大颗粒流态化特性的实验研究

通过对大颗粒流化曲线及床层高度的测试对大颗粒流化床的流化过程进行了研究。结果显示,大颗粒的流态化过程是一个渐进的过程,整个流化过程可以分为:床层高度恒定、颗粒位置调整、表面颗粒运动、节涌波动和完全流化5个阶段。由于颗粒自身特性的影响,导致大颗粒流化过程中的各个特征速度(如起始鼓泡流化速度和完全流化速度)产生了有别于小颗粒流化床的特性。     

管式布风装置对流化床焚烧炉内流化特性的影响

数值模拟了管式布风装置对流化床内气体和颗粒流动特性的影响，获得了床内气体和颗粒瞬时和时均速度及颗粒体积份额分布. 计算结果表明，床内颗粒宏观流动呈现床中心区域为上升流动、壁面区域为下降流动的内循环流动. 分析了风管小孔风速和颗粒直径对床内流化的影响. 计算结果表明，保证床内颗粒和气体良好流化和混合特性的最佳布风管相对距离应在1.5~1.75之间.     

磁流化床稳定性分析

应用Foscolo的颗粒床模型分析了磁流化床稳定性,得到了磁流化床的稳定判据;根据得到的判据分别对层流和湍流情况分析了磁场对磁流化床稳定性的影响。     

粒径及声场对SiO2超细颗粒流化行为的影响

采用内径为56 mm的玻璃管流化床,考察了平均粒径分别为5~10 nm(1#), 0.5 mm(2#)及10 mm(3#)的SiO2超细颗粒在无声场及声场存在下的流化行为. 无声场时,1#和2#颗粒可在较高的气速下形成稳定聚团,单位质量颗粒团间作用力与原生颗粒相比显著下降,因而可实现稳定的聚团流化,3#颗粒因颗粒间粘性力较大,无法实现稳定流化. 40~60 Hz的声场对3种超细颗粒的流化行为均可起到一定的改善作用,在此频率范围外,声场的作用不明显. 提高声压级,可以使1#和2#颗粒团发生一定程度的破碎,聚团尺寸减小,最小流化速度降低. 在实验范围内,添加声场无法使3#颗粒实现稳定流化.     

Minimum Fluidization Velocities of Binary Solid Mixtures: Empirical Correlation and Genetic Algorithm-Artificial Neural Network Modeling

Experimental investigation of the fluidization behavior in single and binary solid-liquid fluidized beds of nonspherical particles as solid phase and water as liquid phase was performed in a Perspex column. Different particle sizes were used to prepare single and binary mixtures with different weight ratios for fluidization. Minimum fluidization velocity increased with increasing average particle size and decreasing sphericity for the binary mixture. An empirical correlation was developed to predict the minimum fluidization velocity. Genetic algorithm-artificial neural network (GA-ANN) modeling was applied to predict the minimum fluidization velocity for single and binary solid-liquid fluidized beds. The application of GA-ANN analysis leads to designing binary solid-liquid fluidization systems without experimentation.     

Discrete particle simulations for flow of binary particle mixture in a bubbling fluidized bed with a transport energy weighted averaging scheme

Flow behavior of small and big particles with the same particle density in a bubbling fluidized bed is modeled by a combined approach of discrete particle method and computational fluid dynamics (CFD-DPM). The collision time of a collision pair is computed by a quartic equation in which the effect of acceleration due to the different diameters is considered. A transport energy weighted averaging approach is proposed to determine the local gas velocity at a particle. The fluidization behavior of binary mixture differing in size is experimentally and numerically studied in the gas bubbling fluidized bed. The distributions of mass fraction of small and big particles along the bed height are simulated, and the profiles of the mean particle diameters of binary mixture are determined. The numerical results are in agreement with experimental data. The distributions of granular temperature, stresses, and shear viscosities of small and big particles are compared.     

Effect of sound on the fluidization of group B particles

The behaviour of several kinds of group B particles ranging from 100 μm to 600 μm was studied in a sound wave vibrated fluidized bed (SVFB). The fluidized bed consists of a transparent Plexiglas tube that is 54 mm i.d. × 1 m high. A speaker mounted at the top of the bed was supplied by a function generator with square waves and was used to generate the sound as the source of vibration of the fluidized bed. The influence of the particle size, density of particles and sphericity of particles on the minimum fluidization velocity, pressure fluctuations and bubble rise velocity in the SVFB was investigated. The minimum fluidization velocity decreased as the sound energy increased. When the sound energy was strong enough and greater than the critical power, the minimum fluidization velocity would approach the same value regardless of the degree of resonance (DOR) value if the particles were in spherical shape. For non-spherical shape particles the minimum fluidization velocity was the function of the DOR value if the power was greater than the critical power. For the middle particle size range, the standard deviation of pressure fluctuations in an SVFB became lower than the one without the effect of sound in high superficial gas velocity range, but the result was reverse for the low superficial velocity; for the large particle size range, the standard deviation of pressure fluctuations in an SVFB was larger than the one without the effect of sound. The sound could also reduce the bubble rise velocity in an SVFB.     

