Characteristics of slug flow in a fluidized bed of polyethylene particles

The slug flow behavior of polyethylene particles was examined in a fluidized bed of 7 cm ID and 50 cm in height. The employed polymer particles were high density polyethylene (HDPE) with the average particle size of 603 μm. The slugging flow of polyethylene particles was analyzed from the measured pressure drop signals by classical statistical methods such as absolute average deviation, probability density function, power spectrum, auto-cor-relation, and cross-correlation. The results show that in spite of high dielectric constant of polymer particles, the slugging phenomena such as incipient slugging velocity, slugging frequency and slugging rise velocity were very similar to the Geldart B type non-polymeric particles. It was observed that slug frequencies decreased with gas velocity and the limiting slug frequency was observed for the gas velocities in this study.     

Vertical pneumatic conveying of particle plugs

Dense-phase pneumatic conveying of solids offers many advantages over dilute-phase conveying. The lower air velocities, and, consequently, lower particle velocities, result in lower pipe wear and lower particle attrition. This paper describes an experimental program that has been undertaken to study the flow pattern of cohesionless solids in vertical transport and to measure the parameters influencing the pressure drop required to move a single plug of solids. Highspeed photographic techniques have been used to observe the flow pattern of polyethylene particles (diameter ? 3 mm) in the vertical riser section of a circulating unit constructed from pipes with an internal diameter of 50.8 mm. The flow pattern resembles that of square-nosed slugging in a fluidized bed. The solids move up as “plugs” of bulk solids that occupy the entire cross-section of the pipe. Particles are seen to “rain” down from the back of one plug and then to be collected by the front of the next plug. Collecting these particles causes a stress on the plug front which is transmitted by powder mechanics forces axially through the plug and radially to the wall. The pressure drop required to move a single plug of cohesionless solids through the transport pipeline was measured as a function of the plug length, particle properties, pipe diameter, and the frontal stress. The results of these experiments are compared with a theoretical model.     

Geldart A类颗粒节涌床气固流动特性的实验及模拟

针对气固节涌床,在实验基础上,基于欧拉?欧拉双流体模型结合颗粒动力学理论,考虑Geldart A类颗粒聚团对气固间曳力的影响,采用修正后的Gidaspow曳力模型对气固节涌床进行数值模拟。结果表明,通过与实验结果及经验公式进行对比,修正的模型可准确合理地模拟流化床内节涌特性。表观气速0.09 m/s≤Ug≤0.39 m/s时,床层内部压力脉动标准偏差随表观气速增加而增加,流型由鼓泡转变为节涌直至节涌程度最大,床内气固流动主要受轴对称栓运动特性影响,床内压降、床层膨胀比、气栓平均上升速度、最大轴对称栓长度随表观气速增加而增加,最大轴对称栓产生位置随表观气速增加而降低;Ug>0.39 m/s后,床内压力脉动标准偏差随表观气速增加而降低,节涌程度降低至向湍动流态化流型转变,床内气固流动主要受壁面栓运动特性影响,增加表观气速,节涌床内压降变化幅度较小,气栓平均上升速度增加幅度加大,床层膨胀比及最大轴对称栓长度降低,最大轴对称栓产生的位置略有升高。     

Characterization of spouted bed regimes using pressure fluctuation signals

This work compares time, frequency and phase space analyses of pressure measurements in different spouted beds. The experiments were carried out in different constructions of spouted bed apparatuses, operated under ambient conditions and under different spouting regimes. Spouted beds are used when the conventional fluidized beds fail to achieve a homogeneous and stable flow regime as, for example, in the case of non-spherical particles and in poly dispersed and finely dispersed systems. Different fluidization regimes in spouted beds have been characterized by the analysis of pressure fluctuation signals. Several flow regimes are found to exist as: fixed bed, channel formation, bubbling formation, stable spouting and slugging bed regimes. Analyses of standard deviation and chaotic time series on pressure fluctuation signals are conducted to determine the transition gas velocities. A treatment technique using the Fast Fourier Transformation of measured pressure fluctuations was developed to create plots describing the bed behaviour evolution from fixed to slugging bed. At the beginning of stable spouting the amplitude of pressure fluctuations is uniform and small.     

The onset of slugging in gas—solid fluidized beds with large particles

The onset of slugging in gas—solid fluidized beds with relatively large particles was studied by means of pressure transducers coupled with the on-line cross-correlation technique. The rise velocity of bubbles was employed as the criterion for the onset of slugging. Different sizes and types of particles and different column diameters were used to obtain data on the bubble rise velocity. A semiempirical model has been derived to predict the superficial gas velocity at the onset of slugging. The model appears to predict the present and available experimental results reasonably well.     

