Tutorial: Using the Eulerian Multiphase Model with Species

Transport

Introduction
Fluidized beds are used in processes where gas/solid mass transfer is of importance. The de-
composition of ozone (O3 ), using particles as a catalyst, creates a suitable low-temperature
environment for mass transfer. This tutorial solves a gas/solid flow with a simple one-step
ozone decomposition reaction in a fluidized bed.
The reaction equation is

O3 → 1.5O2 (1)

This tutorial demonstrates how to do the following:

• Use the granular Eulerian multiphase model with species transport.

• Define the rate of reaction with a user-defined function (UDF).

• Define the Syamlal-O’Brien drag correlation with a user-defined function (UDF) using
appropriate parameters.

• Set boundary conditions for internal flow.

• Define the fluid and solid phases.

• Calculate a solution using 2D planar geometry in conjunction with the pressure-based

solver.

• Solve a time-accurate transient problem with data sampling for time statistics.

Prerequisites
This tutorial assumes that you are familiar with the FLUENT interface and that you have a
good understanding of basic setup and solution procedures. Some steps will not be shown
explicitly.
In this tutorial you will use the Eulerian multiphase model with species transport. If you
have not used this feature before, refer to the FLUENT 6.3 User’s Guide.

c Fluent Inc. October 30, 2006 1
Using the Eulerian Multiphase Model with Species Transport

Problem Description
The problem involves the transient startup of ozone decomposition in a fluidized bed. The
fluid phase is a mixture of ozone and air, while the solid phase consists of sand particles
with an 87.75 micron diameter. A schematic of the fluidized bed is shown in Figure 1. The
domain is modeled as a 2D planar cylindrical case.
pressure outlet
0 Pa gauge

0.52
volume
fraction
of solids

uniform velocity inlet

u = 0.08 m/s

Figure 1: Problem Specification

2
c Fluent Inc. October 30, 2006
 Using the Eulerian Multiphase Model with Species Transport

Preparation

1. Copy the files 2-D-FBed Ozone.msh.gz, rrate.c, and bp drag.c to your working
folder.

2. Start the 2D double-precision (2ddp) version of FLUENT.

Setup and Solution

Step 1: Grid

1. Read the grid file (2-D-FBed_Ozone.msh).

File −→ Read −→Case...
As FLUENT reads the grid file, it will report its progress in the console.

2. Check the grid.

Grid −→Check
FLUENT will perform various checks on the mesh and will report the progress in the
console. Make sure the minimum volume reported is a positive number.

3. Display the grid using the default settings.

Display −→Grid...

Grid
FLUENT 6.3 (2d, dp, pbns, lam)

Figure 2: Grid Display

4. Rotate the view so that the inlet of the fluidized bed is at the bottom.
Display −→Views...

c Fluent Inc. October 30, 2006 3
Using the Eulerian Multiphase Model with Species Transport

(a) Click the Camera... button to open the Camera Parameters panel.

i. Drag the indicator of the dial with the left mouse button in the counter-
clockwise direction until the upright view (-90◦ ) is displayed (Figure 2).
ii. Close the Camera Parameters panel.
(b) Click the Save button in the Actions group box in the Views panel to save the
upright view.
When you do this, view-0 will be added to the list of Views.
(c) Close the Views panel.
You can use the probe mouse button to check which zone number corresponds to each
boundary. If you click the probe mouse button on one of the boundaries in the graphics
window, its zone number, name, and type will be printed in the FLUENT console. This
feature is especially useful when you have several zones of the same type and you want
to distinguish between them quickly.

4
c Fluent Inc. October 30, 2006
 Using the Eulerian Multiphase Model with Species Transport

Step 2: Models

1. Specify a transient, 2D model.

Define −→ Models −→Solver...

(a) Retain the default selection of Pressure Based from the Solver list and 2D from
the Space list.
The pressure based solver must be used for multiphase calculations.
(b) Select Unsteady from the Time list.
(c) Click OK to close the Solver panel.

2. Define the multiphase model.

Define −→ Models −→Multiphase...
(a) Select Eulerian from the Model list.
The panel will expand to show the inputs for the Eulerian model.

c Fluent Inc. October 30, 2006 5
Using the Eulerian Multiphase Model with Species Transport

(b) Retain the default value of 2 for Number of Phases.

