Particle pressures in fluidized beds. Second year annual report

Campbell and Wang (1991) showed that the particle pressures in gas-fluidized beds were largely generated by the passage of bubbles. In particular, they showed that the average particle pressure exerted on the side walls scaled with the average size of the bubble. This immediately brings to mind two questions: (1) what is it about bubbles that leads to particle pressure generation and (2) would there be measurable particle pressures in liquid-fluidized beds which, while unstable, do not bubble? This project is largely aimed at answering these two questions. To attack the first problem, the authors have built a two-dimensional gas-fluidized bed into which bubbles may be injected and the distribution of particle-pressure measured. For the latter, other experiments are being performed in liquid fluidized beds. However, it soon became apparent that the particle pressures generated in the liquid beds are extremely small. This has pointed that phase of the research in two directions. The first is the design and construction of a third, and more sensitive, from of the particle pressure transducer. The second approach arose from reflection on what ultimately was the utility of the current research. This led to the development of a generic stability model, in which all modeled terms are left unspecified. From analyzing this model, they have developed an experimental plan that, by measuring the characteristics of voidage disturbances and comparing with the theory, will allow them to back out appropriate values for the modeled terms. The results will not only yield insight into the particle pressure, but also of the fluid drag. The latter results may be used to evaluate common models for these terms