Granular Pressure Measurement in Fluidized Beds

Experiments were carried out to measure the additional pressure, called the granular pressure, which is exerted on the containing wall of a fluidized bed due to particle collisions with that wall. Measurements were made for water fluidized beds using glass beads of 1.3mm and 3mm diameter, lead shot of 2.1mm diameter and plastic particles. The granular pressure was observed to increase to a maximum and then decrease to zero as the solid fraction of the bed was reduced. The magnitude of the granular pressure was much larger than the values expected on the basis of previous experiments.