Packed beds are used in industrial applications, such as catalytic reactors, heat recovery, heat storage, and insulators.
Small particles are usually used to achieve a large surface area.
However, as the particle size is reduced, the superficial velocity decreases, which prevents efficient operation. Moreover, if a reaction is endothermic and heat must be added in a catalytic reactor, heat transfer is the most important factor for the bed. Accordingly, heat transfer in the bed must be understood and controlled to enhance performance.
The thermal conductivity of a packed bed becomes anisotropic be- cause temperature distribution causes anisotropy of thermal expansion and contraction, which are related with contact pressure and contact area. Although the contact resistance depends on the contact area be- tween spheres and the gas layer between spheres, unavoidable thermal expansion and temperature rises affect the conduction path and contact area. Moreover, the contact resistance is strongly influenced by the sur- face roughness of a material and the gas pressure. However, at higher temperatures, thermal radiation must be considered in addition to heat conduction and convection. Accordingly, heat transfer in a bed be- comes very complex.