ON THE CRITERIA OF SOLIDS LAYER INVERSION IN A LIQUID SOLID FLUIDIZED-BED CONTAINING A BINARY MIXTURE OF PARTICLES

A simple criterion is proposed for the prediction of solids layer inversion velocity or critical velocity in a liquid-solid fluidized bed containing a binary mixture of particles with solids layer inversion properties. The criterion is established based on the behavior of the segregation velocity of the particle which locates at the bottom of the bed at low liquid velocities. The criterion is verified satisfactorily with the present experimental results. The criterion is also satisfactorily extended to account for the onset velocity of the particle intermixing state before the point of layer inversion.