Bubble rise in a packed bed saturated with liquids

Abstract

AbstractExperimental data were determined for drag coefficients on fluid bubbles rising in a saturated packed bed and in clear liquids. Air and benzene were used to form bubbles in glycerine solution, water, and normal heptane. One‐inch diameter glass spheres in hexagonal, random, and cubic packings constituted the bed. The range in Reynolds number was from 0.1 to 1,000. It was found that the drag coefficients in the hexagonal and random arrays were from two to three times those in clear liquids, while the drag on bubbles rising in cubic packings was the same as that for clear liquids. The method of correlation involved the use of the minor diameter in the drag coefficient and the major diameter in the Reynolds number. This innovation improved the correlation for bubble rise in clear liquids.