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Title: Numerical and experimental comparison of tracer particle and averaging techniques for particle velocities in a fluidized bed

Journal Article · · Chemical Engineering Science
ORCiD logo [1];  [2]; ORCiD logo [3];  [4];  [5];  [6];  [5];  [7];  [7];  [8];  [8]
  1. National Energy Technology Lab. (NETL), Morgantown, WV (United States); West Virginia Univ., Morgantown, WV (United States)
  2. National Energy Technology Lab. (NETL), Morgantown, WV (United States); AECOM, Morgantown, WV (United States); SABIC Global Corporate Research, Sugar Land, TX (United States)
  3. National Energy Technology Lab. (NETL), Morgantown, WV (United States)
  4. IFP Energies Nouvelles, Lyon (France)
  5. Ecole Polytechnique, Montreal, PQ (Canada)
  6. Univ. of Cape Town (South Africa)
  7. Univ. of Birmingham (United Kingdom)
  8. Univ. of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC (Canada)

Particle tracking methods using emitted radiation show potential for following motion in opaque systems such as granular materials. Leading examples are Positron Emission Particle Tracking (PEPT) and Radioactive Particle Tracking (RPT). The application of such techniques sometimes requires the use of tracer particles which differ in size, density and/or shape from the particles of interest. This study investigates the extent to which such differences affect the result of the study by using the open source MFIX-DEM software to model particle motion in the travelling fluidized bed experiments. The results are compared with previously reported experimental studies using both PEPT and RPT. Consistent numerical results were obtained for both PEPT and RPT tracer particles. In determining averaged velocities using such techniques, there is a choice to be made between averaging velocities of particles crossing a virtual plane over a period of time (the “face-average” approach) or those passing through a defined volume over time (the “volume-average” approach). The differences between results obtained with these two methods are shown to be significant in this case, for both computation and experiment.

Research Organization:
National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), Pittsburgh, PA, Morgantown, WV, and Albany, OR (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Fossil Energy (FE)
Grant/Contract Number:
FE0004000
OSTI ID:
1532668
Journal Information:
Chemical Engineering Science, Vol. 195, Issue C; ISSN 0009-2509
Publisher:
ElsevierCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 12 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Figures / Tables (17)