MFiX 22.4 Release Announcement

Dear MFiX user,

We are pleased to announce the MFiX 22.4 release. Please download the latest version. See the release note below that highlights the changes from the previous version.

Please visit the MFS forum for any software related questions, or send administrative questions to admin@mfix.netl.doe.gov.

Regards,
The MFiX Development Team

New features:

• Non-spherical particle DEM model, called SQP (SuperQuadric Particles). A wide range of particles shapes can now be modeled with DEM. The particle shape is defined with 5 parameters controlling the size and roundness of the particles. Please see [1-3] for details about the implementation.

Improvements:

• Option to apply a change to all equations (e.g. switch from FOUP to superbee) in the Numerics pane.
• The keyword ep_star now only applies to TFM models. The void fraction can be clipped for any Lagrangian model (DEM, CGP, SQP, PIC) with a new keyword des_epg_clip.

Notable bug fixes:

• Fixed turning off reading particle_input.dat version 2 when keyword particles was set to 0.
• Fixed GUI crash if job submission was not found.

[1] Gao, X.; Yu, J.; Portal, R. J. F.; Dietiker, J. F.; Shahnam, M.; Rogers, W. A. "Development and validation of SuperDEM for non-spherical particulate systems using a superquadric particle method," Particuology Vol. 61, 2022, pp. 74-90. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.partic.2020.11.007

[2] Gao, Xi; Yu, Jia; Lu, Liqiang; Li, Cheng; Rogers, William A. "Development and validation of SuperDEM-CFD coupled model for simulating non-spherical particles hydrodynamics in fluidized beds," Chemical Engineering Journal Vol. 420, 2021, p. 127654. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2020.127654

[3] Gao, X.; Yu, J.; Lu, L. Q.; Rogers, W. A. "Coupling particle scale model and SuperDEM-CFD for multiscale simulation of biomass pyrolysis in a packed bed pyrolyzer," Aiche Journal Vol. 67, No. 4, 2021, p. 15. https://doi.org/10.1002/aic.17139