离心流化床初始流化状态的研究(Ⅱ)实验研究

对离心流化床初始流化状态进行了实验研究。结果表明,下行程床层压降流速曲线的规律一致,流化时床层压降趋于稳定;上行程曲线受床体结构、物料装填方式和运行状况的影响很大。实验测定初始流化速度应采用下行程曲线。可视性实验证实了离心流化床逐层初始流化,已流化部分的床层物料充分混合。     

Performance of a large-cone-angle hydrocyclone—I: Hydrodynamics

As opposed to “normal” hydrocyclones, large-cone-angle hydrocyclones can be used to separate solids with equal free-fall velocities but with different densities. One of the applications of these cyclones is the recovery of heavy minerals from sand.In order to investigate the hydrodynamical behaviour of such a cyclone the following experiments have been carried out on two cyclones of diferent dimensions: determination of solids distribution at steady state operation; measurement of the residence time distribution of the liquid; pressure gradient and pressure drop measurements.From the experimental results it follows that at the bottom a bed of suspended solids rotates, which more or less seems to be fluidized. Similar to the derivation of an expression of the pressure gradient in a one-phase vortex flow from the Navier-Stokes equation, an expression of the pressure gradient in such a solid-liquid vortex flow has been obtained from two-phase momentum equations. From this theory it follows that in the rotating bed a secondary solids flow has to occur; solids are moving towards the centre at the bottom and away from the centre at the top.     

Investigation of Drying Geldart D and B Particles in Different Fluidization Regimes

Drying of nylon (Geldart D) and expanded polystyrene (Geldart B) particles in fixed and fluidized beds were studied experimentally and theoretically. Fluidized bed dryers are sometimes operated at velocities beyond bubbling fluidization to mitigate against de‐fluidization of surface wet particles. It was found that theoretical analysis using three different drying methods could predict the constant‐drying rate at such velocities and also across the entire fluidization regimes (fixed bed, bubbling, slugging and turbulent fluidization) as long as the bed remains completely fluidized. Results also showed that the theoretical predictions were accurate beyond previously reported velocity limits in a laboratory scale dryer. During bubbling fluidization, the cross flow factor method was used effectively to predict the influence of bubble phase on drying rates. In the falling‐rate period, it is demonstrated that the drying behaviour of nylon at different gas velocities can be characterised by a single normalized drying curve.     

Rise velocities of slugs and voids in slugging and turbulent fluidized beds

Using the cross-correlation function of two pressure fluctuation signals, the rise velocities of slugs and voids and the slug frequency in the slugging and turbulent fluidized beds of glass beads(d_p= 0.362 mm) have been determined in a 0.1 m-lD x 3.0 m high Plexiglas column The slug rise velocity in the slugging flow regime increases with an increase in gas velocity, while the void velocity remains almost constant with the variation of gas velocity in the turbulent flow regime. The slug frequencies are found to be insensitive to the increase of gas velocity in the slugging flow regime within the frequency range of 0.47–0.64 Hz. The data of the present and previous studies on the slug rise velocity in the slugging flow regime have been correlated as $$U_s = 1.73 \times 10^{ - 2} (\frac{{\bar d_p }}{{D_t }})^{0.093} (\frac{{\rho _S }}{{\rho _g }})^{ - 0.616} (U_g - U_{mf} ) + 0.35(gD_t )^{1/2} $$      

TWO-DIMENSIONAL TRANSIENT NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF SOLIDS AND GAS FLOW IN THE RISER SECTION OF A CIRCULATING FLUIDIZED BED

A computational fluid dynamics software (CFX) was modified for gas/particle flow systems and used to predict the flow parameters in the riser section of a circulating fluidized bed (CFB). Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) particles and air were used as the solids and gas phases, respectively. Two-dimensional, transient, isothermal flows were simulated for the continuous phase (air) and the dispersed phase (solid particles). Conservation equations of mass and momentum for each phase were solved using the finite volume numerical technique. Two-dimensional gas and particle flow profiles were obtained for the velocity, volume fraction, and pressure drop for each phase. Calculations showed that the inlet and exit conditions play a significant role in the overall mixing of the gas and particulate phases and in the establishment of the flow regime. The flow behavior was analyzed based on the different frequency of oscillations in the riser. Comparison of the calculated solids mass flux, solids density and pressure drop with the measured pilot-scale PSRI data (reported in this paper) showed a good agreement.     

