Turbulence modulation of dense two-phase flows: Comment on “Modelling of dense gas-particle flow in a circulating fluidized bed by Distinct Cluster Method (DCM)”

In a recent paper, Liu X. and Xu X. [2009. Modelling of dense gas-particle flow in a circulating fluidized bed by Distinct Cluster Method (DCM). Powder Technology 195, 235-244] reported the results of numerical simulations of a circulating fluidized bed using Discrete Cluster Method (DCM). We comment on the veracity of the use of a one-way turbulence model to predict turbulence in the context of dense and moderately dense two-phase flows.     

Detailed measurements of flow structure inside a dense gas–solids fluidized bed

Detailed local flow structures are investigated in bubbling and turbulent fluidized bed with FCC particles. The operating conditions ranges from 0.06 to 1.4 m/s. Extensive experiments are carried out using a newly developed optical fiber probe system, which can measure the solids concentration and velocity at multi-points. The results reveal that with increasing U_g, local solids concentrations go through three evolution stages, reflecting a gradual regime transition process. Under all operating conditions, upflowing and descending particles co-exist at all measuring locations. The upflowing particle velocity is strong function of both superficial gas velocity and spatial position. However, the descending particle velocity mainly depends on superficial gas velocity. The bed radial symmetry and the effects of static bed height on the local flow structures are also investigated.     

Study of cluster formation in dense two-phase flow using a multi-lattice deterministic model

To simulate cluster formation in dense two-phase flow, a multi-lattice deterministic trajectory (MLDT) model is developed. The actual inter-particle collision and particle motion are treated by a Lagrangian trajectory model with three sets of lattices to reduce computation time. Initially, the MLDT model is used to simulate dense gas-particle flow in a vertical channel for validation with available simulated and experimental data. Using the MLDT model, effects of particle properties and flow parameters on cluster formation are studied. It is shown that cluster formation is enhanced by the reduction of particle restitution coefficient and increase of original particle volume fraction.     

Dynamics of gas-particle flow in circulating fluidized beds

The flow of gas—particle mixtures in a circulating fluidized bed has been studied, probing the flow behavior under both stable and unstable operating conditions. A novel feature of our work is the use of electrical capacitance tomography to image particle distribution over the cross-section at one elevation in the standpipe. In addition, we have also obtained data on pressure profile and aeration rate in the standpipe, particle circulation rate in the circulating fluidized bed and riser gas flow rate under various operating conditions. Here, we report experimental results obtained for two different particles, both belonging to Geldart type A. At low aeration rates, a stable dense phase flow is obtained in the standpipe. At high aeration rates, the flow became unstable, manifesting low frequency oscillations in the flow characteristics. Our results suggest that, under conditions explored in the present study, this instability originates in the standpipe and that any attempt to model it should consider the interaction between the various components of the circulating fluidized bed system.     

A device for measuring solids flowrate in a circulating fluidized bed

The on-line measurement of solids flowrate is important to numerous industrial processes. This paper considers a variation of impact-type solids flow meters suitable for use in numerous applications, including circulating fluidized beds (CFBs). The solids flowrate meter introduced herein is on-line, capable of operation in high temperature environments, and useful for a broad range of flowrates with good linearity, accuracy and fast response time. The flow meter works by measuring the torque that results on a hinged plate when falling solids impact the plate. A theoretical model of the device is developed and its results are compared to experimental data for the operation with various solids.     