(c) Click OK to close the Multiphase Model panel.

3. Define the species model.

Define −→ Models −→ Species −→Transport & Reaction...

(a) Select Species Transport from the Model list.

The Species Model panel will expand.
(b) Enable Volumetric from the Reactions group box.
(c) Disable Diffusion Energy Source from the Options group box.
(d) Click OK to close the Species Model panel.

6
c Fluent Inc. October 30, 2006
 Using the Eulerian Multiphase Model with Species Transport

FLUENT will list the properties required for the models that you enabled, in the
console. An Information dialog box will appear, reminding you to confirm the
property values that have been extracted from the database.

(e) Click OK in the Information dialog box to continue.

Step 3: Materials
Define −→Materials...

1. Create a new material called air+ozone.

(a) Click the Fluent Database... button to open the Fluent Database Materials panel.
i. Select fluid from the Material Type drop-down list.
ii. Select ozone (o3) from the Fluent Fluid Materials selection list.
iii. Click Copy to copy the information for ozone to your model and close the
Fluent Database Materials panel.
(b) Select mixture from the Material Type drop-down list.
(c) Enter air+ozone for Name.
(d) Click Change/Create.
When you click Change/Create, a Question dialog box will appear, asking you if
mixture-template should be overwritten. Click No to retain mixture-template and
add the new material, air+ozone, to the list. The Materials panel will be updated
to show the new material name in the Fluent Mixture Materials list.

c Fluent Inc. October 30, 2006 7
Using the Eulerian Multiphase Model with Species Transport

2. Click the Edit... button to the right of the Mixture Species drop-down list to open the
Species panel.

You will select the species that are involved in the decomposition of ozone. The order
of the species in the Selected Species list is important.
Perform the following steps to achieve the proper order:
(a) Select water-vapor (h2o) from the Selected Species selection list and click the
Remove button to move it to the Available Materials selection list.
(b) Similarly, remove n2 from the Selected Species list.
(c) Select ozone (o3) from the Available Materials selection list and click the Add
button.
(d) Similarly, add n2 back in the Selected Species list.
The Selected Species list should now contain o2, o3, and n2, respectively.
(e) Click OK to close the Species panel.

8
c Fluent Inc. October 30, 2006
 Using the Eulerian Multiphase Model with Species Transport

3. Click the Edit... button to the right of the Reaction drop-down list to open the Reac-
tions panel.

(a) Select o3 from the Species drop-down list in the Reactants group box and enter
1 for both Stoich. Coefficient and Rate Exponent.
(b) Select o2 from the Species drop-down list in the Products group box and enter
1.5 for Stoich. Coefficient and 0 for Rate Exponent, respectively.
There is no need to modify the Arrhenius Rate constants, as a UDF will be used
to define them in Step 4.
(c) Click OK to close the Reactions panel.

4. Retain the default settings in the Reaction Mechanisms panel.

5. Select volume-weighted-mixing-law from the Density drop-down list.

Thermal properties do not need to be specified since this is an isothermal case.

6. Retain the default value of 1.72e-05 for Viscosity.

7. Click Change/Create.

c Fluent Inc. October 30, 2006 9
Using the Eulerian Multiphase Model with Species Transport

8. Create a new material called solids.

In the fluidized bed the solid particles (treated as a fluid) are held in suspension by the
air+ozone mix injected at the bottom of the bed.
(a) Select fluid from the Material Type drop-down list.
(b) Select water-vapor (h2o) from the Fluent Fluid Materials drop-down list.
(c) Enter solids for Name.
(d) Enter silica for Chemical Formula.
(e) Enter 2650 kg/m3 for Density.
(f) Click Change/Create and close the Materials panel.
When you click Change/Create, a question dialog box will appear, asking you if
water-vapor (h2o) should be overwritten. Click No to retain water-vapor (h2o)
and add the new material, solids, to the list. The Materials panel will be updated
to show the new material name in the Fluent Fluid Materials list.
You can remove materials that are not required to run this case by selecting mix-
ture in the Material Type in the Materials panel. Under Fluent Mixture Materials,
select mixture-template from the drop-down list and click the Delete button. Simi-
larly, select fluid in the Material Type and delete all Fluent Mixture Materials other
than O2 , O3 , N2 , air and silica.
9. Specify the species for the gaseous phase (phase-1) and the sand bed phase (phase-2).
Define −→ Models −→ Species −→Transport & Reaction...

