Fluidized beds have been in use for almost 100 years for a wide range of processes including powder mixing, powder and tablet coating and powder bed heating and drying. However, the understanding of fluidized beds is still limited and multiple factors impact the fluidization and efficiency of the process, making it challenging to predict how the process can be improved.
Simulation can assist in gaining key insight by allowing virtual testing of any combination of parameters or designs in a cost and time effective manner. In this example Altair® AcuSolve® is coupled to Altair® EDEM™ software to have a Computational Fluid Dynamic-Discrete Element Method simulation, which allows us to model the two key components of a fluidized bed (powder bed and fluid) and their interactions. As seen in the video, the coupled simulation can be used to improve the efficiency of the process, increasing the coating achieved in a prismatic powder bed through two different approaches using Altair multi-physics.