Eulerian-Eulerian Simulation of Sedimentation of Uniformly-sized, non-Brownian Spheres in Viscous Fluids

A Eulerian-Eulerian 3-dimensional CFD-model has been built in order to study the sedimentation process of uniformly-sized, non-Brownian spheres in a viscous fluid. It is shown that proper agreement with experimental data for high particle loadings strongly depends on using a correct drag force relation. Convection currents in the carrier phase were observed during simulation. They were found to present a hydraulic resistance to the solids settling. The particle interactions were implemented through a solids stress tensor dependent on the viscosity of the carrier phase and the solids local volume fraction. The completed model was validated by comparison with experimental data.