A study of heat transfer in a circulating fluidized bed

An experimental investigation was carried out to study the effects of operating parameters on the local bed-to-wall heat transfer coefficient in a 4.5 m tall, 0.150 m diameter circulating fluidized bed with a bed temperature in the range of 65°C to 80°C, riser flow rate varying from 1400 litres/min to 2000 litres/min, bed inventory in the range of 15 kg to 25 kg of sand, and average sand sizes of 200 μm, 400 μm and 500 μm. A heat flux probe was attached to the riser wall at five different vertical locations for measuring the heat flux from the bed to the wall surface. From the present work, the heat transfer coefficient in the dilute phase was found to be in the range of 62 to 83 W/m²K, 51 to 74 W/m²K, and 50 to 59 W/m² K for sand sizes of 200 μm, 400 μm and 500 μm, respectively. Relevant mathematical correlations were developed to predict local heat transfer coefficient based on the results of the practical work.     

Modelling heat transfer in a circulating fluidized bed

A model for the bed-to-wall heat transfer under low temperature condition in a circulating fluidized bed (CFB) was developed based upon a simplified cluster renewal concept. The age of clusters in contact with the wall at different locations along the height of the CFB was estimated as the weighted average age considering their formation and disintegration. One set of experimental data on heat transfer in a 4.5-metre high, 0.15-metre diameter CFB under low temperature condition (67–77°C) was chosen for comparison with prediction of local heat transfer coefficient. The experimental observation and prediction have shown a qualitative agreement.     

Method of calculation of heat transfer coefficient of the heater in a circulating fluidized bed furnace

Knowledge of heat transfer coefficients is important in the design and operation of CFB boilers. It is the key to determining the area and the layout of the heat transfer surfaces in a CFB furnace. Local bulk density has a close relationship to the local heat transfer coefficient. Using a heat flux probe and bulk density sampling probe, the local bed to wall heat transfer coefficient in the furnace of a 75 t/h CFB boiler was measured. According to the experimental results and theoretical analysis of the facts that influence the heat transfer, the heat transfer coefficient calculation method for the CFB furnace was developed. The heat transfer surface configuration, heating condition, and the material density are considered in this method. The calculation method has been used in the design of CFB boilers with a capacity from 130 t/h to 420 t/h. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res, 31(7): 540–550, 2002; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/htj.10056     

Heat transfer characteristics in a small-scale fluidized bed boiler

Heat transfer characteristics in a small-scale fluidized bed boiler (2MW_th) were studied using lignite and corn cob as fuels. Depending on air velocity, the heat transfer rates from bed to water membrane wall and from hot flue gas to convective tube bank were in the ranges 75–55% and 25–45% of the total heat absorbed by the boiler, respectively. At designed capacity, the heat transfer flux based on bed cross sectional area and on water membrane wall area were about 0·45 and 0·15 MWm⁻², respectively. Under the conditions studied, it was found that the overall heat transfer coefficient between bed and water membrane wall was 100–300 W m⁻² K⁻¹, whereas that between flue gas and convective tube bank was 10–30 Wm⁻² K⁻¹. The study of heat transfer to a horizontal tube immersed in the bed as well as placed in the freeboard region were also studied. The effective heat transfer coefficients were found to be 300–800 W m⁻² K⁻¹ for in-bed tube and 30–150 W m⁻² K⁻¹ for the freeboard region, depending on air velocity. Comparison of these data with those predicted by both modelling and correlation reported in the literature was also made. For the immersed tube, good agreement was observed for low air velocity, while at high air velocity the experiment produced results twice those estimated from modelling and correlation. For the freeboard region, the model gave a fair prediction.     

Bed-to-wall heat transfer behavior in a pressurized circulating fluidized bed

An experimental investigation has been made to study the effect of pressure and other relevant operating parameters on bed hydrodynamics and bed-to-wall heat transfer in a pressurized circulating fluidized bed (PCFB) riser column of 37.5 mm internal diameter and 1940 mm height. The experiments have been conducted with and without bed material for the consideration of frictional pressure drop due to gas density at elevated pressures. The pressure drop measured without sand particles is assumed as the pressure drop due to gas density for the calculation of bed voidage and suspension density profiles. The specially designed heat transfer probe is used to measure the bed-to-wall heat transfer coefficient. The experimental results have been compared with the published literature and good agreement has been observed. The axial bed voidage is less in the bottom zone of the riser column and is increasing along the height of the bed. With the increase in system pressure, the bed voidage is found to be increasing in the bottom zone and decreasing in the top zone. The heat transfer coefficient increases with the increase in system pressure as well as with the gas superficial velocity. The heat transfer coefficient is also observed to be increasing with the increase in average suspension density.     

