1

Notes on Fluidized Bed Design

CHEE 331
January 2013
E.W. Grandmaison
1. Background on fluid-particle systems
2. Background on flow through packed beds
3. Fluid particle systems fluidization
2
Fluid Particle Systems - Particle Settling Velocity
For theoretical consideration we can examine the behaviour of a single spherical particle
of diameter d
p
or radius r
p
and density
p
, freely falling at a velocity U

in a fluid of density
f

and viscosity
f
(we could also consider a particle suspended in a gas stream flowing at the
velocity U

). We will assume that the particle concentration is dilute enough that there are no
particle-particle interactions and external forces acting on the particles are negligible (such
forces might include electrostatic effects, etc.).
The forces acting on the particle include:
(1) Gravitational forces:

6
3
d g
p p

(2) Buoyancy forces - equal to the weight of displaced fluid:

6
3
d g
p f

(3) Viscous forces - fluid-particle forces acting at the surface of the particle, commonly called
"friction" drag.
(4) Pressure forces - fluid pressure forces acting over the surface and normal to the particle
surface, commonly called "form" drag.
In general our force balance will have the form:

(1) = (2) + (3) + (4)

Forces (3) and (4) above are more complex and require special attention. We start with the
solution for the velocity and pressure field of a low Reynolds number flow over a sphere. These
solutions are (see for example, Bird, Stewart and Lightfoot, "Transport Phenomena", Wiley,
1960):
( ) U U 1 -
3
2
r
r
r
r
r
p p
=

(
+

1
2
3
cos
( ) U - U
r
r
r
r
sin
p p

1
3
4
1
4
3

3
( ) P = P gZ -
3
2
U
r
r
r
cos
o f
f
p
p

`
)

2

x

z

U

In order to evaluate the "friction" drag, we need to know the shear stress distribution
(spherical coordinate form),

r f
r
r
r
U
r r
U
=

(
+

`
)
1

evaluated at the surface of the sphere, i.e.,
( )

r
r=r
p
p
U
r
sin =

3
2
f

and integrate the z-component of this force,
( ) ( )
r
sin
over the surface of the sphere,
( )
F = + sin r sin d d r U d U
r
r=r
0 0
2
p f p f p
p




= =

2
4 2

4
To evaluate the "form" drag, we integrate the z-component of the pressure distribution,
( ) -P cos
where, ( ) ( ) P = P - gr cos
U
r
cos
r=r
o f p
f
p
p




3
2

and ( )
( )
( ) F = -P cos r sin d d
n
r=r
0 0
2
p
p



2

= =

4
3
1
6
3 3
r
p f f p p f f p
g + 2 r U d g + d U
Hence the total force on the particle is
F F F
Total n
= +


= + +

6
2
3
d d U d U
p f f p f p
g
=

6
3
d g + 3 d U
p f f p

The first term in this relation is a buoyancy force, present even if the particle is static, the second
term arises because of the relative motion between the fluid and particle. Hence the "kinetic"
force (form + friction drag) is,
F d U d U d U
k f p f p f p
= + =

2 3
Our original force balance then becomes,

6
2
3 3
d g =
6
d g + d U d U
p p p f f p f p
+
Or
( )

6
3
3
d g d U
p p f f p
=


And
( )
U
d g
18
p p f
f

=

2

This relation gives the terminal velocity for a particle under the flow conditions assumed
in this analysis. The form and friction drag relations are the forces that must be imparted on the
particle to provide this terminal or differential velocity between the fluid and particle.



5
The assumptions made in the development of the particle settling velocity above included:

1. A low Reynolds number flow, i.e.,

1
U d
N
f
f P
Re
=

because the relations employed to evaluate the form and friction drag are only applicable
in this regime. The equations of motion for higher Reynolds numbers are too complex
for an analytical solution but we can resort to experimental observations and correlations
for this regime.

2. The fluid acts as a continuum medium. This assumption is important if the particle size
is small (d
p
< 0.1 m) thus making the form and friction drag relations inappropriate. To
handle the problem of a lack of continuum between the fluid and particle, the terminal or
settling velocity is multiplied by a correction factor called the Cunningham correction
factor. This problem is encountered in air pollution control systems where small particles
are indeed encountered. We will not meet this problem in CHEE 331.