Fluidization of elongated particles—Effect of multi-particle correlations for drag,lift, and torque in CFD-DEM

Having proper correlations for hydrodynamic forces is essential for successful CFD-DEM simulations of a fluidized bed. For spherical particles in a fluidized bed, efficient correlations for predicting the drag force, including the crowding effect caused by surrounding particles, are already available and well tested. However, for elongated particles, next to the drag force, the lift force, and hydrodynamic torque also gain importance. In this work, we apply recently developed multi-particle correlations for drag, lift and torque in CFD-DEM simulations of a fluidized bed with spherocylindrical particles of aspect ratio 4 and compare them to simulations with widely used single-particle correlations for elongated particles. Simulation results are compared with previous magnetic particle tracking experimental results. We show that multi-particle correlations improve the prediction of particle orientation and vertical velocity. We also show the importance of including hydrodynamic torque.     

Demarcation of a new circulating turbulent fluidization regime

Transient flow behaviors in a novel circulating‐turbulent fluidized bed (C‐TFB) were investigated by a multifunctional optical fiber probe, that is capable of simultaneously measuring instantaneous local solids‐volume concentration, velocity and flux in gas‐solid two‐phase suspensions. Microflow behavior distinctions between the gas‐solid suspensions in a turbulent fluidized bed (TFB), conventional circulating fluidized bed (CFB), the bottom region of high‐density circulating fluidized bed (HDCFB), and the newly designed C‐TFB were also intensively studied. The experimental results show that particle‐particle interactions (collisions) dominate the motion of particles in the C‐TFB and TFB, totally different from the interaction mechanism between the gas and solid phases in the conventional CFB and the HDCFB, where the movements of particles are mainly controlled by the gas‐particle interactions (drag forces). In addition, turbulence intensity and frequency in the C‐TFB are significantly greater than those in the TFB at the same superficial gas velocity. As a result, the circulating‐turbulent fluidization is identified as a new flow regime, independent of turbulent fluidization, fast fluidization and dense suspension upflow. The gas‐solid flow in the C‐TFB has its inherent hydrodynamic characteristics, different from those in TFB, CFB and HDCFB reactors. © 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2009     

The use of peat granules in a fluidized bed bioreactor

This study describes the particle characteristics and fluidized hydrodynamics of peat granules. Peat granules, moistened with water, are a potential packing material in a gas–solid fluidized bed bioreactor used for treating air pollution. Information on the fluidization of wet peat granules is lacking. In order to advance this new type of bioreactor and to scale up its design for industrial use, fluidization studies of suitable packing material are required. Using abiotic experiments, three sizes of peat granules have been fluidized with air and fluidization characteristics were observed at different superficial gas velocities. Relative to other biomass particles, peat granules have a high particle density and sphericity, which contributes to favourable fluidization behaviour, without gas channelling. Fluidization experiments demonstrate that as the mean size of peat particles increased, minimum fluidization velocity increased. Increasing the moisture content of the peat granules resulted in a transition from bubbling bed fluidization to poor fluidization behaviour. Other types of moist biomass particles such as sawdust are difficult to fluidize and typically exhibit Geldart group C behaviour. In contrast, it was observed that wet peat granules could be fluidized in a bubbling bed regime, typical of group B particles.     

Nonspherical particles in a pseudo‐2D fluidized bed: Experimental study

Fluidization is widely used in industries and has been extensively studied, both experimentally and theoretically, in the past. However, most of these studies focus on spherical particles while in practice granules are rarely spherical. Particle shape can have a significant effect on fluidization characteristics. It is therefore important to study the effect of particle shape on fluidization behavior in detail. In this study, experiments in pseudo‐2D fluidized beds are used to characterize the fluidization of spherocylindrical (rod‐like) Geldart D particles of aspect ratio 4. Pressure drop and optical measurement methods (Digital Image Analysis, Particle Image Velocimetry, Particle Tracking Velocimetry) are employed to measure bed height, particle orientation, particle circulation, stacking, and coordination number. The commonly used correlations to determine the pressure drop across a bed of nonspherical particles are compared to experiments. Experimental observations and measurements have shown that rod‐like particles are prone to interlocking and channeling behavior. Well above the minimum fluidization velocity, vigorous bubbling fluidization is observed, with groups of interlocked particles moving upwards, breaking up, being thrown high in the freeboard region and slowly raining down as dispersed phase. At high flowrates, a circulation pattern develops with particles moving up through the center and down at the walls. Particles tend to orient themselves along the flow direction. © 2018 The Authors AIChE Journal published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 64: 1573–1590, 2018     

