Particle-resolved simulation of flow and hydrodynamic behavior of different shape particles in fixed bed reactor

• This study examines fluid-particle interactions in fixed-bed particle assemblies with various particle shapes, including spheres, cylinders, and trilobes. • This work employs a rigid-body dynamics (RBD) and particle-resolved computational fluid dynamics (PRCFD) approach to model particle-fluid interactions. • This research also investigate and analyze fluid-particle interactions in different tube-to-particle diameter ratios . This study investigates the hydrodynamic behavior of fluid-particle interactions in fixed bed assemblies containing particles of various shapes, including spheres, cylinders, and trilobes. Using sequential rigid body dynamics (RBD) for particle-resolved computational fluid dynamics (PRCFD) simulations, we analysed local flow structures in random packings of these particles. The simulations were efficiently conducted for systems containing 120 to 700 particles. We also examined the influence of the tube-to-particle diameter ratio (N) to understand the wall effects on packing and flow structure. Our analyses of porosity, flow behavior, and pressure drop align well with established empirical correlations. The results indicated that local structural configurations significantly affect velocity distribution at the particle level. The RBD-CFD method employed in this study proves to be a robust and reliable tool for obtaining detailed insights into particle-level hydrodynamics in fixed bed reactors with both spherical and non-spherical particles.