Experimental and numerical investigation into the residence time distribution of granular particles on forward and reverse acting grate

Forward andreverseactinggratesarewidelyemployedinwaste-to-energyplants.Inordertopredict
the motionofsolidgranularparticlesandoptimisethedesignofsuchsystems,DiscreteElement
Method(DEM)isincreasinglyused.Theobjectiveofthispaperistopredictthedynamicsofgranular
particlesonforwardandreverseactinggratesbyapplyingDEM.Theresidencetimedistributionofsolid
particlesisanalysedbyDEMandcomparedwithexperimentalresultsinapilotplantexcluding
combustion.TheresultsindicateaverygoodconsistencybetweenDEMandexperimentalresults,
highlightingthepromisingcapabilitiesofDEMinpredictingthedynamicsofgranularparticlesingrate
systems.CouplingDEMwithcomputationalfluiddynamicstechniquescanfurtheradvancethemethod
to accountforthermalconversionofsolidfuelsinfuturework.