Measurement of Flow Characteristics in a Bubbling Fluidized Bed Using Electrostatic Sensor Arrays

Fluidized beds are widely applied in a range of industrial processes. In order to maintain the efficient operation of a fluidized bed, the flow parameters in the bed should be monitored continuously. In this paper, electrostatic sensor arrays are used to measure the flow characteristics in a bubbling fluidized bed. In order to investigate the electrostatic charge distribution and the flow dynamics of solid particles in the dense region, time and frequency domain analysis of the electrostatic signals is conducted. In addition, the correlation velocities and weighted average velocity of Geldart A particles in the dense and transit regions are calculated, and the flow dynamics of Geldart A and D particles in the dense and transit regions are compared. Finally, the influence of liquid antistatic agents on the performance of the electrostatic sensor array is investigated. According to the experimental results, it is proved that the flow characteristics in the dense and transit regions of a bubbling fluidized bed can be measured using electrostatic sensor arrays

Particle velocity measurement of binary mixtures in the riser of a circulating fluidized bed by the combined use of electrostatic sensing and high-speed imaging

Zhang WB acknowledges the financial supports from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 61403138) and Beijing Natural Science Foundation (No. 3202028). Zhan W and Wang CH acknowledge the research programme funded by the National Research Foundation (NRF), Prime Minister’s Office, Singapore under its Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE) programme. Grant Number R-706-001-102–281, National University of Singapore.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

ON THE MONITORING OF THE GAS-SOLID FLOWS IN INDUSTRIAL FLUIDIZED BEDS BY USING ELECTRICAL CHARGE SENSORS

The fluidized bed technology has been used in many industrial processes. It promotes good rates of heat, mass transfer and chemical reaction by generating high level of gas-solid mixture. However, the assurance of quality and efficiency of these processes requires the monitoring of the gas-solid flow. For this propose, there are some sensing techniques that allows generating dynamic signals from cold or hot fluidized beds. They are based on pressure fluctuations, acoustic and mechanical vibrations, electrical capacitance and on electrical charges. Electrical charge sensors were proposed originally for measuring the flow velocity in pneumatic conveying. They are composed of one or more metallic electrodes that detect electrical charges in the gas-solid flow, which are generated by particle-particle and particle-wall interaction due to triboelectric effect. In this work, such sensors are explored as a robust and inexpensive solution for the monitoring of industrial fluidized beds. However, since research investments are requested specially on the design of the sensor, concerning the flow quantity of interest and the electrification processes acting on the sensor, in this work different configurations were classified from information in literature, and other were proposed in this work concerning their use with industrial fluidized beds. Although the relation between magnitude of the detected charges and some physical quantities of the flow, such as concentration, is still not clear, other important information can be obtained by analyzing dynamic signals, as velocity or bubbles frequency, or even for identifying of the fluidization regime. It was stated that each configuration, with its own shape and arrangement, can promote or not one or other electrification process by contact, friction or induction and, therefore, each one has a different perception of the flow

Non-intrusive measurement and hydrodynamics characterization of gas–solid fluidized beds: a review

Gas-solid fluidization is a well-established technique to suspend or transport particles and has been applied in a variety of industrial processes. Nevertheless, our knowledge of fluidization hydrodynamics is still limited for the design, scale-up and operation optimization of fluidized bed reactors. It is therefore essential to characterize the two-phase flow behaviours in gas-solid fluidized beds and monitor the fluidization processes for control and optimization. A range of non-intrusive techniques have been developed or proposed for measuring the fluidization dynamic parameters and monitoring the flow status without disturbing or distorting the flow fields. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the non-intrusive measurement techniques and the current state of knowledge and experience in the characterization and monitoring of gas-solid fluidized beds. These techniques are classified into six main categories as per sensing principles, electrostatic, acoustic emission and vibration, visualization, particle tracking, laser Doppler anemometry and phase Doppler anemometry as well as pressure fluctuation methods. Trend and future developments in this field are also discussed

