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A Particle-Resolved CFD Study of Combustion and Gasification Processes in a Coke-Fired Furnace

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Abstract

To better understand the processes of coke-fired furnaces, a simple coke conversion model was established using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and applied on an experiment reconstructing geometry of a fixed bed. The aim was to numerically reproduce the results of an experimental work from the literature and, hence, validate the model. Therefore, the packed bed was generated using the discrete element method with real particle geometries obtained by 3-D scanning coke lumps of different sizes. The main precondition for the computation of particle motion was the measured or pre-estimated gas composition as well as the assumption of a steady state for both gas and coke particles moving against the current while reacting with each other. Permanently decreasing in size, the particle distribution was calculated from a constantly moving solid stream. The fixed bed geometry was transferred into the preprocessor and meshed with a boundary layer resolving grid. Subsequently, CFD simulations were performed using parallel computing where the calculation showed good scalability of the problem. Finally, evaluation of the results showed a good approximation with the experimental data, indicating the suitability of the model to applied research.

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Abbreviations

d :

Diameter (m)

e :

Restitution coefficient (−)

F :

Force (n)

g :

9.81, gravity (m/s2)

G :

Shear modulus (MPa)

h :

Height (m)

I :

Moment of inertia (kg m2)

c :

Carbon content (%)

L, l :

Length (m)

m :

Mass (kg)

\( {\dot{m}} \) :

Mass flow rate (kg/s)

M :

Molar weight (kg/mol)

M fr :

Friction moment (Nm)

N, n :

Number (−)

\( {\dot{N}}\) :

Particle flow rate (1/s)

R :

Radius (m)

t :

Time (s)

T :

Temperature (K)

v :

Velocity (m/s)

W :

Specific blast rate per unit area (m3/s/m2)

\(\delta_{\text{BL}}\) :

Thickness of boundary layer (m)

ρ :

Density (kg/m3)

µ :

Friction coefficient (−)

ν :

Poisson ratio (−)

ξ :

Mass fraction (−)

ϕ :

Arbitrary scalar

τ :

Particle contact duration (s)

ω :

Angular velocity (1/s)

0:

Initial state

i, j, k, l :

Counting indices from 0 to n

coke:

Coke

fr:

Friction

Iter.:

Iteration

rel.:

Relative

t:

Tangential

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Acknowledgements

The project upon which this publication is based was financed by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology under Grant Number 03ET1020A. This support is gratefully acknowledged.

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Author notes

  1. W. Heinbichner

    Present address: Vesuvius GmbH, Borken, Germany

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Foundry Technology, Düsseldorf, Germany

    W. Heinbichner

  2. Foundry Institute, Technical University Bergakademie Freiberg, Freiberg, Germany

    G. Wolf

  3. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Koblenz University of Applied Sciences, Koblenz, Germany

    A. Huster

Authors
  1. W. Heinbichner
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  2. G. Wolf
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  3. A. Huster
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Correspondence to W. Heinbichner.

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Heinbichner, W., Wolf, G. & Huster, A. A Particle-Resolved CFD Study of Combustion and Gasification Processes in a Coke-Fired Furnace. Inter Metalcast 12, 126–138 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40962-017-0150-y

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