Bubble growth by coalescence in gas fluidized beds

Abstract Bubble size and distribution of bubble sizes were studied in an air fluidized bed, 11.5 in. in diam. and 3 ft. high, by taking motion pictures of the bubbles breaking the top surface of the bed and by determining the size of the bubbles from the film. The distribution of bubble volumes at a given bed height was expressed as a gamma distribution with parameters obtained from the observations. A statistical mechanical method proposed by Hulburt and Katz for studies in agglomeration of particles was used in the mathematical formulation of the problem. A proposed mechanism of bubble growth by coalescence in gas fluidized beds resulted in a one parameter model. Comparisons of the distributions predicted by the model to the experimentally obtained profiles yielded the parameter of the model.