CFD–DEM Modelling Approach of Particle–Liquid Food Flows in a Bent Pipe

Abstract

The conveying process of a food solid-liquid system in a bent horizontal pipe was investigated using the multiphase Computational Fluid Dynamics-Discrete Element Method (CFD-DEM) approach. The simulations were performed with commercial software tools, namely ANSYS Fluent and EDEM. The shape of the food particles was modelled as a cubic with a multi-sphere model, and a drag equation particle was used to consider also the effect of non-spherical particles. The simulations were performed for 5 mm size peach particle with different suspension flow velocities (0.3 and 0.8 m/s) and particle mass concentrations (5%, 10%, and 30%). The comparison between experimental and simulated particle velocity profiles demonstrated that, despite some quantitative discrepancies, the CFD-DEM modelling yielded a good agreement with the experimental data and could capture the experimental trends. In addition, this simulation approach could provide valuable information about particle flow properties such as velocity and position, that are difficult to measure experimentally.