A formal order of magnitude analysis was applied to the differential equations describing mass, momentum, and energy transport in an axially translating, vortex flow field and used to determine the importance of various terms. Significant... more
A formal order of magnitude analysis was applied to the differential equations describing mass, momentum, and energy transport in an axially translating, vortex flow field and used to determine the importance of various terms. Significant dimensionless parameters, suitable for establishing scaling laws, appear naturally from the equations. Among the important parameters are the swirl number, geometric scale ratio, Froude number, and particle loading ratio. These parameters were combined to establish rules for complete similarity between a model and a prototype gasifier.