Jet penetration depth in a two-dimensional spout-fluid bed

The jet penetration depth was proposed to be an important parameter to describe the jet action during the chemical process of spout-fluid bed coal gasification. A two-dimensional cold model of a spout-fluid bed coal gasifier with its cross section of and height of 2000 mm was established to investigate the jet penetration depth. Four types of Geldart group D particles were used as bed materials. A multi-channel pressure sampling system and a high-resolution digital CCD camera were employed for experimental investigations. The effects of spouting gas velocity, spout nozzle diameter, static bed height, particle property and fluidizing gas flow rate on the jet penetration depth have been systematically studied by pressure signal analysis and image processing. Experimental results indicate that the jet penetration depth increases with increasing spouting gas velocity and spout nozzle diameter, while it decreases with increasing particle density, particle diameter, static bed height and fluidizing gas flow rate. Additional, a new correlation considered all of the above effects especially static bed height and fluidizing gas flow rate, was developed for predicting the jet penetration depth in spout-fluid beds. The correlation was compared with published experimental data or correlations, which was in well agreement with the present experimental results and some other references.     

DEM simulation of gas-solid flow behaviors in spout-fluid bed

Three-dimensional gas and particle turbulent motions in a rectangular spout-fluid bed were simulated. The particle motion was modeled by discrete element method and the gas motion was modeled by k-ε two-equation turbulent model. Shear induced Saffman lift force, rotation induced Magnus lift force as well as drag force, contract force and gravitational force acting on individual particles were considered when establishing the mathematics models. A two-way coupling numerical iterative scheme was used to incorporate the effects of gas-particle interactions in volume fraction, momentum and kinetic energy. The gas-solid flow patterns, forces acting on particles, the particles mean velocities, jet penetration depths, gas turbulent intensities and particle turbulent intensities were discussed. Selected stimulation results were compared to some published experimental and simulation results.     

喷动流化床流动特性数值模拟

为了捕捉喷动流化床中微观层次上的颗粒运动信息,建立了基于CFD的二维非稳态喷动流化床欧拉-欧拉两相流模型。分析了不同流化气速对喷动流化床气固流动特性的影响,即不同工况下的炉内压力降、颗粒浓度、床内空隙率分布、气体速度分布和固体颗粒速度分布。数值模拟研究结果表明:随流化气速的增大,压降和炉内平均空隙率逐渐增大,密相床层高度逐渐增加,沿着轴向方向的气体流量增大,喷动气的射流深度逐渐增加,同时射流半径也逐渐增加。     

Hydrodynamics and flow regime transition study of trickle bed reactor at elevated temperature and pressure

The hydrodynamics in a trickle bed reactor (TBR) in non-ambient conditions are studied for air-water and air-acetone (pure organic liquid of low surface tension) systems. A flow map experiments for air-water and air-acetone systems are performed in a pilot plant reactor of 0.05 m i.d. and 1.25 m height. It has been demonstrated from the experimental results that the pressure drop tends to increase with increasing superficial gas and liquid velocity and reactor pressure, while it tends to decrease with increasing bed temperature. The results also show that the dynamic liquid holdup increases with increasing liquid velocity and decreases with increasing superficial gas velocity, reactor pressure and bed temperature. The dynamic liquid holdup and pressure drop values are obviously higher than those measured for air-water system at the same fluid fluxes, reactor pressure and bed temperature due to the surface tension effects. For higher reactor pressure and temperature, the trickle to pulse transition boundary shifts towered higher superficial velocities of both gas and liquid.     

移动颗粒床中高温气体渗流传热数值计算

针对移动颗粒床中物料层内的高温气体渗流传热现象 ,考虑渗流与传热的相互作用 ,采用局部非热平衡假设建立了多孔介质渗流传热物理数学模型并进行了数值计算 .研究了不同情况下床内填充多孔介质中的流速、气固温度和床层压力损失 .计算结果表明 ,高温热气对移动床颗粒料层的热渗透主要发生在渗流入口端区域 ,增大入口渗流速度以及减小床层物料下移速度将导致物料温度沿床高慢速下降 ,热渗透深度扩大 ,热渗透作用区域内的物料温度水平提高 .在热渗透作用区域 ,孔隙率对流场和压力损失有很大的影响 .研究结果对于移动颗粒床反应器的设计与运行具有一定的参考作用     

