An Eulerian-Eulerian model incorporating the kinetic theory of the granular flow is applied to numerically test the fluidization characteristics of particles in gas distributors. Three different hole diameters are considered in the simulation. Meanwhile, a fluidized-bed reactor equipment and the appropriate distributors are designed. The fluidization is tested in the cold state based on the equipment. The effect of the hole diameter on the fluidization characteristics is verified. It is shown that the ultimate pressure drop increases with the decrease of the hole diameter (1 mm, 2 mm and 3 mm). On the other hand, the critical fluidizing gas velocity increases with the hole diameter. The expansion of the bed is more significant in the case of fluidizing with 1 mm hole diameter. Also, the larger the hole diameter, the more leakage of the material, as is consistent with the observation. The particles circulate in the fluidized-bed more regularly when using the gas distributor of a smaller hole diameter. It is very important since the regular movement of the particles might improve the mixing of the material. In the steady fluidization, the solid concentration is plummeted with the increase of the height of the bed. And this trend is gentler in the case of 1mm hole diameter, which indicates that a smaller hole diameter leads to a more uniform distribution. The result also shows that the radial distribution of the solid is in a typical coreannulus structure. The velocity of the particles at the core and annulus areas decreases and increases with the increase of the hole diameter, respectively.

gas distributor  /  hole diameter  /  cold state test  /  numerical simulation