Particle mixing rates using the two-fluid model

In this work, a new methodology is introduced to calculate the solids mixing rate in dense gas-fluidized beds using the two-fluid model. The implementation of this methodology into an existing two-fluid model code was carefully verified. The solids phase continuity equation was satisfied using our method, and the sensitivity of the computational results to the time step, computational cell size, and discretization scheme was investigated to determine the optimal simulation settings. Using these simulation settings, the degree of solids mixing was observed to rapidly (exponentially) increase with increasing operating pressure and linearly decrease with increasing bed diameter. Our novel methodology can be applied to analyze mixing processes in large lab-scale beds as an alternative to existing time-consuming simulation techniques such as computational fluid dynamics combined with the discrete element model.