Heat transfer within dynamically structured bubbling fluidized beds subject to vibration: A two-fluid modeling study

Bubbling fluidized beds are often used to achieve a uniform particle temperature distribution in industrial processes involving gas and particles. However, the chaotic bubble dynamics pose significant challenges in scale-up. Recent work (Guo et al., 2021, PNAS 118, e2108647118) has shown that using vibration can structure the bubbling pattern to a highly predictable manner with the characteristic bubble properties independent of system width, opening opportunities to address key issues associated with conventional bubbling fluidized beds. Herein, using two-fluid modeling simulations, we studied heat transfer characteristics within the dynamically structured bubbling fluidized bed and compared to unstructured bubbling fluidized beds and packed beds. Simulations show that the structured bubbling fluidized bed can achieve the most uniform particle temperature distribution because it can achieve the best particle mixing while maintaining a global heat transfer coefficient similar to that of a freely bubbling fluidized bed.