Free top fluidized bed surface fluctuations as a source of hydrodynamic data

We present a novel method of extracting hydrodynamic information from a gas–solid fluidized bed. The proposed method involves measuring the fluctuations produced in a laser sheet that perpendicularly crosses the free bed surface. This non-local, non-intrusive technique can be applied to 2D and 3D gas–solid fluidized bed systems. Frequency domain and state space analysis were used in a complementary manner to characterize the fluidization regimes of these systems by monitoring EWB, μ, D2, λmax, and K. Finally, we evaluated the influence of H/L on attractor invariants in 3D fluidized beds.