A theoretical model of cross-flow heat transfer for the cooling process in a horizontal moving bed of high-temperature particles

Besides waste gas and liquid, high-temperature particles are important media of waste heat and their temperature exceeds 1000°C on many occasions. The cross-flow heat transfer is important in this waste heat recovering process, but there are few references reported about the theoretical modeling. Therefore, a theoretical model was developed for the cooling process in a horizontal moving bed of high-temperature particles. The purpose of the study is to estimate the influence of temperature field and flow field on heat transfer and bed resistance in the cross-flow cooling process. Three modes such as conduction, convection and radiation are considered in the model. This model was used to analyze heat transfer in a horizontal moving bed of cement clinker and was verified by comparing some simulative results with the tested and collected data from an actual cement clinker plant in China. The simulative temperature of cement clinker was 200°C as same as that collected in the actual cement clinker plant. In the moving bed, the highest pressure drop occurs at the front top and the strongest heat transfer occurs at the front bottom. In the considered conditions with even distribution of cooling air, the highest pressure drop is 3205.9 Pa/m, the biggest specific heat transfer rate of 1683.1 kW/m3. Thermal radiation plays a minor role in this cooling process with the biggest radiation proportion is only 0.149 at the front top. This mode plays a minor role in this cooling process of the cement clinker, comparing with the thermal convection. With constant flow rate of cooling air, the distribution can regulate the local cooling rate rather than the final temperature of the cement clinker.