Numerical study on single phase flow resistance characteristics in randomly packed channel with spheres

The randomly packed bed with spheres was generated by discrete element method (DEM). Single phase flow through the packed bed was simulated and validated. For contact issue, of the particle to particle and particle to wall in the meshing, a bridge method was presented, which is not only used to generate high-quality grid, and the overall number of grid are reduced significantly. Simulations of the radial porosity distribution, average porosity and flow resistance are agreed with the classic correlations, and the validated models can reflect the wall boundary effect on the flow resistance. (authors)