Pressure drop and minimum fluidization velocity in a 2D configuration

In order to determine the pressure drop equation and the minimum fluidizati on velocity of a 2D bed of monodispersed particles, an experimental setup h as been developed. The first results show clearly that the well-known equat ions for 3D bed are not reliable for this configuration. In particular the minimum fluidization velocity is underestimated A new pressure drop law is proposed which allows the determination of the minimum fluidization velocit y, and is in goon agreement with the experimental measurements. (C) 2000 Ac ademie des sciences/Editions scientifiques et medicales Elsevier SAS.