A geometrical technique based on shape construction was employed to reconstruct the simulated domain of 3D bubbles in a gas-solid fluidized bed, from two-fluid model (TFM) simulations. The Delaunay triangulation of the cloud of points that represent volume fraction iso-surfaces in transient TFM simulations was filtered by means of the so-called a-shapes, allowing a topologically accurate description of 3D bubbles within a fluidized bed. Consequently, individual 3D bubble properties such as size and velocity were measured. Simulated bubble characteristics were further compared to those measured on pseudo-2D bed facilities by image techniques in order to illustrate the effect of the bed geometry on the bubbling behavior under mimicked operational conditions. (C) 2015 Published by Elsevier B.V.