A comparative study between electrical capacitance tomography and time-resolved X-ray tomography

Abstract: Modern day tomographs enable the research community to investigate the internal flow behavior of a fluidized bed by non-invasive methods that partially overcome the opaque nature of a dense bubbling bed. Each tomographic modality has its own limitations and advantages and in the present study two modern day tomographic systems were evaluated with respect to their performance on a cold dense fluidized bed. The two tomographs investigated are an electrical capacitance tomography (ECT) tomograph and a time-resolved X-ray tomography tomograph. The study was performed on spherical glass particles with various particle size distributions that could mainly be classified as Geldart B or D particles. Two experimental towers were employed, one with a diameter of 10.4 cm and the other 23.8 cm while compressed air was used as fluidizing fluid during all of the experiments. Results obtained with both systems are provided in comprehensive figures and tables and some first results are obtained with the time-resolved X-ray tomography system. The bubble size measurements of both tomographs are compared with several theoretical correlations via the root mean square error of the predictions (RMSEP). With the results it was also concluded that a small amount of small particles can noticeably alter the fluidization hydrodynamics of a powder. The bubble frequencies are also presented to aid in understanding the hydrodynamic behavior of the powders investigated. A comprehensive summary of the two tomographic modalities is also provided. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.