GAS-SOLID FLOW IN VERTICAL TUBES

A computational study of fully-developed flow of gas-particle suspensions in vertical pipes was carried out, using the model proposed recently by Sinclair and Jackson (1989), to understand the predicted scale-up characteristics. It was shown that the model can capture the existence of steady-state multiplicity wherein different pressure gradients can be obtained for the same gas and solids fluxes. A pronounced and nonmonotonic variation of the pressure gradient required to achieve desired fluxes of solid and gas with tube diameter was predicted by the model, and this is explained on a physical basis. The computed results were compared with the experimental data. The model manifests an unsatisfactory degree of sensitivity to the inelasticity of the particle-particle collisions and the damping of particle-phase fluctuating motion by the gas.