Gas Flow Resistance Measurements Through Packed Beds at High Reynolds Numbers

This research study indicates that the classical Reynolds number dependency of the coefficient of drag for gases forced into packed beds is not correct at high Reynolds numbers. Care must also be taken to account for boundary layer wall effects that occur when the ratio of test chamber diameter to bead particle diameter is too small. Included is a review of the literature pertaining to gaseous flow resistance in packed beds. An existing test facility used in a previous study was found unsatisfactory, and necessary corrections were made to obtain normalized pressure gradient measurements at increasingly high Reynolds numbers. The resultant data was organized into a new correlation for the coefficient of drag, that is Fv=150+3.89Re1−φ0.87 This formula was developed for air flowing over spherical particles at Reynolds numbers ranging from 103–105.