Local Heat Transfer Coefficients for Horizontal Tube Arrays in High-Temperature Large-Particle Fluidized Beds: An Experimental Study

An experimental study is described in which time-averaged local heat transfer coefficients were obtained for arrays of horizontal tubes immersed in a hot fluidized bed. Bed temperatures up to 1005 K were achieved. Bed particle sizes of 2.14 mm and 3.23 mm nominal diameter were employed. An array of nine tubes arranged in three horizontal rows was used. The 50.8 mm (2 in.) diameter tubes were arranged in an equilateral triangular configuration with 15.24 cm (6 in.) spacing between centers. The center tube in each of the three rows in the array was instrumented providing data for local heat flux and surface temperature at intervals of 30 deg from the bottom to the top—a total of seven sets of values for each of the center tubes. The three sets of data are representative of the heat transfer behavior of tubes at the bottom, top, and in the interior of a typical array. Data were also obtained for a single horizontal tube to compare with the results of tube bundle performance. Superficial velocities of high-temperature air ranged from the packed-bed condition through approximately twice the minimum fluidization level. Comparisons with results for a single tube in a bubbling bed indicate only slight effects on local heat transfer resulting from the presence of adjacent tubes. Tubes in the bottom, top, and interior rows also exhibited different heat transfer performance.