The effect of solid concentration on the secondary air-jetting penetration in a bubbling fluidized bed

The introduction of secondary air (SA) in fluidized bed boilers is of important engineering significance. In the present work, an experimental study on the characteristics of SA penetration is carried out by operating a bubbling fluidized bed model. Floater, the ash formed from coal combustion, is used as experimental bed material. It has an average size of 0.83 mm and a low density of 620 kg/m3. Results indicate that the floater is more suitable to be operated in a spouted or a bubbling bed. Comparing with the conventional sand and FCC, the fluidizing characteristics of the floater are similar to those of Geldart Group D particles. From measurements of the solid concentration in the bed cross section at SA injection level by use of a solid concentration measuring thief probe of own design, the relation between SA jetting distance and SA velocity under different solid concentrations is obtained when the properties of bed material and SA ports are fixed. Furthermore, a dimensionless correlation is proposed for general cases. The results may provide a basis for further study.