Fluidization of the spherocylindrical particles: Comparison of multi-sphere and bond-sphere models

•Fluidization behaviors of spherocylinders are investigated by the CFD-DEM method.•Both the multi-sphere and bond-sphere models are developed, validated and compared.•A higher particle resolution helps obtain a more accurate pressure drop curve.•The bond-sphere model predicts more particles tend to be in the vertical direction.•The particle flow patterns obtained by the multi-sphere model are more symmetrical. The fluidization of spherocylindrical particles is widely encountered in many engineering applications. In this work, by using the computational fluid dynamic-discrete element method (CFD-DEM), both the multi-sphere and bond-sphere models are developed, validated, and applied to investigate the fluidization characteristics of almost rigid spherocylinders. The differences between the two models are highlighted. Results show that the particle resolution of the multi-sphere model has a great impact on the pressure drop of the stationary bed but a small effect on full fluidization behaviors. More particles tend to be in the vertical direction by using the bond-sphere model, whereas the multi-sphere model predicts a more horizontal particle orientation. A left–right symmetrical particle flow pattern is observed for the multi-sphere model while a particle circulation configuration across the whole bed width appears for the bond-sphere model. All these observations are helpful for selecting particle model and deeply understanding the fluidization of spherocylindrical particles.