入口结构对18 m气固循环流化床提升管内颗粒流动特性的影响

在高18 m、内径80 mm的循环流化床提升管内分别考察了三种入口结构对颗粒流动特性的影响。实验结果表明：入口结构主要影响提升管底部区域的颗粒流动特性,不同入口结构对颗粒流动影响不同。相同操作条件下,当采用多管式入口结构时,径向上提升管底部区域的颗粒浓度分布相对均匀,轴向上颗粒能够迅速达到充分发展状态,充分发展高度在9 m左右;当采用多孔板入口结构时,径向上提升管底部颗粒浓度差别较大,轴向上颗粒发展较慢,需要更高高度才能达到充分发展,充分发展高度约为11 m;当采用单管式入口结构时,径向上颗粒浓度分布和轴向上颗粒充分发展速度均处于前两者之间,底部颗粒浓度径向分布仍为中间稀、边壁浓的不均匀分布,颗粒浓度轴向充分发展高度约为10 m。     

网格尺寸对循环流化床内气固两相流动的影响

将基于能量最小多尺度方法(EMMS)的曳力模型耦合到双流体模型中,并针对循环流化床内的气固两流动进行了模拟研究。采用全滑移壁面边界条件处理颗粒相,考察了3种网格尺度对轴向空隙率和出口颗粒循环量等气固流动特性的影响。计算结果表明,应用EMMS曳力模型处理相间作用力,同时在采用全滑移壁面边界条件处理颗粒相时,双流体模型能够正确预测轴向空隙率分布。采用网格尺寸为2.325 mm×20 mm时,模拟结果和实测数据吻合较好,表明在循环流化床的数值模拟中选择恰当的网格尺度是极为重要的。     

Mass transfer around freely moving active particles in the dense phase of a gas fluidized bed of inert particles

The mass transfer coefficient around freely moving active particles under bubbling/slugging fluidized bed conditions was measured in a lab-scale reactor. The technique used for the measurements consisted in the oxidation reaction of carbon monoxide at over one or few Pt catalyst spheres immersed in an inert bed of sand. It was shown that this technique is simple and accurate, and allows to overcome most of the difficulties and uncertainties associated with other available techniques. The experimental campaign was carried out by varying the fluidization velocity (0.15-0.90 m/s), the active particle size (1.0-10.0 mm) and the inert particle size (0.1-1.4 mm). Results were analyzed in terms of the particle Sherwood number. Experimental data showed that Sh is not influenced by the fluidization velocity and by a change of regime from bubbling to slugging, whereas it increases with a square root dependence with the minimum fluidization velocity and with the active particle size. These results strongly suggest that the active particles only reside in the dense phase and never enter the bubble/slug phase. Data were excellently fitted by a Frössling-type correlation:

Sh=2.0·ε_mf+K·(Re_mf/ε_mf)^1/2·Sc^1/3     

Numerical analysis of interphase heat and mass transfer of cluster in a circulating fluidized bed

Interphase heat and mass transfer characteristics of a naphthalene particle cluster in a circulating fluidized riser are numerically analyzed using a three-dimensional CFD model. Heat and mass transfer characteristics of gas over an in-line array of three naphthalene particles and an isolated naphthalene particle are analyzed. Distributions of gas concentration, temperature and velocity are obtained. The heat and mass transfer rates of gas-to-cluster increase with the increase of the cluster porosity and Reynolds number. Present simulations indicate that the small cluster gives higher heat and mass transfer coefficients than those of the large cluster. The heat and mass transfer rates of individual particles in the cluster are lower than that of an isolated particle and particles in an in-line array under a given cluster porosity.     

Development of a novel fluidized bed ash cooler for circulating fluidized bed boilers: Experimental study and application

A novel bottom ash cooler (BAC) called compound fluidized bed ash cooler (CFBAC) was developed in this paper. The CFBAC combined the major technical features of spouted bed and bubbling bed, and could achieve the selective discharge on the bottom ash. Experiments about the gas-solid flow characteristics of the CFBAC were conducted in a visible cold test rig. The experimental results indicated that the separation chamber working in the spouted bed state had a good particle separation effect on the boiler bottom ash. A small quantity of fluidizing air was needed for the cooling chambers to work in the bubbling bed state. The particle separation effect could be controlled by the fluidizing air flow and physical dimensions such as the height of separation partition. The CFBAC had also been industrially applied in a 300 MW circulating fluidized bed unit. The application showed that the CFBAC had a well separation effect, an excellent adaptability on the bottom ash, a good cooling effect and a large ash discharge capacity over 30 t/h. Compared with the water-cooled BAC, the CFBAC had a better energy conservation performance.     

