Although extensive studies have been conducted on convective heat transfer from a heat exchanger surface to a gas fluidized bed, the contribution through particle convection has not been adequately described, especially in turbulent fluidized beds. In this study, the role that dense bed hydrodynamics play on particle convection has been outlined. The existing models in the literature suggest a constant decrease of particle-wall contact time with an increase in the gas velocity. It has been experimentally demonstrated, however, that the contact time increases, both in bubbling and turbulent regimes, upon increasing the gas velocity. A comprehensive model has been developed to represent such a trend and improve agreement with experimental data presented in literature. The proposed model includes two constants for taking into account the wall effect on bubbles and clusters. The constants of the model have been evaluated based on the radial profiles of the distribution of bubbles and clusters using a radioactive particle tracking technique. A comparison of the predicted results with the experimental data from the literature confirms the validity of the present model for the dense bed region of a fluidized bed of sand particles. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.