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Layer Inversion and Bed Contraction in Down‐Flow Binary‐Solid Liquid‐Fluidized Beds
Author(s) -
Escudié R.,
Epstein N.,
Grace J. R.,
Bi H. T.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
the canadian journal of chemical engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.404
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1939-019X
pISSN - 0008-4034
DOI - 10.1002/cjce.5450850102
Subject(s) - distributor , spheres , mechanics , binary number , materials science , flow (mathematics) , fluidized bed , chromatography , thermodynamics , mineralogy , chemistry , physics , mathematics , arithmetic , astronomy
Experiments were carried out on downward‐flow water‐fluidized binary mixture of spheres selected for possible layer inversion. With the two binaries tested (relatively high‐density large particles mixed with lower‐density smaller particles), only one of the five possible steps of the layer inversion progression was clearly identified for the higher liquid velocities, a mixed layer being observed at the top of the column close to the distributor. This layer manifested a bed contraction so large that its bulk density was lower than those of its constituent mono‐components at the same liquid velocity, which determined its location within the column. The voidage of the mixed layer could be predicted with good accuracy (<0.7%) by regression of the Westman packed bed equation with one adjustable parameter.