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Bulletin 504

Fluid Flow Through Packed and Fluidized Systems - 1951

M. Leva
M. Weinfraub
M. Grummer
M. Pollchik
H. H. Storch

Bureau of Mines

Part 1 (1 - 52, 4.96MB)
Part 2 (53 - 104, 5.23MB)
Part 3 (105 - 154, 4.10MB)

Table of Contents

Introduction 1
Acknowledgements 2
Literature survey 3
  Fluid flow through packed beds 3
Fluidization 7
Pressure drop through packed tubes, turbulent flow 8
  General correlation 8
Variables 8
Derivation of a working equation 8
Experimental work 9
Discussion of results 14
Nomograph of pressure-drop equation 15
Effect of surface roughness 17
  Materials and data 17
Correlation 19
Discussion of results 20
Prediction of voids in packed tubes 22
  Methods of charging vessels 22
Variables 22
Experimental details 22
Comments 26
General Estimation of voids for rings 27
Wall Effect 28
Limits of void function 28
Saddles 28
Sample Calculation 29
Comparison between tower packings 29
Bed-Characterization factor 29
Volume and surface-area characteristics 31
Relative packing efficiency 31
Space velocity 32
Cylinders, spheres, and granules 33
Summary 35
Pressure drop through packed tubes, viscous flow 37
General correlation 37
Data and equipment 37
Correlation of results 42
Nomograph 46
Generalized pressure-drop equation 49
Transitional range 49
Differential equation 50
Nomograph 51
Pressure drop through packed tubes, viscous flow-Continued  
Shape-factor estimations 51
Fluidization of solids 57
General 57
Vesicular and nonvesicular particles 57
Fluidization of nonporous particles 57
Description of fluidization 57
Experimental details 58
Data and correlations 59
Illustrations 59
Minimum fluid voidage 60
Correlation 61
Fluidization efficiency 63
Equations 64
Discussion 64
Illustration 66
Fluidization of an iron Fischer-Tropsch catalyst 67
Material and operation 67
Data and correlations 69
Application to process design 71
sample calculations and comments 75
Abridged equations for estimating onset of fluidization 76
Fluidization of mixed materials 78
Stratification 78
Correlation 79
Solid-liquid systems 79
Experimental 79
Conclusions 80
Data interpretation on the basis of the flocculation theory 80
Fluidization of porous material 83
General 83
Experimental data 85
Correlation and comments 86
Minimum fluid voidage 87
Channeling in fluidized beds 87
Summary 90
Summary of design equations 92
Nomenclature 93
Appendix 95