Granular Physics in the Microstructural Kinetics Lab


Introduction

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Fluidized Beds

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Our project...

We are trying to understand the expansion of the granular bed that occurs on increasing the gas flow prior to reaching the bubbling instability. Shown in the picture below is the first fluidized bed that Erin Behne (a UW undergraduate) has built as part of her research into granular kinetics in fluidized beds. The bed fluidized at a gas flow velocity of about 0.4cm/s, with a transition to the unstable 'bubbling' state at about 1cm/s.

Shown in the two pictures below are snapshots of a bubbles erupting through the top surface of the granular bed. The picture was taken with the assistance of a strobe light. The horizontal striations are a consequence of the interleaved data collection of the video camera. The scale on the left in the images is in inches.


Go to Microstructural Kinetics Lab homepage.


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