In order to generalize our treatment for this problem, we can introduce the concept of a
drag coefficient, C
d
, defined by the relation,
F
A
C
U
p
d
f
=

2
2

where F is the total form and friction drag, A
p
is the "projected" area of the particle to the flow.
For a sphere,
A
d
p
p
=

2
4

F =
C d U
8
d f p

2

and our force balance takes the form,
( )

6 8
3
2 2
gd
C d U
p p f
d f p
=




6
The corresponding values of the drag coefficient at various values of N
Re
are,

Laminar flow regime (Stokes law): C
d
= 24 N
Re
-1
or N
Re
< 1

Which leads to:
( )
U
d g
18
p p f
f

=

2

Intermediate flow regime: C
d
= 18.5 N
Re
-0.6
for 1 N
Re
500

Which leads to:
( )
0.29
f
0.43
f
0.71
f P
1.14
P
0.71

- d g
0.153 U


=

Turbulent flow regime (Newtons law): C
d
= 0.43 for N
Re
> 500

Which leads to:
( )
5 . 0
f
f P P
- d g
1.76 U
)
`

Generally, we know the particle and fluid properties and we wish to estimate U

. In order to do
this we can assume a flow regime, solve for U

and check that the Reynolds number is in the

correct regime (laminar, turbulent or intermediate). Or a more direct root can be used by
multiplying the Stokes law regime equation by d
P

f
/
f
to get:

( )
2
f
f P f
3
P f P
18
- g d

d U

f

The left hand side is simply the Reynolds number, which should be less than 1.0 for the assumed
case of the Stokes law regime. The right hand side is also a dimensionless group involving the
Galileo number* (N
Ga
/18),
( )
2
f
f P f
3
P
Ga
- g d
N

=
18 N need we 1.0, N for and
18
N
N
Ga T Re,
Ga
T Re,
< < =
*Note: In some textbooks this dimensionless group is called the Archimedes number
7
Multiplying the Newtons law regime equation by d
P

f
/
f
we obtain,

( )
1/2
Ga
f
2 / 1
f P
1/2
f
1/2 3/2
P f P
N 1.76
- g d
1.76
d U
= =

f


This means that for the turbulent flow regime (Newtons law), we need,

80708 N or
1.76
500
N
Ga
2
Ga
> |
.
|

\
|
>

The intermediate flow regime must then fall between these values for N
Ga
.

We can then write the flow regime criteria as:

Laminar flow or Stokes law (N
Re
< 1.0): N
Ga
< 18
Intermediate regime (1 < N
Re
< 500): 18 < N
Ga
< 80708
Turbulent flow or Newtons law (N
Re
> 500): N
Ga
> 80708













8
Fluid-Particle Systems - Flow Through Packed Beds
Packed beds of particles are commonly used in the chemical process industries for gas
absorption/adsorption, catalytic reactors and other contacting equipment. One of the main
design objectives for packed beds is to determine the pressure drop requirements. Packed beds
have a relatively low porosity and the pressure drop relationships are based on flow through
tortuous channels. The pressure drop through noncircular ducts is usually based on a
hydraulic diameter, d
H
, defined by
perimeter wall Wetted
area sectional cross Flow 4
d
H

=
For a circular tube this concept gives the geometrical diameter, d,
( )
d
d
4 d 4
d
2
H
=

and for a concentric tube (inner diameter d
1
and outer diameter d
2
),
| |
( )
1 2
1 2
2
1
2
2
1 2
2
1
2
2
H
d - d
d d
d - d

d d
d - d
4
4
d =
+
=
+
|
.
|

\
|

Packed beds also provide complex flow areas and an effective diameter in such a system can be
expressed as
particles of area Surface
bed of volume Void
d
H
=
The void volume in a packed bed with porosity is
Total Solids Total void
V V - V V = =
Solids
Solids
V -
- 1
V

=
)
`

=
)
`

- 1
V 1 -
- 1
1
V V
Solics Solids Void

For n spherical particles with diameter d
P
,
)
`

- 1 6
d n
V
3
P
Void

and the resulting hydraulic diameter becomes,
9

- 1 6
d

d n
- 1 6
d n
d
P
2
P
3
P
H
)
`

=
)
`

A Reynolds number based on the hydraulic diameter is

H
Re
d U
N =
The velocity through the bed material, U
b
, and the superficial velocity U
s
, (the fluid velocity
upstream of the bed with no packed material present) are related by
U
s
= U
b

A Reynolds number through the bed is

d U

d U
N
H s H b
Re
= =
and substituting for the hydraulic diameter in the bed,
( )

- 1
d U

6
1
N
P s
b Re,
=
In some derivations, the factor of 4 in the original definition of the hydraulic is not used; this
leads to a coefficient of 2/3 instead of 1/6 in the above relation. Since the Reynolds number will
be used in friction factor empirical relations, the leading coefficient in these expressions is
normally neglected and the Reynolds number is simply expresses as
( )

