DEM Solutions Training:

EDEM-CFD Coupling Module for

FLUENT
Introduces the EDEM-CFD Coupling Module for FLUENT, how it works, and some of
the module’s features

Revision 2.1/1
 EDEM-CFD Coupling Module for FLUENT

DEM Solutions Training:

EDEM-CFD Coupling Module for FLUENT

Overview
 EDEM
 DEM software used for integrating particle, fluid, and machine
dynamics

 FLUENT
 Configurable single-phase and multi-phase algorithms
 Provides a framework for coupled software development

 EDEM-CFD Coupling Module for FLUENT

 EDEM couples to Fluent with Eulerian or Lagrangian coupling
 EDEM replaces approximation of solid phase in Fluent with explicit
calculation of particle dynamic

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 EDEM-CFD Coupling Module for FLUENT

EDEM-Fluent Process Flow

DEM timestep(s)
started at end of fluid
simulation timestep
Calls EDEM

Fluid iterated to
convergence Drag forces on particles
calculated using data
extracted from fluid mesh
cells

Forces on fluid from Particle positions

particles are introduced into input into Fluent
fluid through a series of
momentum sinks Particle positions updated

Scheme Panel

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 EDEM-CFD Coupling Module for FLUENT

Coupling Methodologies

Euler-Lagrangian Coupling Method

 EDEM’s Lagrangian method similar to Fluent’s DPM

(Discrete Phase Model)
 Only momentum is exchanged between the two
phases
 Lagrangian coupling method best used when the
solid fraction is low (less than 10%)
 Lagrangian coupling faster to calculate relative to
Eulerian coupling

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 EDEM-CFD Coupling Module for FLUENT

Euler-Euler Coupling Method

 Eulerian coupling method better than Lagrangian for

flows with a higher solid fraction
 Energy not transferred during calculation of the coupling;
only mass and momentum need to be conserved
 EDEM prevents particles from moving during the fluid
phase and removes all other phasic interaction
 Particle forces and positions updated in DEM phase

Momentum Exchange

Momentum is exchanged between solid and fluid phases

for both Eulerian and Lagrangian coupling methods:
 CFD iterated to convergence for a timestep
 EDEM takes control of the simulation and performs one or
several iterations.
EDEM particle positions are updated due to contact forces,
gravity and additional forces applied by the fluid
 Control passed back to Fluent. A momentum sink is added
to each of the mesh cells to represent the effect of energy
transfer from the DEM particles

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 EDEM-CFD Coupling Module for FLUENT

Volume Fraction Exchange

 Particle volume fraction transfered to Fluent for Eulerian

coupling only
 Ideally EDEM particles are smaller than Fluent mesh cells
 A single particle in EDEM can be made from multiple
spheres. The volume of a multi-sphere particle is passed
to Fluent (the drag model assumes a particle is spherical)

Relaxation Factors

 Momentum transfer and volume fraction transfer can be

under-relaxed to provide greater stability on the CFD side:

Pnew = xPcalculated + (1 – x)Pold

Where P is the momentum, x is the relaxation factor

 Typically relaxation factors vary from 0.1 (very slow dense

phase simulations) to 1.0 (fast flowing dilute simulations)

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 EDEM-CFD Coupling Module for FLUENT

Sample Points
Small mesh cells unlikely to
 Sample points allow large particles to contain particle volume
transfer volume fraction to mesh cells up
to 2x smaller than the particles
 Increasing the sample points increases
the accuracy and stability of Eulerian
simulations
 A sample point of 1 is enough where
particles are more than 60% smaller than
the mesh cells

∑SV i particle
α DEM = i =1
N sampleV fluidcell

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Timesteps

 CFD typically uses a timestep of orders of 10 – 100

greater than DEM
 Performing a single CFD timestep for every DEM timestep
is inefficient, so a ratio is chosen:
 Must be small enough to assume the fluid flow pattern doesn’t change
significantly during the DEM iteration
 Each particle should be in a fluent mesh cell for a minimum of three
iterations
 Ratio must be such that the CFD can successfully iterate to convergence
on return from the DEM
 Smallest possible edem:fluent timestep ratio is 1:1
 EDEM and Fluent timesteps synchronized automatically
 EDEM time data stored in each Fluent case file

