This paper investigates experimentally and theoretically the flow and heat transfer characteristics inside packed and fluidized beds. A single-blow transient technique combined with a thermal nonequilibrium two-equation model determined the heat transfer performances. Spherical particles were randomly packed in the test section for simulating the packed beds with porosity ε=0.38 and 0.39. Particles were strung with different spaces for fluidized beds with ε = 0.48 ~ 0.97. The ranges of dominant parameters are the Prandtl number Pr = 0.71, the particle Reynolds number Red = 200 ~ 7000, and ε = 0.38 ~ 0.97. The results show that the heat transfer coefficient increases with the decrease in the porosity and the increase in the particle Reynolds number. The friction coefficients of the fluidized beds with ε = 0.48 and 0.53 have significant deviations from that of the packed bed with ε = 0.38 and 0.39. Due to fewer interactions among particles for ε = 0.97, the friction coefficient approaches the value of a single particle.