Flow boiling heat transfer in circulating fluidized bed

In order to enhance heat transfer and mitigate contamination in the boiling processes, a new type of vapor-liquid-solid (3-phase) circulating fluidized bed boiling system has been designed, combining a circulating fluidized bed with boiling heat transfer. Experimental results show an enhancement of the boiling curve. Flow visualization studies concerning flow hydrodynamics within the riser column are also conducted whose results are presented and discussed.     

Axial and radial heat transfer studies in a circulating fluidized bed

The axial and radial variation of the heat transfer coefficient in a circulating fluidized bed riser column, and the effect of operating parameters thereon, are investigated. The experimental set-up consists of a riser column of 102 mm×102 mm in bed cross-section, 5·25 m in height with a return leg of the same dimensions. The unit is fabricated with plexiglass columns of 0·6 m in length which are interchangeable with one another. Two axial heat transfer test sections of 102 mm×102 mm in cross-section, 500 mm in height, and made of mild steel, are employed for the axial heat transfer study and one horizontal tube section of 22·5 mm OD made of mild steel is employed for the radial heat transfer study. The primary air velocity is varied between 4·21 and 7·30 m s⁻¹. Local sand of mean size (d_p) 248 μm is used as the bed material. One empirical model with the help of dimensional analysis has been proposed to predict the heat transfer coefficient to a bare horizontal tube in a CFB riser column and the model results are validated with the experimental data; good agreement has been observed. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Simulation study of flow and heat transfer in a thermosyphon

By establishing a mathematical model in the thermosyphon system, the numerical simulation method is used for the temperature field, flow field distribution in heat pipe simulated calculation in recent years. In this article, we combine the thermosyphon engineering actuality, build up the Nusselt model, write the visual program with the VB code, and make use of the computer to carry on imitating the calculation. Meanwhile, the calculation predicted temperature profile in the thermosyphon was compared with experimental measurements and a good agreement was observed. Through the research, it can provide theoretical basis for the optimization of heat pipe model in the future.     

Study on boiling heat transfer in liquid saturated particle bed and fluidized bed

An investigation on the effects of solid particles on boiling heat transfer enhancement is performed. The range of particle diameter is from millimeter to nanometer. The experimental results show that boiling heat transfer can be enhanced greatly by adding the solid particle into the liquid whether in fixed particle bed or in fluidized particle bed. The boiling enhancement is closely related to the particle size, the initial bed depth and the heat flux applied. The experiments show that boiling characteristics are greatly changed when a particle layer is put on the heated surface. The major effects of fixed particle bed on nucleate pool boiling heat transfer are the nucleation, bubble moving and thermal conductivity effect. A boiling heat transfer correlation is obtained to predict the boiling heat transfer coefficients in a liquid saturated porous bed. A volumetric convection mechanism of boiling heat transfer enhancement by fluidized particles is proposed. The calculated results from the model suggested in this paper agree reasonably with the experimental values.     

A study on heat transfer for immersed tube in internally circulating fluidized bed

INTRODUCTIONThemethodhowtodealwiththedomesticandindustrialwasteswithoutfurthercontaminationisoneofthemostimportantenvironmentalissues.Fluidizedbedcombustor(FBC)hasadvantagesofhighcombustionefficiency)lowpollution,convenienceinpreprocessingbeforefedin...     

