The effect of cohesive forces on the fluidization of aeratable powders

Journal Article · Wed Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 2014 · AIChE Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/aic.14307· OSTI ID:1121852

Galvin, Janine F.; Benyahia, Sofiane

The effects of cohesive forces of van der Waals type in the fluidization/defluidization of aeratable type A powders in the Geldart classification are numerically investigated. The effects of friction and particle-size distribution (PSD) on some design-significant parameters, such as minimum fluidization and bubbling velocities, are also investigated. For these types of particles, cohesive forces are observed as necessary to fully exhibit the role friction plays in commonly observed phenomena, such as pressure overshoot and hysteresis around minimum fluidization. This study also shows that a full-experimental PSD consisting of a dozen particle sizes may be sufficiently represented by a few particle diameters. Reducing the number of particle types may benefit the continuum approach, which is based on the kinetic theory of granular flow, by reducing computational expense, while still maintaining the accuracy of the predictions.

• Research Organization: National Energy Technology Laboratory - In-house Research; National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), Pittsburgh, PA, and Morgantown, WV (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Fossil Energy (FE)
• OSTI ID: 1121852
• Report Number(s): NETL-PUB-479
• Journal Information: AIChE Journal, Journal Name: AIChE Journal Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 60; ISSN 0001-1541
• Publisher: Wiley Online Library
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

42 ENGINEERING
Geldart A powder
cohesive forces
fluidization cycle
friction forces
discrete particle method
polydispersity