Pore Scale Simulation of Fluid Flow and Heat Transfer in Packed Beds with Different Packing Structures

The packing structure of the packed bed significantly influences fluid flow and heat transfer, which may lead to flow and temperature maldistributions. In the present paper, the pressure drop, flow, and heat transfer characteristics of packed beds with simple cubic (SC), body-centered cubic (BCC), and face-centered cubic (FCC) structures are studied based on the pore scale method. The findings show that the pressure drop in the SC structure is low, and the air is transferred downstream rapidly, leading to significant temperature differences between gas and solid and non-uniform heat transfer. In contrast, BCC and FCC packing forms demonstrate superior heat transfer performance, but larger pressure drop. Symmetrical eddy current is easily generated at the junction between particles in SC packing and BCC packing, which is not conducive to stable flow. Moreover, due to the absence of eddy current in the FCC structure, it facilitates more uniform flow distribution and enhanced heat transfer.