Modelling and simulation of a gas–solids dispersion flow in a high-flux circulating fluidized bed (HFCFB) riser

Radial solids velocity profiles were computed on seven axial levels in the riser of a high-flux circulating fluidized bed (HFCFB) using a two-phase 3-D computational fluid dynamics model. The computed solids velocities were compared with experimental data on a riser with an internal diameter of 76 mm and a height of 10 m, at a high solids flux of 300 kg m⁻² s⁻¹ and a superficial velocity of 8 m s⁻¹. Several hundreds of experimental and numerical studies on CFBs have been carried out at low fluxes of less than 200 kg m⁻² s⁻¹, whereas only a few limited useful studies have dealt with high solids flux. The k– two-phase turbulence model was used to describe the gas–solids flow in an HFCFB. The model predicts a core–annulus flow in the dilute and developed flow regions similar to that found experimentally, but in the region of highest solids concentration it is somewhat overpredicted at the level close to the inlet.     

Gas backmixing in the dense region of a circulating fluidized bed

The gas backmixing characteristics in a circulating fluidized bed (0.1 m-IDx5.3-m high) have been determined. The gas backmixing coefficient (D_ba) from the axial dispersion model in a low velocity fluidization region increases with increasing gas velocity. The effect of gas velocity onD _ba in the bubbling bed is more pronounced compared to that in the Circulating Fluidized Bed (CFB). In the dense region of a CFB, the two-phase model is proposed to calculate D_bc from the two-phase model and mass transfer coefficient (k) between the crowd phase and dispersed phase. The gas backmixing coefficient and the mass transfer coefficient between the two phases increase with increasing the ratio of average particle to gas velocities (U_p/U_g).     

The characteristics of cluster in a high density circulating fluidized bed

The cluster images in a high density circulating fluidized bed (HDCFB) measured by a one-dimensional optical fiber image analysis system are studied. The experimental results show that the characteristics of cluster in the riser vary greatly at different operating conditions. The radial cluster size, the cluster interception time and the probability of cluster appearance increase with bed density and decrease with gas velocity. Based on the analysis of the cluster image at various operating conditions, correlations of the radial cluster size, the cluster interception time and the probability of cluster appearance in a HDCFB are proposed. It is found that they are related to local solids concentration and gas velocity.     

Solids concentration in the fully developed region of circulating fluidized bed downers

To investigate solids concentration in the fully developed region of co-current downward gas-solid flow, actual solids concentrations were measured in a circulating fluidized bed (CFB) downer with 9.3 m in height and 0.1 m in diameter using a fiber optical probe. The results obtained from this work and in the literature show that the average solids concentration in the fully developed region of the CFB downers is not only a function of the corresponding terminal solids concentration, but the operating conditions and particle properties also have influences on the average solids concentration in the fully developed region of the CFB downers. Particle diameter and density affect the solids concentrations differently under different operating conditions. Downer diameters almost have no influence on the solids concentrations. By taking into account the effects of operating conditions, particle properties and downer diameters, an empirical correlation to predict the solids concentrations in the fully developed region of CFB downers is proposed. The predictions of the correlation are in good agreement with the experimental data of this work and in the literature.     

Experiment and simulation using diffusion flux model for gas-particle two-phase flow in a suspension bed

A mathematical model of multi-phase turbulent flow based on the diffusion flux model and the numerical simulation method to analyze the gas-particle flow structures have been developed. The diffusion flux model in which the accelerations due to various forces are taken into account for the calculation of the diffusion velocity of the particles enables its application to the analysis of multi-dimensional gas-particle two-phase flow. In order to verify the accuracy and efficiency of the numerical simulations, an experimental study of gas-particle flow in a suspension bed has been conducted. The numerical analysis results by using the diffusion flux model agree reasonably well with the experimental investigation. It is confirmed that the diffusion flux model has the capacity of correctly simulating the multi-dimensional gas-particle two-phase flow.     

