Circulating-turbulent fluidized bed (C-TFB) was characterized by high solid holdup, homogenous axial and radial flow structure, no net downflow of solids and high contact efficiency in this study. These flow dynamic properties were mainly represented by solid holdup profiles, the identification of flow regime and cluster dynamics in a riser, 100-150 mm in diameter and 10.06 m in height. To quantify the effect of novel diameter-expanding structure on flow dynamics, a parameter (contact efficiency) was introduced firstly. The effects of gas-solid interaction on flow performance were investigated by a fiber-optic probe to detect solid holdup. CO2 tracer injection and sampling system were used to characterize the flow structure and define the contact efficiency. The experimental results showed that flow regime in C-TFB is belonging to dense riser upflow (DRU) or dense-suspension upflow (DSU) regimes and transient region disappears in axial position. Flow structure is different from previous studies about traditional circulation fluidized bed (CFB) due to the effect of expanding structure and ring-feeder internal. A flow model based on the profiles of solid holdup and CO2 tracer concentration was proposed to account for the gas-solid contact efficiency in the reactor. The contact efficiency in C-TFB is much higher than that of high-density circulating fluidized bed (HDCFB), which means C-TFB reactor would exhibit better performance to optimize the product distribution under the same operating conditions. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.