Slugging Behavior of Geldart D Particles in a Vibrated Gas-Fluidized Bed

Abstract

The periodic slugging behavior of Geldart D particles in a vibrated gas-fluidized bed (VFB) is favorable for some applications involving the processes of particles stratification, especially for fine coal beneficiation in a VFB. It is of great significance to conduct systematic studies on slug formation, slug coalescence and growth, slug rising velocity, and slugging frequency in a VFB of Geldart D particles. The slug formation model is proposed based on theoretical analysis and indicates that the vibration amplitude, the vibration frequency, and the superficial air velocity all have significant effects on the slugging behavior. Also, the comparison of predicted values and measured values of the slug height at its initial formation verifies that the slug formation model has high prediction accuracy. The dynamic of the coalescence of bubbles into an adjacent slug is qualitatively studied and the correlations of the slug height and the slug rising velocity are established, respectively. The results show that the slug height increases with the excess fluidizing air velocity and the height of slug location, and the slug rising velocity performs an exponential growth with the increase of slug height. The results also show that the slugging frequency is independent on the superficial air velocity.