Numerical studies on teeter bed separator for particle separation

Abstract

Teeter Bed Separators (TBS) are liquid-solid fluidized beds that are widely used in separation of coarse particles in coal mining industry. The coal particles settle in the self-generating medium bed resulting in separation according to density. Due to the existence of self-generating medium beds, it is difficult to study the sedimentation of particles in TBS through experiments and detection methods. In the present research, a model was built to investigate the bed expansion characteristics with water velocity based on the Euler-Euler approach, and to investigate the settling of foreign particles through bed based on the Euler-Lagrange approach in TBS. Results show that the separation of in TBS should be carried out at low water velocity under the condition of stable fluidized bed. Large particles have a high slip velocity, and they are easily flowing through the bed into the light product leading to a mismatch. The importance of self-generating bed on separation of particle with narrow size ranges are clarified. The model provides a way for investigating the separation of particles in a liquid-solid fluidized bed and provides suggestions for the selection of operation conditions in TBS application.