Heat transfer and the mechanism of drying in agitation fluidized bed

This paper describes experimental and numerical analyses on the heat transf er between air and particles in an agitation fluidized bed drying process. Spherical particles made of crystalline cellulose hating been dampened to 1 5% were dried in an agitation fluidized bed. The effects of the operating v ariables such as air temperature, air velocity, agitator rotational speed a nd particle size on the heat transfer coefficient between air and particles were investigated experimentally, An empirical equation was then proposed to predict the heat transfer coefficient under various operating variables and particle size. The empirical equation could predict the heat transfer c oefficient very accurately.