Numerical simulations of polydisperse particles in multiphase flows using population balance models and computational fluid dynamics

In this study, we investigate the formation of hydrate particles and their influence on the multiphase flow dynamics from a meso- and macro-scale perspective via a population balance model (PBM) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. The formulation of the PBM accounts for nucleation, diffusion-induced growth, and Brownian and turbulent aggregation. The PBM is solved by means of the quadrature method of moments. Analyses of the evolution of characterising parameters of the dispersed phase, such as the reconstructed particle size distribution, number of particles, and volume fraction, are presented together with the solution of the flow field. We elucidate the explicit connections of the problem formulation with the molecular scale and the potential opportunities to link molecular dynamics simulations with higher-scale models. Finally, the extension of this PBM-CFD framework to investigate polydisperse multiphase flows in other applications (e.g. manufacturing of silver nanoparticles) is highlighted.