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Domains of Applicability, Transition Evidence and Validation Requirements for the Ergun and Wen-Yu Drag Correlations in Bubbling Fluidized-Bed Roasters


Authors : Roger K. M. Rumbu

Volume/Issue : Volume 11 - 2026, Issue 8 - August


Google Scholar : https://tinyurl.com/mrypzbp6

Scribd : https://tinyurl.com/yep37bba

DOI : https://doi.org/10.38124/ijisrt/26aug293

Note : A published paper may take 4-5 working days from the publication date to appear in PlumX Metrics, Semantic Scholar, and ResearchGate.


Abstract : This paper defines the dense and dilute domains represented by the Ergun and Wen-Yu drag correlations and examines the consequences of combining them through the classical Gidaspow switch in a bubbling fluidized-bed roaster. Its specific contribution is a reactor-resolved interpretive and validation framework that separates global fluidizationregime identification from local drag-closure selection and maps the resulting dense, dilute, and switching regions within the roaster. The review is extended with published particle-resolved data, a standard cold-flow benchmark, an original reactor-zone schematic, and quantitative sensitivity calculations. Published lattice-Boltzmann results indicate that an intermediate solids-fraction interval is not adequately represented by either limiting correlation, confirming that the conventional gas-volume-fraction threshold is a numerical selection rule rather than a physical phase boundary.

Keywords : Ergun; Wen-Yu; Gidaspow; Interphase Drag; Gas-Solid Fluidization; Bubbling Fluidized-Bed Roaster; LatticeBoltzmann Method; Minimum Fluidization; Model Validation; Start-Up Heating.

References :

  1. R. Beetstra, M.A. van der Hoef, and J.A.M. Kuipers, “Drag Force of Intermediate Reynolds Number Flow Past Mono- and Bidisperse Arrays of Spheres,” AIChE Journal, 53(2) (2007), 489–501, https://doi.org/10.1002/aic.11065.
  2. S. Ergun, “Fluid Flow through Packed Columns,” Chemical Engineering Progress, 48 (1952), 89–94.
  3. D. Gidaspow, Multiphase Flow and Fluidization: Continuum and Kinetic Theory Descriptions (Boston, MA: Academic Press, 1994), https://doi.org/10.1016/C2009-0-21244-X.
  4. D. Gidaspow and B. Ettehadieh, “Fluidization in Two-Dimensional Beds with a Jet. 2. Hydrodynamic Modeling,” Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Fundamentals, 22(2) (1983), 193–201, https://doi.org/10.1021/i100010a008.
  5. D. Kandhai, J.J. Derksen, and H.E.A. Van den Akker, “Interphase Drag Coefficients in Gas-Solid Flows,” AIChE Journal, 49(4) (2003), 1060–1065, https://doi.org/10.1002/aic.690490423.
  6. H. Lu, D. Gidaspow, J. Bouillard, and W. Liu, “Hydrodynamic Simulation of Gas–Solid Flow in a Riser Using Kinetic Theory of Granular Flow,” Chemical Engineering Journal, 95(1–3) (2003), 1–13, https://doi.org/10.1016/S1385-8947(03)00062-7.
  7. R.K. Niven, “Physical Insight into the Ergun and Wen & Yu Equations for Fluid Flow in Packed and Fluidised Beds,” Chemical Engineering Science, 57(3) (2002), 527–534, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0009-2509(01)00371-2.
  8. R.K.M. Rumbu, Optimisation du chauffage au démarrage des fours de grillage à lit fluidisé bouillonnant par simulation numérique des écoulements: efficacité énergétique et applications industrielles, MSc thesis (Kinshasa, D.R. Congo: Institut Supérieur de Techniques Appliquées, 2025).
  9. M. Syamlal, W. Rogers, and T.J. O’Brien, MFIX Documentation: Theory Guide, DOE/METC-94/1004, NTIS/DE9400087 (Morgantown, WV: U.S. Department of Energy, 1993), https://doi.org/10.2172/10145548.
  10. F. Taghipour, N. Ellis, and C. Wong, “Experimental and Computational Study of Gas–Solid Fluidized Bed Hydrodynamics,” Chemical Engineering Science, 60(24) (2005), 6857–6867, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ces.2005.05.044.
  11. B.G.M. van Wachem, J.C. Schouten, C.M. van den Bleek, R. Krishna, and J.L. Sinclair, “Comparative Analysis of CFD Models of Dense Gas–Solid Systems,” AIChE Journal, 47(5) (2001), 1035–1051, https://doi.org/10.1002/aic.690470510.
  12. C.Y. Wen and Y.H. Yu, “Mechanics of Fluidization,” Chemical Engineering Progress Symposium Series, 62(62) (1966), 100–111.

This paper defines the dense and dilute domains represented by the Ergun and Wen-Yu drag correlations and examines the consequences of combining them through the classical Gidaspow switch in a bubbling fluidized-bed roaster. Its specific contribution is a reactor-resolved interpretive and validation framework that separates global fluidizationregime identification from local drag-closure selection and maps the resulting dense, dilute, and switching regions within the roaster. The review is extended with published particle-resolved data, a standard cold-flow benchmark, an original reactor-zone schematic, and quantitative sensitivity calculations. Published lattice-Boltzmann results indicate that an intermediate solids-fraction interval is not adequately represented by either limiting correlation, confirming that the conventional gas-volume-fraction threshold is a numerical selection rule rather than a physical phase boundary.

Keywords : Ergun; Wen-Yu; Gidaspow; Interphase Drag; Gas-Solid Fluidization; Bubbling Fluidized-Bed Roaster; LatticeBoltzmann Method; Minimum Fluidization; Model Validation; Start-Up Heating.

Paper Submission Last Date
31 - August - 2026

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