Experimental study of the hydrodynamics and cluster formation in a Circulating Fluidized Bed

Abstract

A novel non-invasive gas-solid flow measuring technique being developed and tested for studying the hydrodynamics inside the riser of a Circulating Fluidized Bed (CFB). First of the two aims of the overall program, namely, design, development and testing of the technique to characterize the particle and gas velocities in two-phase flows was accomplished in the past year. The fringe-model'' laser Doppler anemometry concept has been modified and extended by using particles coated with a fluorescent dye and introducing a narrow band pass filter in the receiving optics. The technique permits optical discrimination between the scattered light (laser wavelength from undyed particles) and the fluorescence emission (longer wavelength). Results from extensive testing of various dye-solvent combinations, counter processor settings, signal-to noise optimization and subsequent flow measurements in the test section have shown that the technique can effectively discriminate between two classes of particles--the smaller seed particles for the gas phase data and the larger bed particles. Use of a two-watt Argon-Ion laser assisted in the non-intrusive probing of the gas-solid flow and in enhancing the signal-to-noise ratio. An uncertainty analysis of LDA measurements is presented. Design of the cold flow CFB model, presently under fabrication, is outlined in this report. The Plexiglas CFB model will be employed for the riser core-annular flow studies using the fluorescence-emission based laser-Doppler anemometry. The results from this study will present a unique detailed description of the complex gas-solid behavior in the CFB riser.