Real time capacitance imaging of bubble formation at the distributor of a fluidized bed

Abstract This paper describes the use of a transputer-based 8-electrode capacitance tomography system for imaging gas bubbles in a fluidized bed in the vicinity of an air distributor plate. The quantitative results show how the solid concentration distribution varies as a function of time for three different flow regimes: bubbling, slugging and the transition to turbulent. Bubble shape, length and coalescence can be observed.