| Abstract: | Hydrodynamic measurements were obtained in a half-column of diameter 0.91 m equipped with a conical base using particles of diameter 3.3 to 6.7mm with operation both as pure spouted beds and in the spout-fluid bed mode. Comparison of the experimental results for minimum spouting velocity with equations in the literature generally gave unsatisfactory agreement. On the other hand, the correlations of McNab (1972) and Had?isdmajlovi? et al. (1983) gave reasonable predictions of spout diameters in spouted and spout-fluid beds respectively. Hydrodynamic regimes with auxiliary air present were broadly similar to those determined in smaller columns. However, there were substantial dead regimes at the bottom of the column. A finite difference model based on the vector form of the Ergun equation gave good predictions of air flow distribution and longitudinal pressure profiles. |
