Fluidization of fine powders in fluidized beds with an upward or a downward air jet

The hydrodynamic behavior of fine powders in jet-fluidized beds was studied numerically and experimentally. The starting point of numerical simulation was the generalized Navier-Stokes (N-S) equations for the gas and solids phases. The κ-ɛ turbulence model was used for high-speed gas jets in fluidized beds. Computation shows that a suitable turbulence model is necessary to obtain agreement between the simulation and literature experimental data for a high-speed gas jet. The model was applied to simulating the fluidization of fine powders in fluidized beds with an upward or a downward air jet. An empirical cohesion model was obtained by correlating the cohesive force between fine particles using a cohetester. The cohesion model was embedded into the two-fluid model to simulate the fluidization of fine powders in two-dimensional (2-D) beds. To study the fluidization behavior of fine and cohesive powders with a downward jet, experiments were performed in a 2-D bed. Agreement between the computed time-averaged porosity and measured data was obtained. With an upward jet in the bed center, the measured and computed porosities show a dilute central core, especially at very high jet velocities. Based on our experiments and computations, a downward jet located inside the bed is recommended to achieve better mixing and contacting of gas and solids.