CFD Modeling of Particle Attrition by Supersonic Gas Jets
Posted on June 10, 2022 Computational Fluid Dynamics
Particle breakage (or attrition) by gas jets is encountered in many processes. Quite often it is necessary to evaluate the attrition performance of different equipment configurations at various flow conditions. Therefore, a simulation tool that can be applied for industrial scale devices can be very beneficial for process design and optimization.
We have applied the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Eulerian multi-fluid model, together with the kinetic theory of granular flow, to simulate the motion of air and particles. The particle breakage is modelled based on the collision frequency and break-up probability, which in turn depends on the impact velocity, the particle diameter, and the material properties.
As an illustration of the process, the time-averaged distribution of particle volume fraction depicts the jet penetration into the fluidized bed before it bends up and leaves the bed. Modeling results allow the calculation of the grinding efficiency – a quantitative measure of the attrition performance. For validation purposes, the modeling predictions are compared with experimental data in the accompanying graph.