Studies on Fluidization Characteristics of Fine Particles in a Gas-Solid Fluidized Bed

Attempt has been made to study the fluidization characteristics of fine particles in a gas-solid system. Experiments on the fluidization of fine-particles of different sizes and densities were carried were carried out in a cylindrical column of 5cm dia. Fluidization characteristics such as bed expansion, bed fluctuation, bed pressure drop in turn the Euler Number of fine particles have been tried to be analysed by varying the different system parameters. In the present work, attempt has been made to fluidize fine particles by changing the surface property of the particles using a stirrer. These fluidization characteristics have been correlated against the different system parameters (viz. static bed height, particle size, particle density, speed of the stirrer and superficial velocity of the medium) on the basis of Dimensionless Analysis approach. Finally calculated values of different fluidization characteristics have been compared against the experimentally observed values. The result show a good agreement among the experimental and calculated values thereby indicating the application of these developed correlations over a wide range of parameters. Key-Words: Bed expansion and Bed-Fluctuation Ratio, Euler’s No., Fluidized bed with the stirrer