Hydrodynamic scaling of a rectangular spouted vessel with a draft duct

Abstract The scaling relationships developed by Glicksman et al. [2] for fluidized beds, have been modified to obtain scaling parameters for a rectangular spouted vessel operated with a draft duct. Similitude included matching the coefficients of restitution and friction of the particles. A CFD model was used to investigate the hydrodynamics of the “standard” model and hypothetical “small” (1/10th standard) and “large” (10× standard) sizes, while matching the dimensionless parameters for the spouted vessel. The results show good similarity at corresponding points for the three different sized vessels. In addition, a correlation is presented that can predict the solids circulation rate to within 17% of the CFD results for units with geometrical similarity to the system investigated.