- 1
d U
N
P s
b Re,
=
If we define a friction factor in the general form,
( )
2
b
H
2
b
w
U
2
1
L P - d

U
2
1
f


= =
where P is the pressure drop through a bed of depth L. Substituting the relations between d
H

and d
P
and U
b
and U
s
, we obtain,
( )
( )
( )

- 1 U 3
d L P

U
2
1
L P
- 1 6
d
f
2
b
P
2
b
P

=
|
.
|

\
|
=
10
( )
( )

- 1 U 3
d L P
f and
2
s
3
P

=
The factor of 3 is usually neglected in empirical relations for the friction factor-Reynolds number
relationships, i.e.
( )
( )
U
L P d

1
f
2
s
P
3
b

=
Empirical relations for the friction factor through packed beds include:
1. Kozeny-Carman equation (laminar flow):
20 N ,
N
150
f
b Re,
b Re,
b
< =
2. Burke-Plummer equation (turbulent flow):
4
b Re,
3
b
10 N 10 , 1.75 f < < =
3. Ergun equation (both regimes):
4
b Re,
b Re,
b
10 N 1 , 1.75
N
150
f < < + =
10
0
10
1
10
2
10
3
10
4
10
0
10
1
10
2
f
b
N
Re, b


11
Fluid-Particle Systems - Fluidization

When a fluid passes through a bed of particles at a low flow rate, the fluid initially moves
the void spaces between stationary particles. This flow regime is called a fixed bed. With an
increase in flow rate, the bed passes through several regimes:

Expanded bed: particles move apart, a few vibrate and move about in a restricted manner.
Incipiently fluidized bed: the frictional force between a particle and the fluid counterbalances the
weight of the particle, the vertical component of the compressive force between adjacent
particles disappears, and the pressure drop through any section of the bed is approximately equal
to weight of fluid and particles in that section. This is also called a bed at minimum fluidization.
Smoothly or homogeneously fluidized bed: occurs in liquid-solid systems above minimum
fluidization and results in a smooth, progressive expansion of the bed. Gross flow instabilities
are damped and remain small, and large scale bubbling or heterogeneity is not usually observed.
Aggregative or bubbling fluidized bed: occurs in gas-solid systems above minimum fluidization
and produces large instabilities with bubbling and channelling of the gas. The bed does not
expand as much as the liquid-solid system.
Dense-phase fluidized bed: occurs in both gas and liquid systems at high flow rates as long as
there is a clearly defined upper limit or surface to the bed.
Lean-, disperse-, or dilute-phase fluidized bed: at a sufficiently high fluid flow rate, the terminal
velocity of the solids is exceeded, the upper surface of the bed disappears, entrainment becomes
appreciable, and solids are carried out of the bed with the fluid stream - this leads to pneumatic
transport of the solids.

The general quality of fluidization (slugging, bubbles, etc.) can also be affected by bed
geometry, gas flow rate, type of gas distributor, and vessel internals such as the presence of
screens, baffles, etc.
12
13
Fluidized Bed Particles and the Minimum Fluidization Velocity
For nonspherical particles, the diameter may be defined as:

d
p
= (diameter of sphere with same volume)

and for irregular, nearly spherical particles, a sieve screen analysis approximates this diameter; if
far from spherical, it over estimates d
p
.
A measure of the sphericity is

s
both of same volume
=
surface of sphere
surface of particle
|
\

|
.
|

and
s
= 1.0 for a sphere and 0 <
s
< 1.0 for other particle shapes.
The specific surface, related to the sphericity, is defined as

|
\

|
.
|
a =
surface of particle
volume of particle
=
d
d 6
=
6
d
p
2
s
p
3
s p

or,
( )
a =
surface of particles
volume of bed
=
6 1 -
d
s p
|
\

|
.
|

where is the void fraction in the bed of particles.
With these definitions, the Ergun equation is written in the form,
( )
( )
P
L
= 150
1 -

U
d
+ 1.75
1 -

U
d
o
s p
3
f o
2
s p

2
3 2

The force balance on the bed material involves setting the pressure drop times the cross
sectional area equal to the gravitational force exerted by the mass of the particles minus the
buoyant force of the displaced fluid, i.e.

