Mathematical simulation of radial heat transfer in packed beds by pseudohomogeneous modeling

Abstract

Uniform flow regime and constant effective thermal conductivity inside packed beds are commonly accepted in the evaluation of the fluid dynamics and heat transfer in such systems. However, several authors have confirmed the presence of an oscillatory velocity profile caused by the effective contribution of porosity profile in the fluid dynamic behavior of packed beds, which directly influences the heat transfer inside the beds. This paper describes the application of a pseudo-homogeneous mathematical model for describing heat transfer in packed beds with oscillatory profiles of velocity and porosity, using a radius-dependent model for effective thermal conductivity kr. Several temperature profiles were obtained in a packed bed system with thermal source located on the wall. The simulated temperature and effective thermal conductivity obtained from simulations were compared with experimental data and calculation from a model based on uniform kr fitting. The results indicate that the proposed mathematical modeling was capable of better representing the heat transfer in the packed bed. © 2010 Chinese Society of Particuology and Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.