Partic. vol. 16 pp. 75-83 (October 2014)
doi: 10.1016/j.partic.2014.03.012

Characterization of the bubbling fluidization of nanoparticles

Mohammad R. Tamadondar, Reza Zarghami^*, Maryam Tahmasebpoor, Navid Mostoufi

rzarghami@ut.ac.ir

Abstract

The dynamic features of an agglomerate bubbling fluidization of nanoparticles were investigated through the analysis of pressure fluctuations. Experiments were carried out in a lab-scale fluidized bed at ambient conditions using 10–15 nm silica nanoparticles without any surface modification. Pressure fluctuation signals were processed in both frequency and time-frequency domains to characterize the behavior of various scales of phenomena (i.e., macro-, meso-, and micro-structures) during fluidization. Due to the aggregation of nanoparticles, three separate broad peaks were observed in the frequency spectra of the pressure signals measured in the bubbling fluidized bed of nanoparticles. A non-intrusive method based on the decoupling of pressure fluctuations recorded simultaneously in the plenum and in the bed was used to determine the approximate size of the bubbles in the bed.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Fluidization; Hydrodynamics; Pressure fluctuations; Nanoparticles