Non-intrusive monitoring of bubbles in a gas-solid fluidized bed using vibration signature analysis

A reliable method was developed to study bubble behavior by analysis of vibration signals in fluidized beds. The advantage of this method is that the vibration probe is in indirect contact with the process. Accelerometers were used to record vibration signals generated by particle flow through the fluidized bed at various superficial gas velocities and particle sizes. Measurement of vibration signals, sampled at 25 kHz for 30 s, enabled investigation of changes in flow structure related to flow regime transitions. To study bubble behavior under different conditions, different particle sizes were used in the experiments. The measurements were extensively analyzed using wavelet and fast Fourier transforms. Results indicate that the vibration frequency generated by bubbles is between 1000 and 3000 Hz. The vibration analysis was effectively used to detect minimum fluidization and transition from bubbling to slugging in gas-solid fluidized beds.     

Two-dimensional transient numerical simulation of solids and gas flow in the riser section of a circulating fluidized bed

A computational fluid dynamics software (CFX) was modified for gas/particle flow systems and used to predict the flow parameters in the riser section of a circulating fluidized bed (CFB). Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) particles and air were used as the solids and gas phases, respectively. Two-dimensional, transient, isothermal flows were simulated for the continuous phase (air) and the dispersed phase (solid particles). Conservation equations of mass and momentum for each phase were solved using the finite volume numerical technique. Two-dimensional gas and particle flow profiles were obtained for the velocity, volume fraction, and pressure drop for each phase. Calculations showed that the inlet and exit conditions play a significant role in the overall mixing of the gas and particulate phases and in the establishment of the flow regime. The flow behavior was analyzed based on the different frequency of oscillations in the riser. Comparison of the calculated solids mass flux, solids density and pressure drop with the measured pilot-scale PSRI data (reported in this paper) showed a good agreement.     

Recognition of the flow regimes in the spouted bed based on fuzzy c-means clustering

Hilbert-Huang transformation has been applied to extract eigenvectors from the pressure fluctuation signals in the spouted bed. According on these eigenvectors, the flow regimes in the spouted bed could be classified into 4 clusters including ‘packed bed’, ‘stable spouting’, ‘bubbling fluidized bed’ and ‘slugging bed’ by chaos optimized fuzzy c-means clustering algorithm. The Elman neural network was used to recognize these four flow regimes, and the parameters in the Elman neural network were optimized by adaptive fuzzy particle swarm optimization algorithm. The recognition accuracies of ‘packed bed’, ‘stable spouting’, ‘bubbling fluidized bed’ and ‘slugging bed’ can reach 85%, 90%, 85% and 80% respectively.     

CHARACTERIZATION OF AXIAL NONUNIFORMITY IN FLUIDIZED BED BY THE AMPLITUDE OF LOCAL PRESSURE DROP FLUCTUATIONS

The amplitude of local pressure drop fluctuations was used to characterize the axial stability of a freely bubbling fluidized bed. The experiments were carried out in a bed of 0.318 m dia at normal and elevated temperatures. It was found that the transition between a freely bubbling zone, consisting of small bubbles distributed uniformly across the bed, and a zone of incipient slugging occurs if bubble to bed diameter ratio is about 0.15. The amplitude of local pressure drop fluctuations was found to be a linear function of gas velocity in a broad range of temperatures if measured in the freely bubbling zone     

Fluidization and slugging in large-particle systems

Square-nose slugging that occurs with large particles in relatively small-diameter fluidized beds shows certain similarities with the fluidization behaviour in a fluidized bed coal combustion system with closely packed heat-exchanger tubes. In the present investigation, square-nose slugging is studied in fluidized beds of 0.1 and 0.15 m I.D. with coarse sand and alumina particles, at ambient conditions. Recording of pressure fluctuations was used to analyse the fluidization behaviour. A remarkable change in the pressure fluctuation pattern occurs at the transition from normal fluidization to slugging: a more regular signal with a narrowed frequency spectrum is found.In the square-nose slugging regime, the pressure fluctuations seem to be caused by the disintegration of a rising solids slug, followed by the raining down of the particles. Experimental evidence for this mechanism was found in the behaviour of the magnitude of the pressure fluctuations as a function of operating variables.The frequency of square-nose slugging increases with approximately the square root of the bed diameter and appears to be independent of the type of particles used. The slug frequency decreases slightly with the gas velocity between about 0.8 and 1.8 m.s⁻¹, and is inversely proportional to the stationary bed height between 0.15 and 0.4 m.     

Comprehensive experimental investigation on biomass-glass beads binary fluidization: A data set for CFD model validation

Fluidization behavior of biomass and glass beads binary mixtures in a bubbling fluidized bed was experimentally investigated. Mixtures containing different mass fraction of Loblolly Pine white wood and glass beads were fluidized at different fluidization velocities. The particle properties were characterized in a QICPIC that uses a dynamic image processing method to measure both particle size and sphericity. The minimum fluidization velocity was determined using the pressure drop method. An image processing method was developed to capture the dynamic expanded bed height at a very high frequency. The effect of biomass mass fraction and inlet gas velocity on mixing and segregation behavior was studied and analyzed through pressure drop measurements. Pressure drop fluctuations and expanded bed height fluctuations via fast Fourier transform were analyzed and compared. The complete and accurate experimental data reported in this study could provide a benchmark data set for various computational fluid dynamics models validation, calibration, and identification.     

