Effect of Pressure on Flow Behaviors in Dense Gas- Fluidized Beds: a Discrete Particle Simulation Study

A computational study has been carried out to assess the influence of pressure on the flow behaviors in dense gas-fluidized beds. Therefore the discrete particle simulation approach has been employed to study the regime transitions, local two-phase flow structures and the energy dissipation distribution. The results show that high pressure reduces the incipient fluidization velocity, widens the uniform fluidization regime and leads to a quick transition to the turbulent regime. Particularly it is discovered that high pressure, through enhancing gas-solid interaction and reducing the particle collision frequency, efficiently suppresses formation of large bubbles. As a consequence thereof more uniform gas-solid flow structures are produced leading to particulate fluidization.