(a) Select phase-1 from the Phase drop-down list and click the Set... button to open
the Phase Properties panel.

10
c Fluent Inc. October 30, 2006
 Using the Eulerian Multiphase Model with Species Transport

i. Select air+ozone from the Material drop-down list.

ii. Click OK to close the Phase Properties panel.
(b) Select phase-2 from the Phase drop-down list and click the Set... button to open
the Phase Properties panel.
i. Select solids from the Material drop-down list.
ii. Click OK to close the Phase Properties panel.
(c) Click OK to close the Species Model panel.

Step 4: User-Defined Functions

1. Compile the user-defined functions.

Define −→ User-Defined −→ Functions −→Compiled...

(a) Click the Add... button in the Source Files group box to open the Select File
panel.
(b) Select the files, rrate.c and bp drag.c and click OK.
The bp drag.c source code is a routine for customizing the default Syamlal-O’Brien
drag law in FLUENT. In the solid phase, the default drag law uses coefficients
of 0.8 (for voids ≤ 0.85) and 2.65 (for voids > 0.85), for minimum fluid ve-
locities of 0.25 m/s. The current drag law has been modified to accommodate a
minimum fluid velocity of 0.08 m/s. The source code, rrate.c, defines a custom
volumetric reaction rate for the decomposition reaction of ozone.
(c) Click Build to build the library.
(d) Click Load to load the UDF.
FLUENT will build a libudf folder and compile the UDF.
A dialog box will appear warning you to make sure that UDF source files are in
the folder that contain your case and data files. Click OK in the dialog box.
(e) Close the Compiled UDFs panel.

c Fluent Inc. October 30, 2006 11
Using the Eulerian Multiphase Model with Species Transport

2. Specify the volume reaction rate function.

Define −→ User-Defined −→Function Hooks...

(a) Select rrate::libudf from the Volume Reaction Rate Function drop-down list.
(b) Click OK to close the User-Defined Function Hooks panel.

12
c Fluent Inc. October 30, 2006
 Using the Eulerian Multiphase Model with Species Transport

Step 5: Phases

1. Define the granular secondary phase.

Define −→Phases...
(a) Select phase-2 and click the Set... button.

i. Enable Granular.
ii. Define the properties of the solid phase as shown in the table:
Parameters Values
Diameter 8.775e-05 m
Granular Viscosity syamlal-obrien
Granular Bulk Viscosity lun-et-al
Frictional Viscosity schaeffer
Angle of Internal Friction 30 degrees
Granular Temperature algebraic
Solids Pressure syamlal-obrien
Radial Distribution syamlal-obrien
Elasticity Modulus derive
Packing Limit 0.53
Note: You will have to scroll down the Properties list to see the remaining
options.

c Fluent Inc. October 30, 2006 13
Using the Eulerian Multiphase Model with Species Transport

iii. Click OK to close the Secondary Phase panel.

2. Specify the drag law to be used for computing the interphase momentum transfer.
(a) Click the Interaction... button to open the Phase Interaction panel.

i. Select user-defined from the Drag Coefficient drop-down list to open the User-
Defined Functions panel.
A. Select custom drag syam::libudf and click OK to close the User-Defined
Functions panel.
ii. Click the Collisions tab and enter 0.8 for Constant Restitution Coefficient.
iii. Click OK to close the Phase Interaction panel.

3. Close the Phases panel.

Step 6: Operating Conditions

Set the gravitational acceleration.
Define −→Operating Conditions...

1. Enable Gravity.
The panel will expand to show additional inputs.

2. Enter -9.81 m/s2 for Gravitational Acceleration in the X direction.

3. Enter 297 K for Operating Temperature.

4. Click OK to close the Operating Conditions panel.

14
c Fluent Inc. October 30, 2006
 Using the Eulerian Multiphase Model with Species Transport

Step 7: Boundary Conditions

Define −→Boundary Conditions...

