Gas velocity

Acoustic transmission factor T Average linear gas velocity IX... 

Pig. 22. Schematic representation of typical pressure drop as a function of superficial gas velocity, expressed in terms of G = /9q tiQ, in packed columns. O, Dry packing , low Hquid flow rate I, higher Hquid flow rate. The points do not correspond to actual experimental data, but represent examples. 

Eigure 6 enables a comparison to be made of kj a values in stirred bioreactors and bubble columns (51). It can be seen that bubble columns are at least as energy-efficient as stirred bioreactors in coalescing systems and considerably more so when coalescence is repressed at low specific power inputs (gas velocities). 

The diffusion coefficient depends upon the characteristics of the absorption process. Reducing the thickness of the surface films increases the coefficient and correspondingly speeds up the absorption rate. Therefore, agitation of the Hquid increases diffusion through the Hquid film and a higher gas velocity past the Hquid surface could cause more rapid diffusion through the gas film. 

The Beckstead-Derr-Price model (Fig. 1) considers both the gas-phase and condensed-phase reactions. It assumes heat release from the condensed phase, an oxidizer flame, a primary diffusion flame between the fuel and oxidizer decomposition products, and a final diffusion flame between the fuel decomposition products and the products of the oxidizer flame. Examination of the physical phenomena reveals an irregular surface on top of the unheated bulk of the propellant that consists of the binder undergoing pyrolysis, decomposing oxidizer particles, and an agglomeration of metallic particles. The oxidizer and fuel decomposition products mix and react exothermically in the three-dimensional zone above the surface for a distance that depends on the propellant composition, its microstmcture, and the ambient pressure and gas velocity. If aluminum is present, additional heat is subsequently produced at a comparatively large distance from the surface. Only small aluminum particles ignite and bum close enough to the surface to influence the propellant bum rate. The temperature of the surface is ca 500 to 1000°C compared to ca 300°C for double-base propellants. 

Laser Doppler Velocimeters. Laser Doppler flow meters have been developed to measure Hquid or gas velocities in both open and closed conduits. Velocity is measured by detecting the frequency shift in the light scattered by natural or added contaminant particles in the flow. Operation is conceptually analogous to the Doppler ultrasonic meters. Laser Doppler meters can be appHed to very low flows and have the advantage of sensing at a distance, without mechanical contact or interaction. The technique has greatest appHcation in open-flow studies such as the deterrnination of engine exhaust velocities and ship wake characteristics. 

The basic concepts of a gas-fluidized bed are illustrated in Figure 1. Gas velocity in fluidized beds is normally expressed as a superficial velocity, U, the gas velocity through the vessel assuming that the vessel is empty. At a low gas velocity, the soHds do not move. This constitutes a packed bed. As the gas velocity is increased, the pressure drop increases until the drag plus the buoyancy forces on the particle overcome its weight and any interparticle forces. At this point, the bed is said to be minimally fluidized, and this gas velocity is termed the minimum fluidization velocity, The bed expands slightly at this condition, and the particles are free to move about (Fig. lb). As the velocity is increased further, bubbles can form. The soHds movement is more turbulent, and the bed expands to accommodate the volume of the bubbles. 

Fig. 1. Fluidized-bed behavior where U is the superficial gas velocity and is the minimum fluidization velocity (a) packed bed, no flow (b) fluid bed,...

Terminal Velocity. The single-particle terminal velocity, U, is the gas velocity required to maintain a single particle suspended in an upwardly flowing gas stream. A knowledge of terminal velocity is important in fluidized beds because it relates to how long particles are retained in the system. If the operating superficial gas velocity in the fluidized bed far exceeds the terminal velocity of the bed particles, the particles are quickly removed. 

Group D particles are large, on the order of 1 or more millimeters (1000 fim) in average particle size. In a fluidized bed, they behave similarly to Group B particles. Because of the high gas velocities required to fluidize Group D particles, it is often more economical to process these particles in spouted or in moving beds, where lower gas rates suffice. 

To escape aggregative fluidization and move to a circulating bed, the gas velocity is increased further. The fast-fluidization regime is reached where the soHds occupy only 5 to 20% of the bed volume. Gas velocities can easily be 100 times the terminal velocity of the bed particles. Increasing the gas velocity further results in a system so dilute that pneumatic conveying (qv), or dilute-phase transport, occurs. In this regime there is no actual bed in the column. 

Fig. 7. Axial density profiles in the (—) bubbling, (------) turbulent, and (----) fast and ( ) riser circulating fluidization regimes. Typical gas velocities for...

Bubbles and Fluidized Beds. Bubbles, or gas voids, exist in most fluidized beds and their role can be important because of the impact on the rate of exchange of mass or energy between the gas and soflds in the bed. Bubbles are formed in fluidized beds from the inherent instabiUty of two-phase systems. They are formed for Group A powders when the gas velocity is sufficient to start breaking iaterparticle forces at For Group B powders, where iaterparticle forces are usually negligible, and bubbles form immediately upon fluidization. Bubbles, which are inherently... 

Bubble size control is achieved by controlling particle size distribution or by increasing gas velocity. The data as to whether internal baffles also lower bubble size are contradictory. (Internals are commonly used in fluidized beds for heat exchange, control of soflds hackmixing, and other purposes.)... 

Bubbles rise through the bed in two different regimes. Slow bubbles rise at a gas velocity less than (equal to, and present an... 

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