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 EDEM-CFD Coupling Module for FLUENT

Drag Models

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Drag Models

The EDEM-CFD Coupling Module for FLUENT has several

drag model options:
 Freestream Drag Model – free stream drag model
modified to calculate forces on particles
 Ergun and Wen & Yu – modified freestream drag
 Di Felice – adds porosity correction term
 User-Defined – write and use your own plug-in drag
models

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Drag Calculation

 Bounding sphere used to calculate the drag force for non-spherical particles
 Limited particle size since fluid data is taken from the mesh cell containing
the center of the particle
 The drag coefficient, CD, is dependent on the Reynolds number, Re:

ρvl
Re =
µ
Where ρ is the fluid density, μ is the viscosity, l is the diameter of the particles bounding sphere,
and v is the relative velocity between the fluid and the particle

 Buoyancy must also be taken into account:

FB = − ρVg

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Drag Model Theory

 Freestream Drag Model
Free steam drag for a sphere is calculated from:
F = 0.5CD ρ Av |v |
Where A is the projected area of the sphere

 Ergun and Wen & Yu Drag Model

According to the work of Twente:
βV v
F=
1− e
Where V is the volume of the sphere, e is the voidage of the Fluent cell, and:

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Drag Model Theory

 Di Felice Drag Model
Adds porosity correction term to the freestream drag model to take into
account the effects on drag of neighboring particles. Calculated from:

Where e is the voidage/porosity and x is given by:

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Other Models

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 EDEM-CFD Coupling Module for FLUENT

Lift Models

The EDEM-CFD Coupling Module for FLUENT has several

lift model options:
 Saffman Lift – lift due to velocity gradient in fluid flow
 Magnus Lift – lift due to particle rotation
 Fluid-induced Torque – handles particle rotation due to
fluid shear

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Heat Transfer Models

The EDEM-CFD Coupling Module for FLUENT includes

both convective and radiative heat transfer models as
optional licensable features:
Convective Heat Transfer
 Ranz & Marshall – suitable for a particle Reynolds
number of up to 200
 Gunn – more suitable for granular flows
 Li & Mason – set the exponential constant to fine-tune
your model
Radiative Heat Transfer
 Set the surface emissivity of particles

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 EDEM-CFD Coupling Module for FLUENT

User-Defined Functions

EDEM UDF FLUENT

EDEM and Fluent are linked using User-Defined Functions

 Export the meshed geometry from Fluent case files directly into
EDEM
 Periodically update volume fraction and particle drag forces
 Calculate simulation time and end time for EDEM
 Call EDEM to update particle positions and forces
 Transfer momentum source terms to Fluent
 Transfer mass source terms to Fluent (for Eulerian coupling)

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Examples

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Examples

Fluidized bed

Sedimentation

Entrainment

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Examples
Aerating Chemical Slurry

Pneumatic
Conveying

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Examples - Combustion
 Particles input at the top of the model at a set mass
flow rate
 Fluid velocity high enough to mix the particles and
prevent them from leaving the base of the domain
 Objectives: Find fluid flow velocity where particles fall
into the gas inlet
Gas inlet Gas inlet
V=50 m/s V=60 m/s

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Examples – Particle Strings

 Modeling transportation of strings of flexible bonded
particles using a fluid drag model
 Used to investigate required particle bond strengths
and fluid flow rates
 Result: Improved flow efficiency

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 EDEM-CFD Coupling Module for FLUENT

Summary

 Coupling through Lagrangian or Eulerian model

 In-built or user-defined drag models
 In-built lift and heat transfer models
 Eulerian stabilized for particles up to twice grid cell size
 Automated link between EDEM and FLUENT
 Automatic model set-up
 Time-step matching
 Joint post-processing using EnSight
 Pause-and-continue

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