The present study aims to validate two-dimensional Lagrangian-Eulerian simu
lations of gas-solid fluidized beds by comparing these with dedicated exper
imental data obtained with polystyrene Geldart type D particles of 1.545 ni
m size.
Experimental data on pressure, voidage, and bed height fluctuations, and th
e power spectral density are compared with three different implementations
of the Lagrangian-Eulerian model. Though qualitative trends found in the ex
periment are correctly reproduced by the simulations, it is found that the
simulations are particularly sensitive to porosity estimation procedures us
ed in the three different simulation strategies employed. Furthermore, the
phenomenon of particle clustering predicted by the model does not conform t
o experimental observations; this is because the physics of the break-up of
clusters is not properly captured in the Lagrangian-Eulerian model. (C) 20
01 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.