Modelling of binary fluidization of coal and ash and validation using radioactive particle tracking and densitometry

Binary fluidization finds wide application in a variety of gas–solid catalytic and non-catalytic industrial fluidization systems. In the present study, a three-dimensional transient computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model was used to model the binary fluidization of coal and ash in a laboratory-scale cold flow fluidized bed. In parallel, phase velocity measurements using radioactive particle tracking (RPT) and gamma-ray densitometry were performed, which provided a rich database for validation of the CFD model. RPT being a time-resolved Lagrangian technique, it was possible to extract velocity fluctuations and their correlations in addition to the mean velocity profiles. The latter provided additional validation for the CFD model, in addition to the typical validation that is done with time-averaged profiles of phase velocity and volume fraction. The robust validation procedure opens up the possibility of expanding this model to a pilot plant-scale fluidized bed.     

摇摆流化床的气固流动特性

采用二维床及D类玻璃珠颗粒,在表观气速U_g=0.267~0.978 m/s、摇摆幅值Θ=5°~15°、摇摆周期T=8~20 s的实验条件下,对摇摆流化床内气固流动过程及气体通过流化床的时均总压降进行了研究,并通过与常规直立床和倾斜床进行对比,分析了床体摇摆对气固流动的影响。结果表明,在平均角速度ω_ave>2(°)/s的条件下,当初始装料量和表观气速相同时,气体通过摇摆流化床的时均总压降低于直立床,高于相同最大倾角时的倾斜床;惯性力所产生的压降在0.15 kPa以下,其对床层压降的影响较小,床体倾斜导致气体向边壁区域聚集是影响摇摆流化床内气固流动特性的主要因素,由此导致床内存在固定床和下行移动床状态的非流化区域,使得处于流化区域的颗粒量减少,同时还降低了流化床层在竖直方向的静压。非流化区域的存在还会造成流化区域的气速高于直立床表观气速,两者表观气速之比为1.04~1.49。     

Aggregation behavior of nanoparticles in fluidized beds

The fluidization behavior of fumed silica, zirconia, and iron oxide nanopowders was studied at atmospheric and reduced pressures. Using a high-speed laser imaging system, the characteristics of fluidized aggregates of nanoparticles were studied in real time. The effect of different particle interactions such as London-van der Waals, liquid bridging and electrostatic on different fluidization parameters was studied at atmospheric pressure. The reduction of interparticle forces resulted in a reduced aggregate size and minimum fluidization velocity (U_mf) and an increased bed expansion. Nanoparticles were also fluidized at reduced pressure (∼ 16 Pa) with vibration to study the effect of low pressure on the minimum fluidization velocity. Aggregate properties (size, density) instead of primary nanoparticle properties were found to govern the minimum fluidization velocity and expansion of the fluidized bed. An important consideration is the relative strength of intra-aggregate interparticle forces (forces within the aggregate holding nanoparticles together) to inter-aggregate interparticle forces (forces between aggregates). This relative strength may be inferred from the sphericity of the aggregates during fluidization.     

Fluidization characteristics of oil palm frond particles in agitated bed

Fluidization characteristics of crushed oil palm fronds were studied. The elongated shape of the particles and their fibrous nature created entanglement between the particles and caused the bed to form crack and plug flow when aerated in ordinary fluidized bed. Fluidization of the fibres became feasible with the aid of mechanical agitation. Agitation helped to loosen the entanglement of the fibres which prevents air to pass through the bed of particles, as a result, fluidization state could be attained. Experiments were carried out in a column with height of 72 cm and ID of 14.4 cm. Superficial air velocities used ranged from 0.1 to 1.1 m/s, bed heights ranged from 4 to 8.5 cm, agitation speeds ranged from 300 to 500 rpm and particle initial moisture contents from 0.5 to 2.4 g water/g dry solids. Analysis of the fluidization characteristics showed that minimum fluidization velocity was independent with bed height and agitation speed. However, investigation on the effect of particle initial moisture content showed that minimum fluidization velocity increased with particle moisture content. A new empirical correlation to predict minimum fluidization velocity has been derived which gives good agreement with experimental data in this study and the data from other study in the literature.     

