Position and posture determination of a large dense object in a fluidized bed

An innovative method using a micro-three-dimensional acceleration sensor and a micro-three-dimensional gyroscope to trace the motion behavior of a large object in the dense zone of a fluidized bed is proposed here. By placing a self-designed particle spy module, namely particle tracing sensor (PTS), inside an object, the translational velocity and angular velocity, as well as the posture of the object during the motion process can be detected. The method is validated by testing the displacements of a spherical object with diameter of 40 mm during freefall and by testing its attitude angles during rotation. Then several PTSs, served as object spies delivering in situ information they detect, are utilized to study the motion behavior of spherical and non-spherical objects on the inclined air distributor of a fluidized bed. Findings indicate that the method is capable of tracing the motion behavior of dense objects in the bottom of a bed. The smallest size of the object it can detect is 30 mm×20 mm×20 mm and the maximum tracking time is 10 min.