CFD-DEM model explained

A CFD-DEM model is suitable for the modeling or simulation of fluid-solids or fluid-particles systems. In a typical CFD-DEM model, the phase motion of discrete solids or particles is obtained by the Discrete Element Method (DEM) which applies Newton's laws of motion to every particle^[1] and the flow of continuum fluid is described by the local averaged Navier–Stokes equations that can be solved by the traditional Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD).^[2] The model is first proposed by Tsuji et al.^{[3] [4]} The interactions between the fluid phase and solids phase is better modeled according to Newton's third law.^[5]

Software

Open source and non-commercial software:

• The open source CFD software OpenFOAM includes particle methods, including DEM, and solvers that couple CFD-DEM.
• CFDEMcoupling (DCS Computing GmbH) couples CFD from OpenFOAM with open source DEM software, LIGGGHTS.
• MFiX(Open Source multiphase flow simulation package).
• The commercial software Simcenter STAR-CCM+ is an integrated multiphysics solution capable of CFD-DEM coupling involving single or multiphase flow, chemical reactions, electromagnetism and heat transfer

Parallelization

OpenMP has been shown to be more efficient in performing coupled CFD-DEM calculations in parallel framework as compared to MPI by Amritkar et al.^[6]

Notes and References

1. Cundall P. A., Strack O. D. L., (1979). Discrete numerical-model for granular assemblies. Geotechnique, 29, 47-65
2. e.g., see Chorin A. J.. 1968. Numerical solution of the Navier-Stokes equations. Mathematics of Computation. 22. 745 - 762. 10.2307/2004575. free.
3. Tsuji Y., Tanaka T., Ishida T., (1992). Lagrangian numerical-simulation of plug flow of cohesionless particles in a horizontal pipe. Powder Technology, 71, 239-250
4. Tsuji Y, Kawaguchi T, Tanaka T. Discrete Particle Simulation Of 2-Dimensional Fluidized-Bed. Powder Technology. 1993 Oct;77(1):79-87
5. Xu B. H. and Yu, A. B.. 1997. Numerical simulation of the gas-solid flow in a fluidized bed by combining discrete particle method with computational fluid dynamics. Chemical Engineering Science. 52. 16. 2785 - 2809. 10.1016/s0009-2509(97)00081-x.
6. 10.1016/j.jcp.2013.09.007. Efficient parallel CFD-DEM simulations using OpenMP. 2014. Amritkar. Amit. Deb. Surya. Tafti. Danesh. Journal of Computational Physics. 256. 501. 2014JCoPh.256..501A.