INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENERGY RESEARCH, VOL.

17,491-501 (1993)

A STUDY OF HEAT TRANSFER IN A CIRCULATING

FLUIDIZED BED
PHAM HOANG LUONG AND S. C. BHATTACHARYA
Division of Energy Technology, Asian Institute of Technology, GPO Box 2754, Bangkok 10501, Thailand

SUMMARY
An experimental investigation was carried out to study the effects of operating parameters on the local bed-to-wall heat
transfer coefficient in a 4.5 m tall, 0.150 m diameter circulating fluidized bed with a bed temperature in the range of 65C
to 80C, riser flow rate varying from 1400 litres/min to 2000 litres/min, bed inventory in the range of 15 kg to 25 kg of
sand, and average sand sizes of 200 pm, 400 pm and 500 pm. A heat flux probe was attached to the riser wall at five
different vertical locations for measuring the heat flux from the bed to the wall surface. From the present work, the heat
transfer coefficient in the dilute phase was found to be in the range of 62 to 83 W/m2 K, 51 to 74 W/mZK, and 50 to
59 W/mZK for sand sizes of 200 pm, 400 pm and 500 pm, respectively. Relevant mathematical correlations were
developed to predict local heat transfer coefficient based on the results of the practical work.

KEY WORDS Circulating fluidized bed Heat flux probe Suspension density Heat transfer

INTRODUCTION
One of the remarkable features of a circulating fluidized bed (CFB) is its temperature uniformity. High rates
of heat transfer which is due to circulation of solids are obtainable between an exposed surface and the bed so
facilitating the addition and removal of heat to and from the bed. Knowing how the heat transfer coefficient
between the bed and the cooling surface varies with operating conditions is therefore critical. Grace (1986)
and Glicksman (1988) have given comprehensive reviews of the literature on heat transfer in circulating
fluidized beds. From their work it is found that the heat transfer coefficient varies directly with the bulk
density and inversely with the particle size. However, most of the available data on heat transfer coefficients
in circulating fluidized beds are for very small heat transfer surfaces suspended within the interior of small
columns or flush with the bed wall. Glicksman concluded that a small active heat transfer probe gives an
upper limit of heat transfer coefficient in a CFB owing to the cooling of particles and the consequent lower
temperature gradient. In this study, we consider the variation of the local bed-to-wall heat transfer coefficient
due to changes in suspension density, riser flow rate, height above the distributor, particle size, and solid
circulation rate. Mathematical correlations have been developed to predict the heat transfer coefficient in the
range of the practical work.

EXPERIMENTAL WORK
The experimental circulating fluidized bed unit comprised a riser column 0.150 m in diameter, with a 3 mm
thick wall and 4.5 m in height, and a return leg 0.070 m in diameter (Figure 1). Both were insulated by
ceramic fibre 25 mm in thickness. A non-mechanical L valve at the bottom of the return leg was used to
control the solid circulation rate. Gas-solid separation was achieved with the help of the two cyclones made
of mild steel. Air was supplied by a rotary blower. The riser flow rate was controlled by a valve and was
measured by a rotameter. A tuyere-type distributor was fixed at the bottom of the riser. Entrained solids
recovered in the cyclone system were returned to the return leg. The accumulated solids in the return leg were
forced back to the riser bottom by aeration air.

0363-907X/93/06049 1-1 1$10.50 Received 14 September 1992

01993 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Revised 27 November 1992
492 PHAM HOANG LUONG AND S. C. BHATTACHARYA

LEGEND A Air AD Air Distributor, B Preheater, C1 C3 Cyclone, p1 p12 Pressure

Probe, 11 t5 Wall Temperature Probe, T l T5 Bed Temperature Probe, SF Sand Feed
Port, RT Return Leg, RC Riser Column, PX Perspex Section

