Modelling of heat transfer in a packed bed column

The CFD modelling of heat transfer in the packed bed column in the laminar and turbulent flow regimes has been presented. Three numerical grids with different densities were generated for the packed bed column. The modelling was performed with the use of the Porous Media Model for treating the flow inside a porous structure. The standard k-ε model along with the logarithmic wall functions for the turbulent flow range was used. The influence of the mesh size on the accuracy of the fluid flow was studied. Both radial and axial direction temperature distributions have been compared with the experimental data¹ and the values calculated from a 2DADPF model. A good agreement between the experimental and the predicted values of the pressure drop, temperature distributions and heat transfer coefficient was obtained.