effect of GPU-CPU technology in such a complex simulation. Commercial codes from ANSYS and DEM-Solutions were coupled to simulate heat transfer from the hot gases to the aggregate particles. Fluid flow and particle-fluid interactions are solved by the CFD solver which exchanges information at regular intervals. The results showed that the coupled model captures accurately the convective heat transfer from the fluid to the solid phase and demonstrated significant improvement in terms of simulation time. The proposed model will have a significant impact in industrial applications as it describes a methodology to simulate large-scale applications rapidly and accurately