Measuring turbulence in a circulating fluidized bed using PIV techniques

This study utilized the particle image velocimetry (PIV) technique, non-invasively near the wall, in the developing region, for the measurements of laminar and turbulent properties during circulation of Geldart B type particles in the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) riser. A novel method was used to measure axial and radial laminar and turbulent solids dispersion coefficients using autocorrelation technique.The instantaneous and hydrodynamic velocities for the solid phase were measured simultaneously in the axial and radial directions using a CCD camera, with the help of a colored rotating transparency. The measured properties, such as laminar and Reynolds stresses, laminar and turbulent granular temperatures, laminar and turbulent dispersion coefficients and energy spectra exhibited anisotropy. The mixing in the riser was on the level of clusters. The total granular temperatures were in reasonable agreement with the literature values. However, the axial and radial solids dispersion coefficients measured near the wall were slightly lower than the radially averaged values in the literature.