Figure 1. Schematic view of cold bed experimental set-up of the CFB

Silica sand of mean sizes of 200 pm, 400 pm and 500 pm were used as the bed material. The pressure inside
the combustor was measured by pressure probes located at 0.1, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0 3.5, 4.0and 4.5 m
above the air distributor plate. In the return leg, two pressure probes were provided, one below the
connection to the second cyclone and the other just above the aeration taps.
Supply air to the riser was heated by an electrical heater having four heating coils. Each heating coil had
a capacity of 800 W.A transformer was provided in one of four coils to regulate the heating by the coils so
that the bed temperature level could be controlled.
A heat flux meter (Shotherm HIT-MH2) and a heat flux probe were used for the study. The meter can
measure and display heat flow values in kcal/m2 h and temperature values in "C.The precision in the heat
 CIRCULATING FLUIDIZED BED 493

flow measurement was within & 10% of the indications. For the temperature measurement, the error may be
as much as f3"C. So more precise Chromel-Alumel thermocouples (K-type) were used to measure wall
surface temperature. Heat flux, surface temperature and bed core temperature were measured at five different
vertical locations on the riser column, i.e. 0.01, 0.5, 1.5, 2.5, 3.5 m above the distributor plate. All
thermocouples used were connected to a digital temperature indicator through a selector switch.
The local overall heat transfer coefficient was defined as follows:

Pressure measurement was done for the riser and the return leg. The voidage, E,,,,~, at a point was estimated
from the gradient, AP/AL, that was found from the best curve fitting of pressure at different points. The
voidage can be then estimated as below (Chong et al., 1988; Nag and Ali, 1992):
AP 1
1 - Esusp = --
AL. P p
The suspension density was therefore estimated as follows:
Psusp = (1 - Es.sp) Pp + Eswp P e , kg/m3 (3)
All tests were conducted in such a way that the effect of operating parameters on the local overall bed-to-
wall heat transfer coefficient was considered separately by changing one concerned parameter at a time while
keeping the others constant. For each test, we measured the pressure along the riser and the return leg, riser
air flow rate, total bed inventory, bed and wall surface temperature and heat flux from the bed to the wall
surface at five locations.

EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

To investigate the effect of different parameters on the local overall bed-to-wall heat transfer coefficient, six
tests were performed for sand size of 200 pm, nine tests were performed for sand size of 400 pm and two tests
were performed for sand size of 500 pm. Table 1 presents a summary of the experimental results. Some of
these results are discussed in the following sections.

The effect of suspension density on the local overall heat transfer coeficient
The influence of suspension density on the heat transfer coefficient is illustrated in Figures 2 and 3 for sand
size of 200 pm. The lines drawn are least-squares linear-regression lines for each location. By increasing the
total bed inventory, the solid concentration/suspension density is increased in both the lower part and the
upper part of the CFB, and a higher value of local overall heat transfer coefficient was observed for both the
dense and the dilute phase. The same trend of variation of heat transfer coefficient can be seen when sand
sizes of 400 pm and 500 pm were used. Basu and Nag (1987) and Wu et al., (1989) reported a similar tendency
of the variation of the heat transfer coefficient owing to the change in suspension density from their practical
work.

The effect of riser flow rate on the local overall heat transfer coefjcient
As a result of increasing the riser flow rate while keeping the total bed inventory constant, the bed-to-surface
heat transfer coefficient decreased in the lower part of the CFB (0-01m and 0.5 m above the distributor plate)
while a little increase in the heat transfer coefficient in the upper part of the CFB (15,2.5 and 3 3 m above the
distributor plate) was observed. This could be interpreted based upon the change in solid concentration in
the respective parts. In the lower section, the heat transfer coefficient drops, owing to a reduction in the solid
concentration as the riser flow increases, while an increase in the heat transfer coefficient in the upper section
resulted from a higher solid concentration/suspension density. The effect of riser flow rate is actually the
Table 1. The hot run results of the CFB set-up. (DelP/DElL and Rhosuspstand for AP, AL. and psusp,respectively)
 CIRCULATING FLUIDIZED BED 495

I I I I

300 360 420 480 540 600

Suspension Density, kg/m3.
Figure 2. The effect of the suspension density on the heat transfer coefficient for sand size of 200 pm,location 2

40 1 I I 1 I I I I I I
0 5 10 15 2025 30 35 40 45 50
Suspension Density, kg/m3.
Figure 3. The effect of the suspension density on the heat transfer coefficient for sand size of 200 pm, location 3,4, 5

indirect indication of the effect of suspension density effect on the heat transfer process. Figure 4 presents the
effect of riser flow rate on the heat transfer coefficient for sand size of 200 pm. The same trend of variation
of the heat transfer coefficient due to changing riser flow rate was observed for sand sizes of 400 pm and
500 pm also.
496 PHAM HOANG LUONG AND S. C. BHATTACHARYA

