CFD-DEM model

A CFD-DEM model is suitable for the modeling or simulation of fluid-solids or fluid-particles systems. In a typical CFD-DEM model, the motion of discrete solids or particles phase is obtained by Discrete Element Method (DEM) which applies Newton's laws of motion to every particle [1] and the flow of continuum fluid is described by the local averaged Navier–Stokes equations that can be solved by the traditional Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) [e.g., 2]. The model is first proposed by Tsuji et al. [3-4]. The interactions between the fluid phase and solids phase is better modeled according to Newton's third law [5].

References

[1]Cundall P. A., Strack O. D. L., (1979). Discrete numerical-model for granular assemblies. Geotechnique, 29, 47-65.

[2]Chorin A. J., (1968). Numerical solution of the Navier-Stokes equations. Mathematics of Computation, 22, 745-762.

[3]Tsuji Y., Tanaka T., Ishida T., (1992). Lagrangian numerical-simulation of plug flow of cohesionless particles in a horizontal pipe. Powder Technology, 71, 239-250.

[4]Tsuji Y, Kawaguchi T, Tanaka T. Discrete Particle Simulation Of 2-Dimensional Fluidized-Bed. Powder Technology. 1993 Oct;77(1):79-87.

[5]Xu BH, Yu AB. Numerical simulation of the gas-solid flow in a fluidized bed by combining discrete particle method with computational fluid dynamics. Chemical Engineering Science. 1997 Aug;52(16):2785-809.

Software

Open source and non-commercial software:

• CFDEMcoupling is an open source toolbox for CFD-DEM coupling. CFDEMcoupling Website