This paper presents the development of a validated numerical model of granular material flowability in a heat exchanger using the DEM modelling in STAR-CCM+ software. The model is developed based on an experiment. The simulation model is validated qualitatively and quantitatively from experimental data. The comparison between the experimental and simulated velocities, velocity profiles and mass flowrates demonstrate a high degree of similarity. For instance, the percentage difference of mass flowrate between the experiment and simulation data is 5.61% and the maximum percentage difference of the particle velocity is 9.53% which reflects a reasonable level of agreement.
Khumalo et al. (2026) studied this question.