An experimental study on the determination of aerodynamic parameters of quartz sand

Convective drying systems have been increasingly adopted in quartz sand processing, replacing traditional contact drying methods that rely on LPG or coal combustion. In a convective quartz sand dryer, accurate estimation of the pressure drop across the sand bed is critical for selecting appropriate exhaust fans, based on the required airflow rate and pressure head. The Ergun equation is commonly employed to calculate this pressure drop. However, due to the unavailability or variability of key aerodynamic parameters of quartz sand - such as particle size, shape, porosity, and bulk density - the accuracy of predictions using the Ergun equation is often limited. To address this challenge, the present study focuses on developing an experimental apparatus to directly measure the pressure drop across a quartz sand bed under various operating conditions and particle size distributions. The experimental results are compared with values obtained from the Ergun equation to evaluate its applicability.