Influence of air velocity and powder bed height on local density and float–sink of spheres in a gas–solid fluidized bed

Abstract

Depending on their density, large objects will either float or sink in a gas–solid fluidized bed due to the liquid–like properties and density of the fluidized bed. The float–sink technology has been applied to dry density separations in industry. It is important for optimized industrial application to understand how the air velocity and the powder bed height affect the float–sink as the key operating factors. In this study, we investigated the float–sink of spheres of various density by varying the air velocity and the powder bed height. Also, we obtained the local fluidized bed density and the buoyancy force working on the sphere at various heights. We used the weight of a stainless-steel ..