The effect of bed configuration on the forces prevailing in fluidized beds

Abstract The attrition of fluidized particles and erosion of heat-exchanger tubes are critical engineering problems in fluidized bed reactors, particularly in fluidized bed combustors. To elucidate the fundamental mechanism of the attrition and erosion, the contribution of the transient maximum forces of solid particles and the fractural property of the concerned materials (particles, vessels and heat exchangers) should be investigated separately. In this paper, the quantitative data on the forces prevailing on particles, walls, and tubes in fluidized beds have been systematically obtained at various configurations with different scales and at various operating conditions. This detail is essential to fundamentally understand the attrition and erosion mechanism.