1. Set the conditions for the gaseous phase (phase-1).

(a) Select Inlet from the Zone selection list.
(b) Select phase-1 from the Phase drop-down list and click the Set... button to open
the Velocity Inlet panel.
i. Enter 0.08 m/s for Velocity Magnitude.
ii. Click the Thermal tab and enter 293 K for Temperature.
iii. Click the Species tab and enter 0.2097 and 0.1 for o2 and o3 respectively.
iv. Click OK to close the Velocity Inlet panel.

2. Define the boundary conditions for leftwall.

(a) Select leftwall from the Zone selection list.
(b) Select phase-2 from the Phase drop-down list and click the Set... button to open
the Wall panel.
i. Select Specularity Coefficient from the Shear Condition list and enter 0.5 for
Specularity Coefficient.
ii. Click OK to close the Wall panel.

3. Define the boundary conditions for the rightwall zone identical to that of the leftwall.

4. Close the Boundary Conditions panel.

Step 8: Adaption
A small region will be adapted in order to create a register so that the solid volume fraction
can be patched.

1. Adapt the the regions to be patched.

Adapt −→ Region...

(a) Enter 0 and 0.115 for X Min and X Max respectively.

(b) Enter 0 and 10 for Y Min and Y Max respectively.
(c) Click Mark.
FLUENT will report the number of cells marked for adaption in the console.
Clicking the Manage... button will open the Manage Adaption Registers panel.
The name of the register created will be hexahedron-r0.
(d) Close the Region Adaption panel.

c Fluent Inc. October 30, 2006 15
Using the Eulerian Multiphase Model with Species Transport

Step 9: Solution

1. Set the solution parameters.

Solve −→ Controls −→Solution...
(a) Deselect Energy from the Equations selection list.
(b) Enter 0.7 and 0.3 for Pressure and Momentum respectively.
Note: You will have to scroll down Under-Relaxation Factors to see the remaining
parameters.
(c) Enter 1.0 for Granular Temperature.
(d) Select Second Order Upwind from the Momentum, Energy, phase-1 o2 and phase-1
o3 drop-down lists.
(e) Select QUICK from the Volume Fraction drop-down list.
(f) Click OK to close the Solution Controls panel.

2. Enable the plotting of residuals during the calculation.

Solve −→ Monitors −→Residual...

3. Initialize the solution.

Solve −→ Initialize −→Initialize...
(a) Change the initial phase-1 X Velocity to 0.01.
(b) Change the initial phase-1 o2 to 0.233 (composition of oxygen in air).
(c) Retain all other default initial values.
(d) Click Init and close the Solutio Initialization panel.

4. Patch the initial sand bed configuration.

Solve −→ Initialize −→Patch...

16
c Fluent Inc. October 30, 2006
 Using the Eulerian Multiphase Model with Species Transport

(a) Select phase-2 from the Phase drop-down list.

(b) Select Volume Fraction from the Variable selection list.
(c) Select hexahedron-r0 from the Registers To Patch selection list.
(d) Enter 0.52 for Value.
(e) Click Patch and close the Patch panel.
After initializing the entire domain of your flow field, you can enter different initial-
ization values for particular variables into different cells. This is known as patching
and is generally used if you have multiple fluid zones that you want to patch with
different values.

5. Set the time stepping parameters.

Solve −→Iterate...

(a) Enter 0.001 for Time Step Size and 10000 for Number of Time Steps.
(b) Select Fixed from the Time Stepping Method list.
(c) Enable Data Sampling for Time Statistics.
This will allow you to sample data at a frequency that is set by you.
(d) Enter 40 for Max Iterations per Time Step.
(e) Click Apply.

c Fluent Inc. October 30, 2006 17
Using the Eulerian Multiphase Model with Species Transport

6. Save the initial case and data files (ozone fluidbed.cas.gz and
ozone fluidbed .dat.gz).
File −→ Write −→Case & Data...

7. Save the data files every 1000 time steps.

File −→ Write −→Autosave...

(a) Enter 1000 for Autosave Data File Frequency.