Heat transfer in a pulsed bubbling fluidized bed

Surface-to-bed heat transfer and pressure measurements were carried out in a 0.17 m ID pulsed bubbling fluidized bed with glass bead and silica sand particles having mean diameters ranging from 37 μm to 700 μm to investigate the effects of flow pulsation on heat transfer and bed hydrodynamics. A solenoid valve was used to supply pulsed air to the bed at 1 to 10 Hz. The bed surface was found to oscillate with the frequency of pulsation, the oscillation's amplitude decreasing with frequency. The standard deviation of the bed pressure drop in the pulsed bed was found to be larger than that in the conventional bed due to the acceleration force imposed by pulsation. For both Geldart B and A particles, high frequency pulsation (7, 10 Hz) enhances the heat transfer compared to continuous flow, the enhancement diminishing with superficial gas velocity and particle size. For Geldart B particles, the effect of pulsation on heat transfer ceases around U_o/U_mf = 3.5, whereas 24% improvement in heat transfer coefficient was obtained for 60 μm glass bead particles (Group A) at superficial gas velocities as high as U_o/U_mf = 27. Furthermore, in the fixed bed (U_o/U_mf < 1) for Geldart B particles, 1 Hz pulsation was found to be very effective resulting in two- to three-fold increase in heat transfer coefficient compared to continuous flow at the same superficial gas velocity. The flow pulsation loses its effect on heat transfer with increasing static bed height, i.e., when H_bed/D > 0.85.     

Effect of louver baffles on hydrodynamics and gas mixing in a fluidized bed of FCC particles

The effect of louver baffles on the particle concentration profiles, pressure fluctuations, bed expansion, and gas mixing of a fluidized bed was investigated in a transparent 2-D column of cross-section 500×30 mm and height 6 m over a broad range of operating conditions covering both the bubbling and turbulent flow regimes. Visual observations, pressure fluctuations and steady gas tracer experiments showed that louver baffles can break bubbles, as indicted by the lower amplitudes and higher mean frequencies of differential pressure fluctuations, but they were only effective for superficial gas velocities <∼0.7 m/s for the FCC particles considered in this study. The ability of louver baffles to break bubbles reached a maximum near the onset of the turbulent flow regime. A gas cushion of low particle concentration appeared below the louver baffle, and its height increased with increasing superficial gas velocity, indicating increasing suppression of solids backmixing. Internal emulsion circulation was promoted above the louver baffle, causing an uneven distribution of gas flow. The addition of louver baffles reduced the upstream tracer gas concentrations by 80-90%, indicating a significant decrease in the backmixing fluxes of both gas and solids across the baffle layer. The tracer gas concentrations above the louver baffles increased resulting from the promoted emulsion circulation by louver baffles.     

Experimental and numerical study of fluid dynamic parameters in a jetting fluidized bed of a binary mixture

The solid circulation pattern, the voidage profile, and the jet penetration height have been investigated experimentally and computationally in a cold-flow model of jetting fluidized beds (JFBs) of a binary mixture in this paper. This rectangular two-dimensional bed is 0.30 m wide and 2.05 m high with a central jet and a conical distributor, which roughly stands for the ash-agglomerating fluidized-bed coal gasifier. A video camera and coloured particle tracer method were employed to explore the fluid dynamics in the bed. In terms of the average physical properties of binary mixtures, a hydrodynamic model describing the gas-solid flow characteristics in a jetting bed is resolved by using a modified Semi-Implicit Method for Pressure-Linked Equation (SIMPLE) algorithm. This paper focuses on three features of the fluid dynamics—solid circulation pattern, voidage profile, and jet penetration height. The solid circulation pattern is composed of three regions: the jetting region, the bubble street, and the annular region. Above the central nozzle the time-averaged isoporosity contours are almost elliptic, while near the walls of the bed, the voidage in high solid concentration region is approximately equal to that at the minimum fluidization state. The jet penetration height increases with increasing jet gas velocity and with decreasing average particle diameter. The increase in weight percentage of the lighter component in the binary system reveals that reduction of average density causes the enlargement of jet penetration height. The simulated results show good agreement with the experimental data.     

