Authors: C.J. McIntyre a, R.W. Hughes b, A. Macchi a, P. Mehrani a
a Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Ottawa, 161 Louis Pasteur Street, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada
b Natural Resources Canada, CanmetENERGY, 1 Haanel Drive, Ottawa, ON K1A 1M1, Canada
Source: This paper was published in Powder Technology.
Abstract: The multiphase particle-in-cell approach was used to model the hydrodynamics of five different ilmenite particle size distributions in a high pressure cylindrical fluidized bed. The model was created using the commercial software Barracuda Virtual Reactor® and validated against previously obtained experimental data. Simulations for minimum fluidization velocity were dependent on the model input close pack factor, with a value of 0.58 resulting in the best fit with an average absolute deviation (AARD) of 3.9%. Afterwards, trends in bed expansion with fluidization ratio and pressure were well represented by the model, but consistently under predicting by an average of 4.8%. The model also predicted bubble size distribution with change in relation to fluidization ratio, pressure, and elevation. The calculated mean bubble diameter deviated by 18.7% from the experimental results, and the Mori & Wen correlation for bubble growth was adapted to the simulated data resulting in an AARD of 22%.