Classifying the Fluidization and Segregation Behavior of Binary Mixtures Using Particle Size and Density Ratios

Experimental investigations show that fluidized binary mixtures exhibit varied pressure drop profiles and segregation patterns, depending on the level of disparity due to size and/or density differences. In this study, different mixture types are mapped on a graph of density ratio versus size ratio. It is found that the ratio of the minimum fluidization velocities of individual components can be used to categorize these mixtures. A simple correlation is developed to compute the ratio of the minimum fluidization velocities based on the density and size ratios. Categorizing the binary mixtures in this manner gives a qualitative understanding of how the different mixtures behave upon fluidization.