(b) Enter ozone fluidbed %t.dat.gz for Filename.
(c) Click OK to close the Autosave Case/Data panel.

8. Click Iterate to run the calculation for 10 seconds in the Iterate panel.

Step 10: Postprocessing

You will now examine the progress of the sand and ozone/air mixture in the fluidized bed
after a total of 10 seconds. The fluidized bed should have reached a steady flow solution at
this time.

1. Plot contours of mass fraction for oxygen and ozone species.

Display −→Contours...
(a) Select Species... and Mass fraction of o3 from the Contours of drop-down list.
(b) Enable Filled from the Options list.
(c) Click Display.
The O3 mass fraction contours are shown in Figure 3.
(d) Similarly plot the mass fraction contours of O2 .
The mass fraction contours of O2 is shown in Figures 4.
In Figure 3 you can see that O3 is almost fully decomposed as it approaches the outlet
of the fluidized bed.

18
c Fluent Inc. October 30, 2006
 Using the Eulerian Multiphase Model with Species Transport

Figure 3: O3 Mass Fraction

Figure 4: O2 Mass Fraction

c Fluent Inc. October 30, 2006 19
Using the Eulerian Multiphase Model with Species Transport

2. View the phase motion by displaying plots of velocity vectors for the gas and solid
phases.
Display −→Vectors...

(a) Select Velocity from the Vectors of drop-down list and phase-1 from the Phase
drop-down lists.
(b) Select Velocity... and Velocity Magnitude from the Color by drop-down list and
phase-1 from the Phase drop-down list.
(c) Enter 5 for Scale and 2 for Skip to improve visualization of the velocity vectors.
(d) Click Display.
The phase-1 velocity vectors are shown in Figure 5.
(e) Select phase-2 from the Phase drop-down list to plot the phase-2 velocity vectors.
The phase-2 velocity vectors are shown in Figure 6.

20
c Fluent Inc. October 30, 2006
 Using the Eulerian Multiphase Model with Species Transport

Figure 5: Velocity Vectors for Phase-1

Figure 6: Velocity Vectors for Phase-2

c Fluent Inc. October 30, 2006 21
Using the Eulerian Multiphase Model with Species Transport

3. Display filled contours of Phases... by Volume fraction for phase-1.

Display −→Contours...
(a) Select Phases... and Volume fraction from the Contours of drop-down list.
(b) Select phase-1 from the Phase drop-down list.
(c) Click Display. The contours of volume fraction for phase-1 are shown in Figure 7.

Figure 7: Volume Fraction for Phase-1

22
c Fluent Inc. October 30, 2006
 Using the Eulerian Multiphase Model with Species Transport

4. Compare the mass fraction of O3 and O2 at the pressure outlet of the fluidized bed.
Plot −→XY Plot...
(a) Display an XY plot of mass fraction of O2 .

i. Select Species... and Mass fraction of o2 from the Y Axis Function drop-down
list.
ii. Retain the default selection of Direction Vector from the X Axis Function
drop-down list.
iii. Select outlet from the Surfaces selection list.
iv. Enter 0 for X Plot Direction and 1 for Y Plot Direction.
v. Click Plot.
(b) Similarly, display an XY plot of mass fraction of O3 by selecting Mass fraction of
o3 from the Y Axis Function drop-down list.
(c) Compare the O2 and O3 XY plots for mass fraction in Figure 8 and Figure 9.

c Fluent Inc. October 30, 2006 23
Using the Eulerian Multiphase Model with Species Transport

Figure 8: XY Plot of Mass Fraction of O3

Figure 9: XY Plot of Mass Fraction of O2

24
c Fluent Inc. October 30, 2006
 Using the Eulerian Multiphase Model with Species Transport

Summary
This tutorial demonstrated how to set up and solve a granular multiphase problem using
the Eulerian multiphase model with species transport and reaction. The problem involved
the 2D modeling of particle suspension in a fluidized bed, and postprocessing showed the
near-steady-state behavior of the sand in the fluidized bed, under the assumptions made.
Such cases should be typically run for a total of 40 seconds of operation, however, as this
is very computationally intensive, this case was only run for 10 seconds for demonstration
in this tutorial.

c Fluent Inc. October 30, 2006 25