Properties of pulsing flow in a trickle bed

Abstract

Abstract An experimental study of pulsing flow in trickle beds is presented, based on data from two measuring techniques. New evidence on pulse arrangement and propagation in the bed, and data on basic pulse characteristics (frequency, celerity, length, duration) as well as liquid holdup and pressure drop measurements are included. Some of these data, such as the length of the liquid‐rich zone of pulses, are not currently available. Two flow regions exhibit different trends of pulse characteristics, “mild” and “wild” pulsing for relatively small and large liquid flow rates, respectively. New findings are compared with previously available data and correlations. An effort to develop new or modify existing generalized correlations is made for the aforementioned quantities.