Advance optical fiber probe for simultaneous measurements of solids holdup and particles velocity using simple calibration methods for gas-solid fluidization systems

Advanced gas-solid optical fiber probe technique that can measure simultaneously solids velocity, solids concentration related quantity, and their time series fluctuations has been implemented with simple and new calibration methods for both solids holdup and particles velocity measurements in gas-solid spouted bed and gas-solid fluidized bed. The needed signal and data processing programs have been developed in our laboratory. New, simple, and reliable calibration methods and the related experimental setups have been established to convert the solids concentration related signal to solids holdup which is a meaningful hydrodynamic parameter and to determine the effective distance between the two tips of the probe for the solids velocity measurements. The new calibration methods have been employed to cover a wide range of particle sizes which usually used in gas-solid spouted beds and gas-solid fluidized beds. Selected results have demonstrated the appropriateness of the advanced optical fiber in measuring both solids holdup and particles velocity in the experimental setups of the gas-solid spouted and fluidized beds. The measurements have been compared against independent techniques of gamma ray computed tomography (CT) and radioactive particle tracking (RPT).