Local Heat Transfer Coefficients around Horizontal Tubes in Fluidized Beds

Abstract

The local characteristics of heat transfer from horizontal tubes immersed in fluidized beds were investigated experimentally. Steady-state heat transfer measurements were obtained in air-fluidized beds of glass beads, both for a single tube and a ten-row bare tube bundle. The test results indicated that local heat transfer coefficients are strongly influenced by angular position and gas flow rate, as well as by particle size and system pressure. The heat transfer coefficients, averaged around the circumference of the tube, exhibited a general tendency to increase with decreasing particle size and increasing system pressure. The heat transfer coefficients for a tube in an inner-row position within the bundle were found to be slightly higher than those for a tube in the bottom-row. Comparison of the average heat transfer coefficient data obtained in this study with some of the existing correlations for heat transfer from horizontal tubes showed that the correlations are unsatisfactory.