( )
( )
P A = L A 1 - - g
mf mf p f

Or,
( )
( )
P
L
= 1 - - g
mf
mf p f

and equating this pressure drop to the Ergun equation,
( )
( )
( )
( )
1 - - g = 150
1 -

U
d
+ 1.75
1 -

U
d
mf p f
o
s p
3
f o
2
s p

2
3 2

14
Or multiplying by
( )
d
1 -
p
3
f
mf
2

we obtain,
( ) ( )
175
2
.

s
mf
3
p mf f
mf
s
2
mf
3
p mf f p
3
f p f
2

d U
+
150 1 -


d U
=
d - g
|
\

|
.
|
|
\

|
.
|

i.e. a quadratic relation for U
mf
or the Reynolds number. The limit for low Reynolds numbers
gives,
( ) ( )
20 < N for ,
- 1
g
-

150
d
= U
Re
mf
3
mf
f p
2
p s
mf
|
|
.
|

\
|

and for high Reynolds numbers,
( )
U =
d
1.75

-
g , for N > 1000
mf
2
s p p f
f
mf
3
Re

If
mf
and/or
s
are unknown, Wen and Yu (AIChE Journal, vol. 12, 610, 1966) have shown that
for a wide variety of systems,
1



s
mf
3
mf
s
2
mf
3
14 and
1 -

11
Substitution into the quadratic equation for U
mf
, we obtain,
( )
24.5
d U
+ 1650
d U
=
d - g
p mf f p mf f
p
3
f p f
2

|
\

|
.
|
|
\

|
.
|
2

and the solution to this equation is (taking the positive roots),
( )
( )
d U
= - 33.7 + 33.7 + 0.0408
d - g
p mf f
p
3
f p f
2

2
1 2

(
(
/

or,
( ) 33.7 - 33.7 N 0.0408 = N
2
Ga mf Re,
+

where N
Ga
is the Galileo number.







15
The low Reynolds number limit is
( )
U =
d - g
1650

N =
N
1650
for N < 20
mf
p
2
p f
Re, mf
Ga
Re, mf

and the high Reynolds number case is,
( )
( )
U =
d - g
24.5

N =
N
24.5
for N > 1000
mf
2
p p f
f
Re, mf
2
Ga
Re, mf

and these relations have been found to give predictions of U
mf
within a standard deviation of
34%. If data for
mf
and
s
are known, they should be used where possible.

16
Pinchbeck and Popper (Chem. Eng. Sci., 6, 57, 1956) have derived an equation to estimate the
ratio of the particle terminal settling velocity to the minimum fluidization velocity, U
T
/U
mf
. We
can calculate the expected values of this ratio for low and high Reynolds number conditions,

( )
U =
4 g d -
3 C
T
p p f
f d

(
(
1 2 /


For N
Re
< 1.0 in the terminal velocity, C
d
= 24/N
Re
and

( )
U =
g - d
18
T
p f p
2

( )
2
f P f
3
P T f P
f P
18
- d g

U d
obtain, we d by g multiplyin

=

( )
2
f P f
3
P mf f P
- d g

U d
1650 regime, flow laminar In the

=

91.7 =
18
1650

U
U
and
mf
T
=

For N
Re
> 500, C
d
= 0.43 and

( )
( )
( )
f
f P P 2
T
2 / 1
f
f p p
T
- d g
3.1 or U
0.43 3
- d g 4
= U

=
(

( )
2
f f
3
P
2
T P f
2
P f
- d g
3.1
U d
obtain, we ,
d
by g multiplyin

P
=
(

|
|
.
|

\
|


( )
2
f P f
3
P
2
mf f P
g - d

U d
24.5 regime, flow turbulent In the

=
(

8.72 =
U
U
or 3.1 24.5
U
U

mf
T
2
mf
T
=
(

17




18
A pressure drop-gas velocity curve for a bed of uniformly sized sand particles is shown
below:


The pressure drop increases approximately linearly with gas velocity up to P
max
at the end of
the fixed bed phase and when U
mf
is reached, the pressure drop may only increase slightly with
further increases in the gas velocity. This relatively constant P behaviour arises because the
gas-solid phase is well aerated and can deform easily without appreciable resistance. At gas
velocities approaching the terminal velocity of the particles, the pressure drop decreases from the
point of initiation of entrainment. When the gas velocity is decreased, there may be some
hysteresis at low gas velocities (fixed bed regime) due to realignment of the particles from a
random orientation.
Pressure drop behaviour for less than ideal fluidization conditions are shown below for
slugging and channelling:

19
The choice of gas distributor has an effect on the quality of bubbling fluidization:






20
A range of distributor systems are shown in the diagrams below:




21