STABILITY OF BUBBLES IN FLUIDIZED BEDS.

A LINEARIZED STABILITY ANALYSIS OF THE UPPER SURFACE OF A BUBBLE IN A FLUIDIZED BED LEADS TO PREDICTIONS OF INITIAL GROWTH RATES AND MOST SENSITIVE WAVELENGTHS FOR DISTURBANCES OF THE INTERFACE.IT IS SHOWN THAT THE DEGREE OF INSTABILITY IS PRIMARILY A FUNCTION OF THE EFFECTIVE KINEMATIC VISCOSITY OF THE DENSE PHASE, WHILE THE INTERSTITIAL FLUID VELOCITY HAS A COMPARATIVELY MINOR INFLUENCE.THE RESULTS ARE CONSISTENT WITH AVAILABLE EVIDENCE ON THE INCIDENCE OF BUBBLE SPLITTING IN FLUIDIZED SYSTEMS.(A