Abstract
Instead of using Darcy’s law, we have adopted Ergun’s Equation, dP/dz = K1Ua + K2Ua2, for the force balance model proposed by Mamuro et al. The equations we derived give the general expression of the longitudinal distributions of fluid velocity and pressure in the annulus, and of the maximum ratio of spouting to fluidizing pressure drop.
Calculated results show that there is no remarkable difference in the longitudinal distribution of fluid velocity in the annulus, even if the form of Ergun’s equation changes between its two extremes, –dP/dz = K1Ua and –dP/dz = K2Ua2. On the other hand, the longitudinal pressure distribution and the maximum ratio of spouting to fluidizing pressure drop change significantly. The maximum ratio of spouting to fluidizing pressure drop changes in the range from 0.75 to 0.63.
