Date of Graduation
1991
Document Type
Dissertation/Thesis
Abstract
A procedure to model the wear of surfaces exposed to a fluidized bed is formulated. A stochastic methodology adapting the kinetic theory of gases to granular flows is used to develop an impact wear model. This uses a single-particle wear model to account for impact wear from all possible particle collisions. An adaptation of a single-particle abrasion model to describe the effects of many abrading particles is used to account for abrasive wear. Parameters describing granular flow within the fluidized bed, necessary for evaluation of the wear expressions, are determined by numerical solution of the fluidized bed hydrodynamic equations. Additional parameters, describing the contact between fluidized particles and the wearing surface, are determined by optimization based on wear measurements. The modeling procedure was used to analyze several bubbling and turbulent fluidized bed experiments with single-tube and tube bundle configurations. Quantitative agreement between the measured and predicted wear rates was found, with some exceptions for local wear predictions. This work demonstrates a methodology for wear predictions in fluidized beds. Improvements in both the analytic wear expression and the computer code used to model bed hydrodynamics are needed to accurately predict local wear, thus providing a truly predictive capability.
Recommended Citation
Rogers, William Allen, "Prediction of wear in a fluidized bed." (1991). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 9670.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/9670