CFD simulation of flow pattern and jet penetration depth in gas-fluidized beds with single and double jets

A simple two-fluid model is validated by comparing single-jet fluidization experiments and numerical predictions. Subsequently, flow pattern and jet penetration depth are explored numerically in the bed with double jets under equal and unequal gas velocities. Glass balltoni with a density of 2550 kg/m³ and a diameter of 275 μm is employed as solid phase. The model used in this study considers the effect of the dispersed solid phase on both gas and particle momentum equations of the inviscid model A (Gidaspow, 1994). Numerical simulations are carried out in the platform of CFX 4.4, a commercial CFD code, together with user-defined FORTRAN subroutines. Both jet penetration depth and jet frequency predicted are in good quantitative agreement with measurements in an incipiently fluidized bed with a single jet. By combining solid volume fraction distribution and particle-phase velocity vector profile, three flow patterns (isolated, merged and transitional jets) are identified in the gas-fluidized bed with double jets, which depend more on the nozzle distance than the jet gas velocity. For the equal jet gas velocity, the jet penetration depth decreases with increasing nozzle distance in the merged-jet and transitional-jet regions, then reaches a minimum value in the transitional-jet region, and finally keeps steady in the isolated-jet region. For the unequal jet gas velocity, the merged jet penetration depth increases with increase in the velocity of one jet as the other jet gas velocity is fixed, whilst the jet penetration depths change a little in the transitional-jet region and remain a constant in the isolated-jet region.     

Rationalising MRI, conductance and pressure drop measurements of the trickle-to-pulse transition in trickle beds

Recent MRI data have shown that the transition from trickle to pulsing flow in trickle-bed reactors occurs over a range of liquid velocities at constant gas velocity. The transition is initiated by isolated local pulsing events, which increase in number with increase in liquid velocity until a maximum number exists. Above this liquid velocity, which we have termed the transition point, the individual pulses merge until a single macro-scale pulse is formed and the whole bed demonstrates pulsing flow. In this paper we compare the characterisation of the transition obtained using conductance and pressure drop measurements with that obtained using MRI. Using the insights gained from the 3-D MRI measurements, recorded with a data acquisition time of 280 ms, it is shown that the conductance and pressure drop measurements are sensitive to different stages of the evolution of the hydrodynamic transition, a factor important when using these different measurements in the development and validation of numerical and theoretical models. Conductance measurements identify unambiguously only the onset of the single macro-scale pulse regime, consistent with a determination of the transition point made by visual observation. In contrast, pressure drop measurements are sensitive to both the onset of formation of local pulses and the liquid velocity at which the maximum number of liquid pulses occurs. We also show how a combination of conductance and pressure drop measurements can be used to fully characterise the transition, thereby enabling translation of the insights gained by MRI into a robust measurement strategy for use on larger-scale reactors. Data are reported for a cylindrical column of length 70 cm and inner diameter 43 mm, packed with cylindrical porous γ-Al₂O₃ packing elements of length and diameter 3 mm. The bed was operated under conditions of co-current downflow of air and water, at ambient temperature and a pressure of 2 barg. Gas and liquid superficial velocities were in the range 25-300 and 0.9-, respectively.     

大型射流流化床的流型转变与射流深度

在高 8m、直径 0 .5m的大型射流流化床中 ,通过摄像分析法 ,研究了射流、喷流两种流型的转变 .结果表明在低静床高、大射流气速下易出现喷流 ;喷流出现时 ,功率谱主频射流气速曲线上出现一转折点 .转折点射流气速与摄像法得出的流型转变射流气速相同 .提出了射流、喷流流型转变关系式 .同时发现射流深度随射流气速变大而增大 ,结合二维射流床射流深度的研究结果 ,得出了射流深度的预测式     

大型双射流流化床的流体动力学特性

在Ф0 .5m× 8m大型双射流流化床中 ,通过摄像、放像逐帧分析法和sthVCD软件分析录像转换的VCD ,得到了不同管间距下双射流典型的运动图像 .同时研究了两射流独立存在区、过渡区和射流合并区 3种流型的相互转变 ,得出了流型转变的关系式 .不同射流管间距下相同射流气速的射流深度相比 ,管间距减小则射流深度减小 ;在较小的管间距和相对高的射流气速下 ,两射流在射流深度之内始终合并 ,表现为射流合并高度 .得出了射流深度、射流合并高度的定量关系式 .分数维关联维数表明大型双射流流化床是一个确定性混沌系统 ,考查了管间距、静床高度对关联维数的影响     

