Full‐physics simulations of spray‐particle interaction in a bubbling fluidized bed

Numerical simulations of a gas‐particle‐droplet system were performed using an Euler‐Lagrange approach. Models accounting for (1) the interaction between droplets and particles, (2) evaporation from the droplet spray, as well as (3) evaporation of liquid from the surface of non‐porous particles were considered. The implemented models were verified for a packed bed, as well as other standard flow configurations. The developed models were then applied for the simulation of flow, as well as heat and mass transfer in a fluidized bed with droplet injection. The relative importance of droplet evaporation vs. evaporation from the particle surface was quantified. It was proved that spray evaporation competes with droplet deposition and evaporation from the particle surface. Moreover, we show that adopting a suitable surface coverage model is vital when attempting to make accurate predictions of the particle's liquid content. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 63: 2569–2587, 2017