Numerical analysis of the dynamics in gas-solid fluidized beds and experimental validation using ultra-fast X-ray tomography

Bubble characteristics in a cylindrical gas-solid fluidized bed have been studied with a two-fluid model (TFM) based on Kinetic theory of granular flow and validated with experiments performed with X-ray computed tomography (XRT). It is shown that the equivalent bubble diameter increases with height from the gas distributor plate. Experimental and TFM results are in good agreement for glass particles. Darton et al. (1) and Werther (2) correlation slightly over-predict bubble size. XRT and simulations results show similar trend for LLDP and glass particles. KTGF theory performs better for glass particles, and is in good agreement with XRT results.