气固流化床内射流穿透深度的CFD模拟及其实验验证

在经典的Gidaspow无黏性双流体模型中考虑离散颗粒对流体和固体动量守恒方程的影响后,建立了一个具有模拟大规模流化床内气固两相流体动力学特性潜在优势的简化数学模型。在CFX4.4商业化软件平台上通过增加用户自定义子程序考察了二维气固流化床(高2.00 m、宽0.30 m)内射流气速、喷嘴尺寸、环隙气速和静床高度对射流穿透深度的影响,并以树脂颗粒(粒径670 μm、密度1474 kg·m^-3)为研究对象在厚度为0.025 m的矩形床内进行了对比实验。结果表明,选取空隙率为0.8的等高线作为射流边界比较合适;射流穿透深度随射流气速或射流喷口尺寸的增加而增大;射流周围环隙气速由0变到最小流化速度时,射流穿透深度随环隙气速增加而增大,在最小流化速度时达到最大值,然后随环隙气速增加单调减小,当环隙气速大于2.5倍最小流化速度时,射流穿透深度减小程度变缓;在相同射流气速下射流穿透深度随着静床高度的增加而减小,静床高度对射流穿透深度的影响随着射流气速增加呈现扩大的趋势。     

Limestone particle attrition and size distribution in a small circulating fluidized bed

Limestone particle attrition was investigated in a small circulating fluidized bed reactor at temperatures from 25 to 850 °C, 1 atm pressure and superficial gas velocities from 4.8 to 6.2 m/s. The effects of operating time, superficial gas velocity and temperature were studied with fresh limestone. No calcination or sulfation occurred at temperatures ?580 °C, whereas calcination and sulfation affected attrition at 850 °C. Increasing the temperature (while maintaining the same superficial gas velocity) reduced attrition if there was negligible calcination. Attrition was high initially, but after ∼24 h, the rate of mass change became constant. The ratio of initial mean particle diameter to that at later times increased linearly with time and with (U_g − U_mf)², while decreasing exponentially with temperature, with an activation energy for fresh limestone of −4.3 kJ/mol. The attrition followed Rittinger’s surface theory [Beke B. Comminution. Budapest: Akademiai Kiado, 1964; Ray YC, Jiang TS, Wen CY. Particle attrition phenomena in a fluidized bed. Powder Technol 1987a; 49:193-206]. The change of surface area of limestone particles was proportional to the total excess kinetic energy consumed and to the total attrition time, whereas the change of surface area decreased exponentially with increasing temperature. At 850 °C, the attrition rate of calcined lime was highest, whereas the attrition rate was lowest for sulfated particles. When online impact attrition was introduced, the attrition rate was about an order of magnitude higher than without impacts.     

Granular temperature in a liquid fluidized bed as revealed by diffusing wave spectroscopy

We report granular temperature and solid fraction fields for a thin rectangular bed (20×200 mm cross-section and 500 mm high) of glass particles (mean diameter of 165 μm and density of 2500 kg/m³) fluidized by water for superficial velocities ranging from 0.05U_t, which is approximately double the minimum fluidization velocity, to 0.49U_t, where U_t is the particle terminal velocity estimated by fitting the Richardson-Zaki correlation to the bed expansion data. At superficial velocities below 0.336U_t, the solid fraction and granular temperature are uniform throughout the bed. At higher superficial velocities, the solid fraction tends to decrease with height above the distributor, whilst the granular temperature first increases to a maximum before decaying towards the top of the bed. Correlation of the mean granular temperature with the mean solid fraction and the local granular temperature with the local solid fraction both suggest that the granular temperature in the liquid fluidized bed can be described solely in terms of the solid fraction. The granular temperature increases monotonically with solid fraction to a maximum at φ≈0.18 where it then decreases monotonically as φ approaches the close-packed limit.     