Investigation of catalyst particle hydrodynamic and heat transfer in three phase flow circulating fluidized bed

Vaporization of gas oil droplets has significant effects on the gas-solid flow hydrodynamic and heat transfer characteristic. A three dimensional CFD model of the riser section of a CFB have been developed considering three phase flow hydrodynamic, heat transfer and evaporation of the feed droplets. Several experiments were performed in order to obtain the data needed to evaluate the model using a pilot scale CFB unit. The Eulerian approach was used to model both gas and catalyst particle phases comprising of continuity, momentum, heat transfer and species equations as well as an equation for solid phase granular temperature. The flow field and evaporating liquid droplet characteristics were modeled using the Lagrangian approach. The catalyst particle velocity and volume fraction were measured using a fiber optic probe. The comparison between model predictions of catalyst particle velocity and volume fraction with the experimental data indicated that they were in good agreements and the Syamlal-O'Brien was the most accurate drag equation. The CFD model was capable of predicting the main characteristic of the complex gas-solids flow hydrodynamic and heat transfer, including the cluster formation of the catalyst particles near the reactor wall. In addition, the simulation results showed droplet vaporization caused reduction of catalyst particle residence time. Moreover, the higher ratios of the feed to catalyst flow rates led to the lower values of the catalyst temperature profile minimum.     

Heat transfer characteristics in a pulsating fluidized bed in relation to bubble characteristics

A pulsating fluidized bed is operated with two sequential durations designated as an on‐period with injecting fluidization gas and an off‐period without it. The heat transfer coefficient between a vertically immersed heater and bed in a pulsating fluidized bed is measured under various pulse cycles and fluidized particles. The obtained results are compared with those in a normal fluidized bed with continuous fluidization air injection. The relationship between heat transfer coefficients and bubble characteristics, evaluated using a digital video camera, has also been investigated. For certain fluidized particles and operating pulse cycles, the fluidization of particles and the increment of heat transfer coefficients can be obtained under a mean air velocity based on a pulse cycle duration smaller than the minimum fluidization air velocity in a normal fluidized bed. Under the pulse cycles where a static bed through the whole bed is formed in the off‐period duration, the improved heat transfer rate over that in a normal fluidized bed can be measured. This may be attributed to large bubble formation. As heat transfer in the pulsating fluidized bed is obstructed with increasing time to keep a static bed due to the excessive off‐period duration, it is indicated that there is an optimum off‐period duration based on the heat transfer rate. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res, 31(4): 307–319, 2002; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/htj.10038     

CFD modeling of hydrodynamic and heat transfer in fluidized bed reactors

In this study, a gas–solid fluidized bed reactor has been simulated applying CFD techniques in order to investigate hydrodynamic and heat transfer phenomena. Reactor model predictions were compared with corresponding experimental data reported in the literature to validate the model. The results indicate that considering two solid phases, particles with smaller diameters have lower volume fraction at the bottom of the bed and higher volume fraction at the top of the bed. In addition, it was revealed that bed expansion was larger when a bimodal particle mixture was applied compared with the case of mono-dispersed particles. Gas and solid phase temperature distributions in the reactor were also computed, considering the hydrodynamic of the fluidized bed and the heat generated by the solid particles. The results showed that gas temperature increases as it moves upward in the reactor due to the heat of polymerization reaction leading to the higher temperatures at the top of the bed.     

振动流化床冷渣器内气固直接接触换热的研究

本文基于对振动流化床冷渣器现场工业性实验数据的分析,得出了该种冷渣器内气固表现换热系数的经验准则式。另外,根据能量守恒,本文还推导出了该种冷渣器出口气体及炉渣温度的计算公式,可用于其设计和校核。     

Large-particle movement and drag coefficient in a fluidized bed

Flow visualization studies of the behavior of a large particle in a fluidized bed were conducted using neutron radiography. The large particle moved according to the bed materials, especially in the wake of a bubble. When the density of the large particle was high, the particle moved with a velocity different from that of a bubble, and in some cases the particle moved downward through a bubble. When the density was low enough, the particle moved on the surface of the bubble wake. The drag force of the large particle immersed in a fluidized bed was measured. The drag force increased with an increase in the volumetric gas flux as well as with an increase in the particle diameter. The drag coefficient was derived and was well correlated on the basis of a two-phase model and experimentally determined effective viscosity of the bed materials. © 1997 Scripta Technica, Inc. Heat Trans Jpn Res, 26 (1): 54–67, 1997     

Study of heat transfer between an over-bed oil burner flame and a fluidized bed during start-up: Determination of the flame to bed convection coefficient

