Analysis of bubble dynamics and local hydrodynamics based on instantaneousheat transfer measurements in a slurry bubble column

A fast response heat transfer probe was designed to measure local instantan eous heat transfer coefficients at various gas velocities and slurry concen trations in a slurry bubble column. The enhancement of heat transfer due to turbulent bubble-wake region has been analyzed to understand bubble-wake d ynamics. To quantitatively describe instantaneous heat transfer coefficient due to bubble-wake enhancement, a peak-fitting method was applied to obtai n peak-height distribution. Then average peak height and average peak area obtained from peak-height distribution are further analyzed to understand b ubble-wake behaviors at different slurry concentrations. Generally, peak he ight and peak area are an increasing function of gas velocity. In the centr al region, three processes were identified with increasing slurry concentra tions. Each process is analyzed based on bubble-wake properties. (C) 1999 E lsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.