A simplified correlation for fixed bed pressure drop

✍ Scribed by Melda Özdinç Çarpinlioğlu; Emrah Özahi

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 2008
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 670 KB
• Volume: 187
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0032-5910
• DOI: 10.1016/j.powtec.2008.01.027

✦ Synopsis

An experimental study was conducted on the pressure drop characteristics of a variety of vertical packed beds in turbulent flow of air. The materials of different particle diameter, D p , with a range of sphericity Φ, 0.55 ≤ Φ ≤ 1.00 were used in random loose packing to produce beds of different lengths, L, with a range of porosity, ε, 0.36 ≤ ε ≤ 0.56. In the covered test cases the cross-sectional velocity distribution at the exit plane of the packed beds and the pressure drop ΔP Bed were measured in a particle Reynolds number range of Re p , 675 ≤ Re p ≤ 7772. The particular emphasis of the study was given to determine the influence of ε, Φ, D p , L, Re p on ΔP Bed . In this respect the measurements of ΔP Bed were compared with the well-known Ergun's Equation and the data were expressed in terms of correlations through introduced dimensionless parameters of pressure coefficient, ΔP ⁎ and exit Reynolds number Re exit . The proposed correlations of ΔP ⁎ = ΔP ⁎ (εRe p D p / L) and Re exit = Re exit (Re p D p / L) are found to be appropriate for the determination of ΔP Bed and mean exit velocity, U, respectively with an acceptable fit of experimental data in an error margin less than ± 20%. The methodology is presented in this paper as an alternative approach to the available literature on packed beds.