Measurement of particle concentration in a Wurster fluidized bed by electrical capacitance tomography sensors

It is essential to measure and monitor the particle flow characteristics in a Wurster fluidized bed to understand and optimize the coating processes. In this article, two electrical capacitance tomography (ECT) sensors are used to measure the particle concentration in different regions in a Wurster fluidized bed for the “cold” particle flows. One ECT sensor has a 12‐4 internal‐external electrodes and another has eight electrodes. The 12‐4‐electrode ECT sensor is used to measure the particle concentration in the annular fluidization region (outside of the Wurster tube) and the eight‐electrode ECT sensor is used to measure the particle flow in the central region (inside the Wurster tube). The effect of particle type, particle moisture, fluidization velocity, and geometrical parameters on the Wurster fluidization process is studied based on the two ECT measurements. The radial particle concentration profiles in the annular fluidization and central flow regions with different operation parameters are given. Fast Fourier Transform analysis of the particle concentration in the Wurster tube is performed with different superficial air velocities. The optimum operating ranges of the Wurster fluidization process for different particles are given. In the end of the article, computational fluids dynamics simulation results are given and used to compare with the measurement results by ECT for a typical Wurster fluidized bed. © 2014 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J 60: 4051–4064, 2014     

Numerical simulation on fluidization characteristics of tobacco particles in fluidized bed dryers

Three-dimensional simulations have been carried out to examine the gas–particle flow behavior of tobacco material in a fluidized bed dryer. The Euler–Euler model has been used to study the distribution of particles in the fluidized bed dryer. The simulation results indicate that tobacco particles usually concentrate in the near-wall region, and there exists a maximum particle concentration in the feed pipe. The predictions on the regions with high concentration of particles in the fluidized bed dryer agree well with the experimental findings. Moreover, this kind of dynamic particle aggregation might lead to particle clusters, and investigations of the particle motion and mixing behavior in the simulated systems indicate that there are particle clusters during fluidization. The diverse nature of clusters enriches the flow behaviors of particles and consequently leads to the macro-scale heterogeneity featuring fast fluidization: dilute at the top and dense at the bottom in the axial direction as well as the core–annulus structure in the radial direction. Therefore, the particle clusters is one of the key problems in drying processes, which must be known for understanding the material distribution inside the dryer, as well as for the system design of fluidized bed dryers. According to the results, some improvements on the fluidized bed dryer have been brought out and the relative numerical experiments have been performed. The numerical experiments show that the improvements can realize better uniformity and lead to a decrease in the particle concentration, which provides useful ways to solve the clustering problem.     

稻草及热解半焦颗粒流化特性

研究了稻草及不同温度热解半焦颗粒在内径100 mm、高1000 mm的有机玻璃流化床中的流化特性. 结果表明,稻草颗粒无法单独流化,而其热解半焦颗粒可单独流化;半焦颗粒的最小流化速度随粒径增大而增大,与床层高度无关,筛分粒径为0.45~0.9, 0.18~0.45, 0.125~0.18 mm的半焦颗粒的最小流化速度分别为0.19, 0.16, 0.14 m/s;300~550℃温度范围内稻草热解半焦颗粒的流化特性无明显区别;半焦与稻草颗粒混合流化时,稻草颗粒不大于20%(w)时床层有较好的流化质量,混合颗粒的最小流化速度都随混合颗粒中稻草含量增大而增大.     

Measuring binary fluidization of nonspherical and spherical particles using machine learning aided image processing

The binary fluidization of Geldart D type nonspherical wood particles and spherical low density polyethylene (LDPE) particles was investigated in a laboratory-scale bed. The experiment was performed for varying static bed height, wood particles count, as well as superficial gas velocity. The LDPE velocity field were quantified using particle image velocimetry (PIV). The wood particles orientation and velocity are measured using particle tracking velocimetry (PTV). A machine learning pixel-wise classification model was trained and applied to acquire wood and LDPE particle masks for PIV and PTV processing, respectively. The results show significant differences in the fluidization behavior between LDPE only case and binary fluidization case. The effects of wood particles on the slugging frequency, mean, and variation of bed height, and characteristics of the particle velocities/orientations were quantified and compared. This comprehensive experimental dataset serves as a benchmark for validating numerical models.