A study of the heat transfer processes between an over-bed burner flame and a fluidized bed during start-up as been conducted. Owing to the difficulty of estimating the flame to bed convection coefficient in an industrial boiler, convection coefficients were determined using a laboratory bench scale unit. Such convection heat transfer coefficients are obtained for 3 kg, 4 kg and 5.5 kg initial bed inventories by combining measured temperatures and flow rates with a mathematical model representing the complex energy exchange in the system. Results show that the height of the fluidized bed and its distance to the flame are an important factor in the overall heat transfer process, both by convection and radiation. For 5.5 kg, 4 kg and 3 kg initial bed inventories, the convection coefficients obtained, at the end of start-up, are 180 ± 30 W/m² K, 150 ± 20 W/m² K and 95 ± 10 W/m² K respectively. The determined convection coefficients can be utilized in the future as guides in the design of start-up systems for BFB boilers. The energy analysis performed also identified the major sources of heat losses in the bubbling fluidized bed.     

A cold model experimental study on the flow characteristics of bed material in a fluidized bed bottom ash cooler in a CFB boiler

IntroductionA fluidized bed bottom ash cooler is often used totreat high temperature bottom ash to reclaim heat andfine particles from the ash, and to have the ash easilytransported. Among the large CFB boilers in operation inthe world, there are many ash coolers that often workabnormally['-','].There are six fluidized bed bottom ash coolers in theimported 410im CFB boiler that was built and operatedin Gaoba power plant, Sichuan province, China in 1996N].High temperature slag-bond and jam …     

Numerical modeling of axial bed-to-wall heat transfer in a circulating fluidized bed combustor

The water-wall surfaces located above the secondary air inlet within the circulating fluidized bed (CFB) combustor are exposed to the axial bed-to-wall heat transfer process. In the current work, the axial bed-to-wall heat transfer coefficients are estimated for three different axial voidage profiles (covering three widely occurring average particle concentrations) in order to investigate the effect of voidage, time, initial and fixed temperature of the bed and annulus, and gas gap between wall and solid particles; on the axial heat transfer process. A 2D thermal energy balance model is developed to estimate the axial heat transfer values for the gas–solid suspension along the height of the riser column with horizontally changing mass distribution. The gas–solid mass distribution is fixed with time thus providing a spectrum of changes in axial bed-to-wall heat transfer profile with time. The current work provides an opportunity to understand the axial heat transfer relationship with particle concentration and instantaneous behaviour. The results from the work show that: (i) first few seconds of the suspension temperature near the wall has maximum energy thus providing a small time frame to transfer more heat to the surface (CFB wall); (ii) both axial and horizontal particle concentrations (influenced by the operating conditions) affect the axial heat transfer locally; (iii) initial temperature of the bed between average and maximum values provide end limits for the axial heat transfer; (iv) annulus region has higher thermal energy than the core due to increased particle presence; and (v) a particle-free zone near the wall (gas gap) having a maximum thickness of 1 mm, tends to reduce up to 25% of axial heat transfer value. The model trends have close agreement with experimental trends from published literature; but the model values differ when correlating with real values due to inconsistencies in riser diameter and nature of variation in parameters.     

自激式脉动流化床流化脉动特性的试验研究

试验研究了基于Rijke管的自激式脉动燃烧流化床的流化脉动特性。是否激起以基波为主的压力、声音等脉动信号是脉动的判断依据，因此试验主要研究了脉动的基波特性。脉动的压力值是激起的各次谐波声压和炉膛的原有压力的叠加，通过傅立叶转变对压力进行了频谱分析。实验还研究了不同床层高度和流化风速对脉动特性的影响，并定性分析了优化流化脉动，减少声损失的途径。     

Experimental methods of estimating heat transfer in circulating fluidized bed boilers

Four different experimental methods have been used for the estimation of the bed-to-membrane wall heat transfer in a 12 MW_th circulating fluidized bed boiler. The methods are compared for a case of normal operating conditions and the measured heat transfer coefficients are presented. In the central part of the combustion chamber where most of the cooling surface is located, the cross-sectional average suspension density normally varies in the range of 10–20 kg m⁻³ and the heat transfer coefficient is around 130 W m⁻² K⁻¹ with a scatter of ±15% due to the different methods. The methods are critically analyzed and the heat transfer data are compared with relevant literature data.