250

1V4m 1700 2000

Riser Flow Rate, lit/min.
Figure 4. The effect of the riser flow rate on the heat transfer coefficient for sand size of 200 mm, total bed inventory of 20 kg

The eflect of height above distributor on the local heat transfer coefJicient
From Figure 5 for sand size of 200 pm, total bed inventory of 20 kg, and three different riser flow rates, the
suspension density is seen to decrease along the riser from the bottom of the riser. A slight increase in
suspension density is then observed near the top of the riser. A similar variation of the suspension density
with height above the distributor has been also reported by Furchi et al.,(1988), and Zheng et al., (1991). At a
higher riser flow rate, the suspension density decreased in the lower part of the bed but increased at the upper

I 1250

0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5
Height, m.
Figure 5. The effect of the riser height on the heat transfer coefficient for sand size of 200 pm,total bed inventory of 20 kg
 CIRCULATING FLUIDIZED BED 497

part. This variation of the suspension density causes a corresponding change in the heat transfer coefficient
along the riser height. For other two sand sizes, of 400 pm and 500 pm, similar variations of the heat transfer
coefficient and the suspension density along the riser height were also observed.

The eflect of sand size on the local overall heat tranqer coeficient
The influence of particle size on the heat transfer coefficient is shown in Figure 6. The lines drawn are least-
squares linear regression lines for the three different sand sizes used. It is observed that the heat transfer

140

+send size 400

+Sand size 500
I I I I I I

0 10 20 30 40 60 5070 80 90 100
Suspension Density, kg/m3.
Figure 6. The effect of the sand size on the heat transfer coefficient

Nu Number.
1

02-

Sand size: 200 +Sand size: 400 * Sand size: 500

1 I I 1 I I I I 1 I I I I
498 PHAM HOANG LUONG AND S. C. BHATT'ACHARYA

coefficient is lower at larger sand size for all suspension densities. This appears to be due to the fact that at the
same suspension density the larger particle offers a higher contact resistance to wall-to-particle cluster heat
transfer (Baskakov, 1964).

The eSfect of solid circulation rate on the heat transfer coeficient

The solid circulation rate in the CFB was also studied under cold condition. The results of this study were
reported by Luong (1992).
The effect of solid circulation rate on the heat transfer coefficient is presented in Figure 7 for the three sand
sizes used. It can be seen that increasing the solid circulation rate results in increasing the heat transfer
coefficient. From the cold run study, with a given total bed inventory, increasing the solid circulation rate
results in increasing the solid transport from the dense phase to the dilute phase. The latter, in turn, causes an
increase in the suspension density of the dilute phase, thus making the bed-to-wall heat transfer more
intensive.

EMPIRICAL CORRELATIONS FOR THE BED-TO-WALL HEAT TRANSFER COEFFICIENT

A mathematical correlation for the length-averaged heat transfer coefficient in the dilute phase, which was
defined as the average value of overall heat transfer coefficients estimated at three locations (1.5,2.5 and 3 3 m
above the distributor plate), was developed in the range of the practical work. It can be expressed as follows:

NU,,, = 1.7613 - 0.6620

(3 (3+
- - 3.0241 1.1673
2
(AZ,)
~

The correlation results and the experimental observations are presented in Figure 8. A high R-squared
(4)

value of approximately 97.1% indicates a good fit.

From 51 sets of experimental data on local overall heat transfer coefficient, a regular trend of its variation
in the dilute phase could be observed. As a result, a mathematical correlation relating the local heat transfer

I I
0.4
0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Nu, Correlation
Figure 8. Comparison of the experimental and the correlation values of the length-averaged dilute phase Nusselt number
 CIRCULATING FLUIDIZED BED 499

coefficient to the length-averaged dilute phase heat transfer coefficient has been developed for the three sand
sizes of 200 pm, 400 pm and 500 pm. The correlation is as follows:

Figure 9 shows the experimental observations and the correlation results for the local Nusselt number.
Another mathematical correlation relating the overall local heat transfer coefficient to the suspension
density ranging from 2 to 80 kg/m3 has also been developed. It has the following form:

