Evolution of the Population of Bubbles in 2D Fluidized Beds

The size of the bubbles in a solid‐gas 2D fluidized bed was estimated by image capture and digitalization using a CCD camera. It was confirmed that the size distribution for the bubbles in a slice of the bed was skewed, varying with the location of the slice. The results were analyzed using the Agarwal (1985) model, which is based on a population balance. For this model, four adjustable parameters are required, as well as the knowledge of bubble size just above the distributor. Experimental data were compared with values predicted by the model. The parameters that the model needs were obtained by three procedures: i) the constants supplied by Agarwal (1985) and Rowe and Everett (1972); ii) the parameters obtained from experimental data for a 1 cm wide slice bed; and iii) the parameters obtained by fitting the bubble diameter to all the bubbles in the bed. The second and third methods provided the best results.