Product Details

This apparatus is designed to study the fluid mechanical principles of flow through fixed and fluidized particle beds, which are fundamental to processes like filtration, chemical reactors, and water treatment. It allows students to investigate pressure loss, bed expansion, and the transition between fixed and fluidized states when a liquid flows through a granular material. The unit features a removable glass test tank with a sintered metal plate at its base, serving as a support and distributor for the particle layer. Water can be directed through the tank in either downward flow for fixed bed studies or upward flow to create a fluidized bed. The flow rate is adjusted via a valve and measured with a flow meter, while two manometers with different ranges accurately record the pressure drop across the bed. A steel rule is provided to measure changes in bed height during fluidization. Its primary application is in chemical and process engineering education for teaching unit operations and multiphase flow. The key benefit is the clear visualization and quantitative analysis of bed behavior, enabling students to determine characteristic curves, understand the onset of fluidization, and grasp the design parameters for industrial systems like packed bed reactors and deep bed filters.