Estimate of solid flow rate from pressure measurement in circulating fluidized bed

A method is described to estimate solid mass flow rate based on measurement of pressure drop in horizontal section of circulating fluid bed (CFB). A theoretical model was derived based on momentum balance equation and used to predict the solids flow rate. Several approaches for formulating such models are compared and contrasted. A correlation was developed that predicts the solids flow rate as a function of pressure drop measured in the horizontal section of piping leading from the top of the riser to the cyclone, often referred to as the cross-over. Model validation data was taken from literature data and from steady state, cold flow, CFB tests results of five granular materials with various sizes and densities in which the riser was operated in core-annular and dilute flow regimes. Experimental data were taken from a 0.20 m ID cross-over piping and compared to literature data generated in a 0.10 m ID cross-over pipe. The solids mass flow rate data were taken from statistically designed experiments over a wide range of Froude number , load ratio , Euler number , density ratio , Reynolds number , and Archimedes number . Several correlations were developed and tested to predict the solids mass flux based on measuring pressure drop in the horizontal section of CFB. It was found that load ratio is a linear function of the Euler number and that each of these expressions all worked quite well (R² > 95%) for the data within the range of conditions from which the coefficients were estimated.     

内循环快速流化床流动特性研究

建立了一种新型的内循环流化床并实现了快速流态化运转，根据轴向和径向颗粒浓度的测定结果，分析了气固环隙流动和圆管流的差异，经实验数据关联，得到了曳力系数比值Ｃ＿ｄ／Ｃ＿（ｄｓ）随浓稀相极限颗粒浓度的变化趋势；实验中还考察了颗粒浓度受操作条件及物性参数的影响结果，并与传统空管快速床进行了比较。     

Fractal characteristics of gas-solids flow in a circulating fluidized bed

A fractal approach is adopted to describe the dynamic behavior of a circulating fluidized bed. Two times series, differential pressure fluctuations along the riser height and solids momentum fluctuations along the radial direction, are measured and analyzed in terms of fractal dimensions. The influences of operating conditions and axial/radial positions on the fractal dimension are discussed. Attempts are also made to interpret the flow structure in the bed in terms of the fractal dimension. It is found that fractal analysis can provide a useful tool for understanding the characteristics of gas-solids flow in circulating fluidized beds.     

Continuous measurement of solids flow in a circulating fluidized bed

A modified impact probe for continuous measurement of solids circulation rate in a circulating fluidized bed has been developed based on a principle similar to a momentum probe. The response curves of solid flow from the probe have been characterized and calibrated in a test column (0.05 m-I.D.x0.80 m-high). The probe was validated in situ in the downcomer of a circulating fluidized bed (0.10 m-I.D.x4.80 m-high). The solid circulation rates obtained by the modified impact probe well agree with the measured solids circulation rate by the descent time method. Presented at the Int’/Sym. on Int’l Symp. on Chem. Eng. (Cheju, Feb. 8–10, 2001), dedicated to Prof. H. S. Chun on the occasion of his retirement from Korea University.     

Solids flow characteristics in loop-seal of a circulating fluidized bed

The hydrodynamics of solids (FCC) recycle in a loop-seal (0.08 m) at the bottom of the downcomer (0.08 m-I.D.x4.0 m-high) in a circulating fluidized bed (0.1 m-I.D.x 5.3 m-high) have been determined. Solid flow rate through the loop-seal increases linearly with increasing aeration rate. At the same aeration rate, the maximum solid flow rate can be obtained at a loop-seal height-to-diameter ratio of 2.5. The effects of solid inventory, solid circulation rate and gas velocity on pressure balance around the CFB have been determined. At a given gas velocity and solid circulation rate, pressure drops across the downcomer and loop-seal increase linearly with increasing solids inventory in the bed. At a constant solid inventory, pressure drops across the riser and the downcomer increase with increasing solid circulation rate but decrease with increasing gas velocity in the riser. The obtained solid flow rate has been correlated with pressure drop across the loop-seal.