This correlation could be applied to the three sand sizes used in the present work. The R-squared is about
97%. The fairly good consistency between the correlation results and the experimental data is shown in
Figure 10.
A comparison between the results of the present study with some other authors' work based upon a fairly
similar experimental condition is reported here. For rather low temperature of the bed, the effect of the
suspension density on the heat transfer coefficient becomes most important. As a result, the variation of the
heat transfer coefficient with suspension density is chosen for the comparison.
The experimental data used for the comparison were drawn from the work reported by Wu et al. (1987) for
a long membrane wall in terms of Nusselt number compared to the results obtained from applying the heat
transfer coefficient-local suspension density correlation given in equation (6). The conversion of the heat
transfer coefficients into corresponding Nusselt numbers for Wu et al.,'s work was based on the average
temperature of the suspension bed. The equivalent diameter of the square column used in their work was
estimated on the basis of the same cross-sectional area compared to a cylindrical column. The comparison is
also presented in Figure 10.
In equation (6), pp, D, and the thermal conductivity of the fluidizing gas were used to make it
nondimensional, although these parameters were not changed during the practical work. Their effect on the
heat transfer coefficient should not therefore be taken as suggested by equation (6).

-
0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2
Nu,Correlation
Figure 9. Comparison of the experimental and the correlation values of the local Nusselt number depending on bed height
500 PHAM HOANG LUONG AND S. C. BHATTACHARYA

I I I I
V.L
0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2
Nu, Correlation.

Figure 10. Comparison between the present study and Wu and Graces work, based on Nu-suspension correlation

CONCLUSIONS
The local heat transfer coefficient in the CFB was found to increase with suspension density and solid
circulation rate. The bed height clearly influenced the heat transfer process from the bed to the wall surface.
The heat transfer coefficient initially decreased with increasing distance from the top of the riser downward
and then gradually increased in the lower part of the riser above the distributor. For the larger particle size
used in the present work, smaller values of heat transfer coefficient were observed. The relevant mathematical
correlations were developed to estimate the length-averaged dilute phase heat transfer coefficient as well as
the local heat transfer coefficient from operating parameters. Comparison of experimental results on the heat
transfer in CFB between the present work and other researchers work was done to qualify the correlation
developed.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
One of the authors (Pham Hoang Luong) would like to express his sincerest thanks to the Government of
France and the Environmental and Energy Management Agency (ADEME, France) for providing financial
aid to carry out this research project.

NOMENCLATURE

A = cross-sectional area of the bed, mz

D = diameter of the riser column, m
dP = average diameter of particle, m
H = height of the riser, m
HIocal = height from the distributor to the measured location, m
haw = length-averaged dilute phase heat transfer coefficient, W/m K
hlorar = local heat transfer coefficient, W/m K
 CIRCULATING FLUIDIZED BED 501

= thermal conductivity of gas, W/m K

= length-averaged dilute phase Nusselt number of particle
Nuaue = h a v e dplKg
= local Nusselt number of particle
Nulocal = hlocal dp/Kg
Q = heat flux from the bed to the wall surface, W/m2
Tb = temperature of the bed, K
TS = temperature of the wall surface, K
= minimum fluidizing air velocity, m/s
= riser air velocity, defined as the riser flow rate per unit cross-sectional area of the riser, m/s
= aeration air velocity, defined as the aeration air flow rate per unit cross-sectional area of the
return leg, m/s
u* = terminal velocity of particle, m/s
& = total bed inventory, kg
%,sp = voidage of the bed
Ps = gas density, kg/m3
PP = particle density, kg/m3
PSUSP = suspension density, kg/m3
AP/AL = differential value of pressure drop per unit length, mm water column/m

REFERENCES
Baskakov, A. P. (1964).The mechanism of heat transfer between a fluidized bed and a surface, International Chemical Enginerring, 4,
320-324.
Basu, P. and Nag, P. K. (1987). An investigation into heat transfer in circulating fluidized beds, International Journal of Heat Mass
Transfer, 30, 2399-2409.
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fluidized bed, in Circulatingjuidized bed technology, Vol. 2, P. Basu and J. F. Large (Eds), Pergamon Press, Oxford, pp. 493-500.
Furchi, J. C. L., Glodstein, L. J., Lombardi, G. and Monseni, M. (1988).Experimental local heat transfer in a circulating fluidized bed, in
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Toronto, pp. 63-19.
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