Gas–liquid two-phase flow behavior in minichannels bounded with a permeable wall

In the present work, gas–liquid two-phase flow behavior in minichannels bounded with permeable walls under flow conditions relevant to fuel cell applications was investigated. Two-phase flow pressure drop was measured and the data showed significant deviation from the Lockhardt–Martinelli (LM) approach due to the unique liquid side-introduction in the present work. A new approach was then developed to improve the prediction of two-phase pressure drop by incorporating variations of the liquid velocity along the channels into the original LM approach, which can be potentially employed to predict pressure drops in Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFCs) where liquid water emerges into the gas channels from the gas diffusion layer. Liquid slugs were found to occur in the channel section bounded with a permeable wall at high liquid flow rates and low gas flow rates, as well as in the extended channel. An attempt was also made to develop a criterion for predicting the onset of slugging based on the instability analysis of stratified flow in minichannels. The theoretical prediction gave reasonable agreement with the experimental data on the onset of slugging flow in minichannels. However, an advanced approach is still needed in the future to predict the initiation of slugging since it is a critical issue in water management for PEM fuel cells.     

Intelligent identification of the flow regimes of two-component particles in a fluidized bed with the optimized fuzzy c-means clustering algorithm

Flow regime identification is important in the application of fluidized beds. This paper provides a method for deciding flow regime number by objective criterion. The optimized fuzzy c-means clustering algorithm was used to cluster the flow regime classification of two-component particles in a fluidized bed. The genetic algorithm was applied to optimize the initial center clusters of fuzzy c-means clustering. Hilbert-Huang transform was applied to analyze pressure fluctuation signals and extract the characteristic parameters. Three clusters were found and respectively ascribed to three flow regimes: bubbling bed, slugging bed, and turbulent bed. A multilayer neural network was used to train and test the identification system of the flow regimes. The identification accuracies of bubbling bed, slugging bed, and turbulent bed can reach 91.67%, 92.85%, and 91.30%, respectively.     

Fate of solids fed pneumatically through a jet into a fluidized bed

Solid tracer particles were fed pneumatically through a jet into a fluidized bed to simulate the feeding of solids via a pneumatic transport line into a fluidized-bed reactor operating in the slugging-bed mode. The fluidized bed was defluidized instantaneously at different times after the initiation of the tracer particle injection. The bed was then sampled layer by layer to provide the radial and axial concentration profiles of the tracer. Regular and high-speed movies (1,000 frames per second) were taken to study the operation of the fluidized bed and the phenomena of the gas-solid two-phase jet. Experimental results on solid mixing, jet constriction and slugging frequencies, slugging bed height, slug length, jet penetration, and jet half-angle at three nominal jet velocities of 52, 37, and 25 m/s and corresponding solids loadings are presented. Additional experimental results on jet constriction and slugging frequencies, and slug volume (axial slug size) obtained for a wider range of jet velocities confirm the hydrodynamic trends observed during the tracer particle injection experiments. The results indicate that solids mixing increases, and well-mixed conditions are reached earlier, with an increase in jet injection velocity. The obtained mixing times were correlated successfully in terms of the excess gas velocity. The experimental data on jet penetration and slug motion were satisfactorily correlated by modified versions of existing theoretical relations. The modifications included the effect of the injected solids on jet penetration and jet half-angle and also the effect of our semicircular column geometry and single wall-slug configuration on the observed slug motion.     

Experimental and computational study of the bed dynamics of semi‐cylindrical gas–solid fluidized bed

With computational fluid dynamics (CFD) it is possible to get a detailed view of the flow behaviour of the fluidized beds. A profound and fundamental understanding of bed dynamics such as bed pressure drop, bed expansion ratio, bed fluctuation ratio, and minimum fluidization velocity of homogeneous binary mixtures has been made in a semi‐cylindrical fluidized column for gas–solid systems, resulting in a predictive model for fluidized beds. In the present work attempt has been made to study the effect of different system parameters (viz., size and density of the bed materials and initial static bed height) on the bed dynamics. The correlations for the bed expansion and bed fluctuations have been developed on the basis of dimensional analysis using these system parameters. Computational study has also been carried out using a commercial CFD package Fluent (Fluent, Inc.). A multifluid Eulerian model incorporating the kinetic theory for solid particles was applied in order to simulate the gas–solid flow. CFD simulated bed pressure drop has been compared with the experimental bed pressure drops under different conditions for which the results show good agreements.