Heat transfer characteristics of the fluidized bed through the annulus

The annular fluidized bed can be regarded as a promising technique for waste heat recovery applications. This study investigates on the determination of steady state values of the average heat transfer on the surface of the inner tube under different operating conditions that include: (1) input heat flux ranging from 557 to 1671 W/m(2), (2) superficial air velocity ranging between 0.12 and 0.36 m/s, (3) initial bed height ranging from 25 to 55 cm, (4) ratio of the inner to the outer diameters ranging from 1/6 to 1/2 and Kaolin particle diameters ranging between 282 and 550 A mu m. The average values of the heat transfer coefficient along the inner tube (consisting of the fluidized and free board sections) are also deduced. An empirical correlation for calculating the Nusselt number is obtained for the given parameters and ranges.