The effect of column tilt on flow homogeneity and particle agitation in a liquid fluidized bed

Alicia Aguilar-Corona (1) , Olivier Masbernat (2) , Bernardo Figueroa-Espinoza (3) , Roberto Zenit (4)

1 UMICH - Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo
2 LGC - Laboratoire de Génie Chimique
3 Laboratorio de Ingenería y Procesos Costeros
4 UNAM - Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México = National Autonomous University of Mexico

The motion of particles in a solid-liquid fluidized bed was experimentally studied by video tracking of marked particles in a matched refractive index medium. In this study, two fluidized states are compared, one carefully aligned in the vertical direction ensuring a homogeneous fluidisation and another one with a non-homogeneous fluidisation regime that results from a slight tilt of the fluidisation column of 0.3° with respect to the vertical. As a result of the misalignment, large recirculation loops develop within the bed in a well-defined spatial region. It is found that in that range of solid fraction (between 0.3 and 0.4), the inhomogeneous motion of the particles leads to significant differences in velocity fluctuations as well as in self-diffusion coefficient of the particles in the vertical direction, whereas the fluidisation height remains unaffected. At lower (less than 0.2) or higher (higher than 0.5) concentration, particle agitation characteristics are almost unchanged in the vertical direction.

Mots clés: Agitation; Liquid fluidized bed; Homogenization; Solid fraction; Column tilt

Domaines: Génie chimique; Génie des procédés; Mécanique des fluides [physics.class-ph]

Alicia Aguilar-Corona, Olivier Masbernat, Bernardo Figueroa-Espinoza, Roberto Zenit. The effect of column tilt on flow homogeneity and particle agitation in a liquid fluidized bed. International Journal of Multiphase Flow, 2017, 92, pp.50-60. ⟨10.1016/j.ijmultiphaseflow.2017.02.008⟩. ⟨hal-01897401⟩