Dust emission modelling around a stockpile by using computational fluid dynamics and discrete element method

Abstract

Dust emissions can have significant effects on the human health, environment and industry equipment. Understanding the dust generation process helps to select a suitable dust preventing approach and also is useful to evaluate the environmental impact of dust emission. To describe these processes, numerical methods such as Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) are widely used, however nowadays particle based methods like Discrete Element Method (DEM) allow researchers to model interaction between particles and fluid flow. In this study, air flow over a stockpile, dust emission, erosion and surface deformation of granular material in the form of stockpile are studied by using DEM and CFD as a coupled method. Two and three dimensional simulations are respectively developed for CFD and DEM methods to minimize CPU time. The standard κ-ε turbulence model is used in a fully developed turbulent flow. The continuous gas phase and the discrete particle phase link to each other through gas-particle void fractions and momentum transfer. In addition to stockpile deformation, dust dispersion is studied and finally the accuracy of stockpile deformation results obtained by CFD-DEM modelling will be validated by the agreement with the existing experimental data. © 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.