Characterisation of Flow Intermittency and Coherent Structures in a Gas-Solid Circulating Fluidised Bed through Electrostatic Sensing

Flow intermittency and coherent structures are important hydrodynamic phenomena in a gas–solid circulating fluidized bed (CFB). In this work, an electrostatic measurement system based on arc-shaped sensing electrodes is designed and implemented on a CFB test rig. Cross correlation, statistical analysis, wavelet transform, and probability density function (PDF) are applied to the electrostatic signal processing, providing a comprehensive description of the solids velocity, solids holdup, flow intermittency, and coherent structure behaviors. A conditional sampling method is used to extract the coherent structure signals from the electrostatic signals. By comparing the extended self-similarity (ESS) scaling law curves before and after the extraction, the effects of coherent structures on the flow intermittency are further confirmed. Experimental results have demonstrated that the electrostatic signals contain important information about the intermittent hydrodynamic behaviors in a CFB, and the analysis of electrostatic signals through appropriate methods results in an in-depth understanding of the fluidization process

Measurement of moisture content in a fluidized bed dryer using an electrostatic sensor array

Fluidized bed dryers have been widely applied to dry raw materials or final products due to the advantages of good mixing efficiency and high heat and mass transfer rate. In order to control and optimize the drying process of fluidized bed dryers, it is necessary to develop reliable methods to measure the moisture content of solid particles in the bed. Because of the advantages of non-intrusiveness, simple structure and high sensitivity, an electrostatic sensor array has been developed to monitor the drying process. Experimental investigations were conducted on a lab-scale fluidized bed dryer. The moisture content during the drying process was measured using the sampled particles as reference. It is found that the fluctuation of the electrostatic signals can reflect the change in moisture content. However, the relationship between the fluctuation of the electrostatic signal and the moisture content depends on the air velocity in the dryer. To eliminate the velocity effect on moisture content measurement, a model between the moisture content and the root-mean-square magnitude of the electrostatic signal is established. The effectiveness of the model is validated using experimental results under a range of conditions. The findings indicate that the electrostatic sensor array can measure the moisture content in the bed with a maximum error of ±15%

Non-intrusive Characterisation of Particle Cluster Behaviours in a Riser through Electrostatic and Vibration Sensing

Particle clusters are important mesoscale flow structures in gas-solid circulating fluidised beds (CFBs). An electrostatic sensing system and two accelerometers are installed on the riser of a CFB test rig to collect signals simultaneously. Cross correlation, Hilbert-Huang transform (HHT), V-statistic analysis, and wavelet transform are applied for signal identification and cluster characterisation near the wall. Solids velocities are obtained through cross correlation. Non-stationary and non-linear characteristics are distinctly exhibited in the Hilbert spectra of the electrostatic and vibration signals, and the cluster dynamic behaviours are represented by the energy distributions of the signal intrinsic mode functions (IMFs). The cycle feature and main cycle frequency of cluster motion are characterised through V-statistic analysis of the vibration signals. Consistent characteristic information about particle clusters is extracted from the electrostatic and vibration signals. Furthermore, a cluster identification criterion for electrostatic signals is proposed, including a fixed and a wavelet dynamic thresholds, based on which the cluster time fraction, average cluster duration time, cluster frequency, and average cluster vertical size are quantified. Especially, the cluster frequency obtained from this criterion agrees well with that from the aforementioned V-statistic analysis. Results from this 3 work provide a new non-intrusive approach to the characterisation of cluster dynamic behaviours and their effects on the flow field

Non-intrusive Characterisation of Particle Cluster Behaviours in a Riser through Electrostatic and Vibration Sensing

