Three-dimensional numerical simulation of a horizontal rotating fluidized bed

Three-dimensional numerical simulations of a horizontal rotating fluidized bed (RFB) containing glass bead particles (ds = 82 μm, ρs = 2450 kg/m3) and washed alumina (ds = 89 μm, ρs = 1550 kg/m3) were performed. FLUENT 6.1 software was used to carry out our simulation. The numerical results were compared with the experimental data of Qian and Pfeffer et al. [G.H. Qian, I. Bagyi, I.W. Burdick, R. Pfeffer, H. Shaw, Gas–Solid Fluidization in a Centrifugal Field.” AIChE J. 47 (5) (2001) 1022–1034]. The rotating speed of the RFB was set at 325 rpm (34 rad/s), which is equivalent to a centrifugal acceleration of 7 g. ow behavior of the solid particles was analyzed; the bed thickness and the calculated pressure drop were compared with the experimental results. Our calculated pressure drop agreed very well with the experimental results.