About a correlating equation for predicting pressure drops through packed beds of spheres in a large range of Reynolds numbers

This work aims at validating and extending the applicability of an existing correlating equation for predicting pressure drop through packed beds of spheres. A new set of data points out its use for bed geometric aspect ratio D/dpart in the range 3.8–14.5, in the case of dense packings. The case of loose packings is also discussed using literature data. As a conclusion, a correlation is proposed for predicting pressure drops through fixed beds of spheres (dense and loose packings) for large ranges of Reynolds numbers (∼10 < Repart < ∼ 2500) and of geometric aspect ratio (∼3.5 < D/dpart < 40–50).