Experimental investigation of heat transfer in three-phase fluidized bed cooling column

Abstract

A three-phase (gas-liquid-solid) fluidized bed was used to study the heat transfer characteristics of a system consisting of low-density (290 kg/m(3)) spherical particles (2 cm diameter) in a 0.25 m cylindrical column with counter-current flow of water and air. The experimental investigation and mathematical modeling of heat transfer between the hot air and the cooling water was carried out. The experiments were conducted for a variety of different fluid flow rates and inlet air temperatures, while the air flow rate was kept constant. Based on the obtained experimental results, a new correlation for heat transfer in a three-phase fluidized system was proposed. The mean percentage error between the experimental and the correlated values of the j(Hp) obtained was 1.69%. The hydrodynamic parameters of the system were also calculated according to the available literature correlations.