AbstractAn experimental technique to eliminate the effects of sensor dynamics when a tracer is used to measure the hydrodynamics of a turbulent bed contactor is described. The resulting liquid holdup data are compared both with predictions from the pressure drop measurements and with the available correlations in the literature. The results show that the pressure drop method and Handl's (1976) equation under‐predict liquid holdup, while Rama et al.'s (1983) and Kito et al.'s (1978) equations over‐predict the resu