The flow characteristics, the beds of bubbling, turbulent, fast and dilute phase, have been studied in a vertical transport line（7.8 cm-ID × 600 cm-height）. The cement raw meals have been transported by compressed air at various flow regimes.
The effects of gas velocity and solid circulating rate on the pressure drop, bed homogeneity and gas backmixing have been determined by measuring the fluctuations of pressure drop.
Capacitance probe has been employed in order to measure the bed homogeneity. The degree of backmixing was measured using tracer injection technique. The transport velocity has been determined from the data of pressure drop at various air and particle circulation rates.
From the present study, the slug breakdown and transport velocities have been found to be 39 and 170 cm/sec, respectively. The bed homogeneity of turbulent bed increased with gas velocity. However, the extent of gas backmixing decreased with increasing gas rates in the turbulent beds.
Equations were proposed in order to construct a flow regime diagram in the vertical transport line.