Study of a fluid of particles. PBMR Technology
 

Hi everyone. I am new in the forum and I would like to say every of you Hello!

I am a Master student and I have to write my thesis about the movement of a Pebble bed. It is related with HTR (High temperatur reactor), but my task is related only about CFD.

Basically it is like the study of a Silo (the reactor), with balls inside (grain). The balls are the fuel which is recirculating all the time, then it is in a steady state. I have started some weeks ago, and I still have many doubts.

At first I would like to ask which literature would be recommended for this case, I have to make a review of fluid dynamics and CFD. Then, I will work win CFX, but I dont know if it is the best option I have. For my project is very important the flexibility (to analyze different geometries, conditions...) and not to need too much Computational time.
I have found some different studies about the matter, and I already have the material properties (viscosities between surfaces), and I think that I have the boundary conditions. But anyway I dont have a good model of behavior. I was thinking to work like a Bingham plastic, but I am not sure if there are more acurate model for this case. At the moment I found some to study silos, but in this case, the dimensions are very different to this other case and I guess they are critical.

I hope you can give some light to my project :)

Greetings