流化床内垂直向上射流脉动特性的试验研究

本文利用图像处理技术,得到了二维流化床内垂直向上射流深度的时间序列。基于Ｒ／Ｓ分析方法,得到了表征射流脉动强弱的Ｈｕｒｓｔ指数和分数维。研究了流化数、射流初始速度、颗粒平均粒径及静态床层高度对射流脉动特性的影响。结果表明：垂直向上射流的脉动随射流初始速度、流化数、静态床层高度以及颗粒平均粒径的增加而减弱。     

Modeling of Gas‐Particle Turbulent Flow in Spout‐Fluid Bed by Computational Fluid Dynamics with Discrete Element Method

Gas and solid turbulent flow in a cylindrical spout‐fluid bed with conical base were investigated by incorporating various gas‐particle interaction models for two‐way coupling simulation of discrete particle dynamics. The gas flow field was computed by a k‐ϵ two‐equation turbulent model, the motion of solid particles was modeled by the discrete element method. Drag force, contact force, Saffman lift force, Magnus lift force and gravitational force acting on individual particles were considered in the mathematical models. Calculations on the cylindrical spout‐fluid bed with an inside diameter of 152 mm, a height of 700 mm, a conical base of 60° and the ratio of void area of 3.2 % were carried out. Based on the simulation, the gas‐solid flow patterns at various spouting gas velocities are presented. Besides, the changes in particle velocity, particle concentration, collision energy, particle and gas turbulent intensities at different proportions of fluidizing gas to total gas flow are discussed.     

DEM simulation of particle mixing in flat-bottom spout-fluid bed

The particle mixing mechanism affects the rate of the process and the achievable homogeneity. This paper presents a numerical study of the particle motion and mixing in flat-bottom spout-fluid bed. In the numerical model, the particle motion is modeled by discrete element method (DEM) and the gas motion is modeled by κ–? two-equation turbulent model. Validation with experiments is first carried out by comparing solid flow pattern and bed pressure drop at various gas velocities. Then, particle velocities, obtained from DEM simulations, are presented to reveal the mixing mechanisms. On the basic, the dependence of mixing index on the time and the effect of gas velocity on mixing and dead zone (stagnant solid) are discussed, respectively. The results indicate that the spouting gas is the driving force for the formation of particle circulation roll, resulting in the mixing. The convective mixing caused by the motion of circulation roll, shear mixing induced by the relative move of circulation rolls and diffusive mixing generated by random walk of particle among circulation rolls are three different mixing mechanisms in spout-fluid bed. The increase of spouting gas velocity promotes the convective and shear mixing. While increasing the fluidizing gas velocity improves significantly the convective mixing and but weakens the shear mixing. Both of them yield a reduction in the dead zone.     

Evaluation of air flow resistance across a green fig bed for selecting an appropriate pressure drop prediction equation

In this study the physical properties of green fig (Ficus carica L.) at different moisture contents were measured. Pressure drop across a bed of green fig was also evaluated. The moisture content and air flow ranges used in this study were 5.74-34.08% (db) and 0.2-1.1 (m³ s⁻¹ m⁻²), respectively. To measure resistance to air flow an appropriate test rig was designed and fabricated. A thick bed of seven depths of loose and random filling of fig bed were envisaged (5, 10, …, 35 cm). Principle dimensions, geometric mean diameter, sphericity, roughness factor of fig kernels and bulk density increased with an increase in moisture content, whereas kernel density and porosity decreased with an increase in fig moisture content. The air flow resistance across the bed increased with an increase in bed depth and moisture content. The modified Ergun model with higher values for coefficient of determination, lower values for root mean square error and mean relative deviation modulus was the best model for predicting pressure drop across green figs bed for the conditions studied.     

Fluidized bed ash cooler used in a circulating fluidized bed boiler: An experimental study and application

The performance of a fluidized bed ash cooler was studied using a cold experiment bench. The air flow rate, particle size of the solids and air distributor type are considered to be the key parameters of the operation of a fluidized bed ash cooler (FBAC). It was found that the amount of fluidizing air directly affects the conveying of ash and that they have a quadratic relationship. An acceptable particle size distribution for the solids is d₅₀ < 450 μm. Furthermore, the experiment reveals that the height of the weir in the FBAC does not affect the conveying of the ash flow. The influence of injected air on the transportation of ash is not significant. Optimal air nozzle dimensions are presented.