Bubble size and the rise velocity of bubbles in fluidized beds at high temperature were measured by the electric capacitance method using an injection tube and a sintered-plate distributor. The bubble frequency increased with rise in temperature and the bubble size was rearranged as a function of bubble frequency and gas flow rate. The rise velocity of bubbles in swarms was divided into two terms, i.e., the rise velocity of isolated bubbles and the accelerated quantity due to bubble coalescence. The latter was correlated as a function of the ratio of distance between two successive bubbles to bubble radius. A model of bubble shape was proposed and effectively used to estimate the empirical coefficients included in the correlation for bubble size and rise velocity of bubbles.
Intro ductionInformation on behavior of bubble motion is required to predict the performance of a fluidized catalytic reactor and to formulate an adequate model for design.Models of gas behavior in fluidized beds have been presented by many investigators4'6'8'11}, and theoretical and experimental evidence has shown that the coalescence of bubbles in swarms in a freely bubbling bed changes the bubble size, the rise velocity, the exchange of gas between bubble phase and dense In this study, measurements of bubble frequency, bubble size and rise velocity at high temperature in a fluidized bed were made by the electric capacitance method. Bubble size was correlated with bubble frequency and the rise velocity of isolated single bubbles was rearranged with the bubble size. Furthermore, the rise velocity of bubbles in swarms was correlated with the sum of the rise velocity of single bubbles and the term contributed to rise velocity by bubble coalescence. To explain the change in bubble size of coalesced bubbles, a new model for bubble shape is proposed. The relation between rise velocity and bubble size is discussed by considering the distance between the two successive bubbles and the change in bubble shape.