Particle clusters are important mesoscale flow structures in gas-solid circulating fluidised beds (CFBs). An electrostatic sensing system and two accelerometers are installed on the riser of a CFB test rig to collect signals simultaneously. Cross correlation, Hilbert-Huang transform (HHT), V-statistic analysis, and wavelet transform are applied for signal identification and cluster characterisation near the wall. Solids velocities are obtained through cross correlation. Non-stationary and non-linear characteristics are distinctly exhibited in the Hilbert spectra of the electrostatic and vibration signals, and the cluster dynamic behaviours are represented by the energy distributions of the signal intrinsic mode functions (IMFs). The cycle feature and main cycle frequency of cluster motion are characterised through V-statistic analysis of the vibration signals. Consistent characteristic information about particle clusters is extracted from the electrostatic and vibration signals. Furthermore, a cluster identification criterion for electrostatic signals is proposed, including a fixed and a wavelet dynamic thresholds, based on which the cluster time fraction, average cluster duration time, cluster frequency, and average cluster vertical size are quantified. Especially, the cluster frequency obtained from this criterion agrees well with that from the aforementioned V-statistic analysis. Results from this 3 work provide a new non-intrusive approach to the characterisation of cluster dynamic behaviours and their effects on the flow field

Experimental Investigations into Bubble Characteristics in a Fluidized Bed through Electrostatic Imaging

Fluidized beds are widely applied in many industrial processes. In order to control and optimise the operation of a fluidized bed, it is necessary to develop reliable methods for the measurement of bubble characteristics to monitor the status of the bed. Electrostatic sensing methods based on the detection of charges on particles have been applied to characterize the particle motion in a fluidized bed. However, there is limited research on the measurement of bubble characteristics using the electrostatic methods due to complex electrostatic phenomena around the bubbles. In this paper, an imaging method using a two-dimensional electrostatic sensor array is employed for the experimental investigations into the bubble behaviors in a two-dimensional fluidized bed. The bubble size, shape, rising velocity and generation frequency are measured. Moreover, an optical imaging system is employed to obtain reference information to evaluate the performance of the electrostatic imaging method. Experimental results show that the bubble characteristics measured from the electrostatic sensor array have a good agreement with the results from the optical imaging system. The relative root mean square error between the bubble shapes measured from the electrostatic sensor array and from the optical system is 0.239 with a standard deviation within 4.7%

Study of hydrodynamic behaviour in a conical fluidized bed dryer using pressure fluctuation analysis and X-ray densitometry

Fluidized bed dryers (FBDs) are used in the pharmaceutical industry to remove excess moisture from granule prior to tablet formation. As granule moisture content is reduced from its initial to final state, the velocity required to fully fluidize the granule decreases and the bed voidage decreases. The change in these fluidization properties are attributed to the decrease in the interparticle force load created by a reduction in liquid bridging as moisture is removed. During constant velocity drying, these fluidization properties result in a bubbling fluidization state, which evolves into a bubble coalescing regime as drying proceeds. This behaviour was identifiable using pressure fluctuation time-series analysis techniques. Distributor design studies using dry and wet granule in a conical fluidized bed suggest that the punched plate design limits bubble coalescence when compared to the perforated plate and Dutch weave mesh designs. Furthermore, the Dutch weave results in extensive segregation, which is undesirable from a fluidization perspective. Local drying hydrodynamic measurements using x-ray densitometry found that the punched and perforated plates generate a centralized bubbling core region during drying with a defluidized bed periphery. This fluidized core region grows as drying proceeds until the defluidized region disappears. Under the same operating conditions, a porous plate distributor creates extensive channelling and defluidization across the entire bed cross-section during the constant rate period of drying. These poor fluidization characteristics are a result of the porous plate introducing the gas into the bed as a fine dispersion. Lastly, the hydrodynamics associated with the conical vessel geometry improves the circulation and mixing patterns in fluidized bed dryers. This is especially the case in the entry region of the conical bed where the high inlet gas velocity prevents defluidization around the periphery of the bed. The straight walled geometry of the cylindrical bed resulted in defluidization in this area. As a result, the hydrodynamics associated with bubbling differ significantly between the geometries over the course of drying