Three-Dimensional Numerical Simulation of Upflow Bubbling Fluidized Bed in Opaque Tube Under High Flux Solar Heating

Solid particles can be used as a heat transfer medium in concentrated solar power plants to operate at higher temperature and achieve higher heat conversion efficiency than using the current solar heat transfer fluids that only work below 600 degrees C. Among various particle circulation concepts, the dense particle suspension (DPS) flow in tubes, also called upflow bubbling fluidized bed (UBFB), was studied in the frame of the CSP2 FP7 European project. The DPS capacity to extract heat from a tube absorber exposed to concentrated solar radiation was demonstrated and the first values of the tube wall-to-DPS heat transfer coefficient were measured. A stable outlet temperature of 750 degrees C was reached with a metallic tube, and a particle reflux in the near tube wall region was evidenced. In this article, the UBFB behavior is studied using the multiphase flow code NEPTUNE_CFD. Hydrodynamics of SiC Geldart A-type particles and heat transfer imposed by a thermal flux at the wall are coupled in two-dimensional unsteady numerical simulations. The convective/diffusive heat transfer between the gas and dispersed phase, and the inter-particle radiative transfer (Rosseland approximation) are accounted for. Simulations and experiments are compared here and the temperature influence on the DPS flow is analyzed. (C) 2018 American Institute of Chemical Engineers