This work is aimed at modeling the heat transfer mechanism in a fluidized bed of grass seeds (Brachiaria brizantha) for supporting further works on simulating the drying of these seeds in such a bed. The three-phase heat transfer model, developed by Vitor et al. (2004), is the one used for this proposal. This model is modified to uncouple one of the four adjusted model parameters from the gas temperature. Using the first set of experiments, carried out in a laboratory scale batch fluidized bed, the four adjusted model parameters are determined, generating the heat transfer coefficient between particles and gas phase, as well as the heat transfer coefficient between the column wall and ambient air. The second set of experiments, performed in the same unit at different conditions, validates the modified model.

Interparticle forces, developed in wet spouted beds composed of a mixture of spherical particles with different size distributions, intensify particle segregation mechanisms interfering in gas distribution inside the bed and, consequently, in the spouting flow characteristics. Therefore, this paper is aimed at describing the effect of interparticle forces on the air-solid flow distribution in conical spouted beds of unequal-sized particles coated by a thin glycerol film. Experimental results show that both the minimum spouting airflow rate and the minimum spouting pressure drop decrease as the amount of glycerol added to the bed increases. In addition, simulated results of the annular air velocity along the bed height showed that, at the base of the column, the radial component of the inertial force is high enough to break liquid bridges between particles and carry these particles out along the spout. Moreover, as the glycerol concentration increases, the spout diameter increases along the bed height. Such changes in the air-solid flow can maintain the spouting regime for higher glycerol concentrations as shown by experimental data.

This work aims at modeling and simulating the drying of whole milk emulsion in spray dryers. Drops and particles make up the discrete phase and are distributed into temporal compartments following their residence time in the dryer. Air is the continuous and well-mixed phase. Mass and energy balances are developed for each phase, taking into account their interactions. Constitutive equations for describing the drop swelling and drying mechanisms as well as the heat and mass transfer between particles and hot air are proposed and analyzed. A set of algebraic-differential equations is obtained and solved by specific numerical codes. Results from experiments carried out in a pilot spray dryer are used to validate the model developed and the numerical algorithm. Comparing the simulated and experimental data, it is shown that the model predicts well the individual drop-particle history inside the dryer as well as the overall outlet air-particle temperature and humidity.

As reflected in the literature, solid-fluid flow characteristics in spouted beds can vary widely when particles are coated by a suspension. This work is aimed at describing the effect of interparticle forces on airflow distribution in conical spouted beds of inert particles coated by Eucalyptus black liquor. The simulator developed earlier is modified to incorporate this effect. Two corrective functions with adjustable parameters are introduced into the simulator gas-flow model to generate the minimum spouting conditions in beds wetted by this liquor. These functions are assumed to be dependent on characteristic suspension groups and bed height. Using the particle swarm optimization (PSO) technique, expressions for these functions are obtained. Simulated results are presented and discussed to validate this technique. Implications of these results on drying Eucalyptus black liquor in conical spouted beds are analyzed.

Some applications of spouted beds have been limited by problems with spout stability. In order to overcome these limitations, research should be concentrated on describing the mechanism by which the spout is developed. This work presents a theoretical and experimental study to describe the effective solid stress distribution in the annular region of a conical spouted bed. From experimental observation, the failure state of the bed of particles at the outset of spouting is identified and related to fluid-particle properties and column dimensions. Linear and angular momentum balances for the solid phase are then formulated as a function of the bed failure state. The set of equations obtained is solved using numerical methods, and results regarding stress distribution, stability and spout shape are presented and discussed.