Analysis of the porous structure of an annular pebble bed reactor

Abstract

This paper discusses the numerical analysis of the porous structure of an annular packed bed. Numerical procedures are described to determine the variation in the porosity, the variation in the coordination number (measure of the number of particles in contact with a specific particle) and the variation in the contact angle between adjacent particles. The results are compared with previous results and evaluated. The specific aim of the analysis is to provide a basis for an investigation into the effective solid thermal conductivity of an annular packed bed consisting of uniform spherical particles