Prediction of two‐phase pressure drop and liquid holdup in co‐current gas–liquid downflow of air–Newtonian systems through packed beds

The dependency of pressure drop and liquid holdup on phase velocities, geometry of the column and packing materials as well as on the physical properties have been analyzed. Our experimental data (825 data points obtained using four liquid systems and three different particles) along with those of the available literature (776 data point from five different sources) were used for the analysis. The applicability and the limitations of the literature correlations were evaluated using the available data. Based on the analysis, new correlations for the estimation of pressure drop and liquid holdup, valid for low and high interaction regimes have been developed using the available data, with a wide range of variables. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry     

Hydrodynamics of gas–liquid flow in micropacked beds: Pressure drop,liquid holdup,and two‐phase model

Hydrodynamics of gas–liquid two‐phase flow in micropacked beds are studied with a new experimental setup. The pressure drop, residence time distribution, and liquid holdup are measured with gas and liquid flow rates varying from 4 to 14 sccm and 0.1 to 1 mL/min, respectively. Key parameters are identified to control the experimentally observed hydrodynamics, including transient start‐up procedure, gas and liquid superficial velocities, particle and packed bed diameters, and physical properties of the liquids. Contrary to conventional large packed beds, our results demonstrate that in these microsystems, capillary forces have a large effect on pressure drop and liquid holdup, while gravity can be neglected. A mathematical model describes the hydrodynamics in the micropacked beds by considering the contribution of capillary forces, and its predictions are in good agreement with experimental data. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 63: 4694–4704, 2017     

Pressure drop in two phase cocurrent upward flow in packed beds: Air/non-newtonian liquid systems

New data on the two phase pressure drop for the concurrent upflow of air-liquid (Newtonian and non-Newtonian) mixtures through packed beds of spherical and non-spherical particles are presented. The results for single phase flows and for the air-Newtonian liquid mixtures have been used both to gauge the overall accuracy of the present experimental methods and to evaluate the validity of the predictive expressions available in the literature. The two phase pressure drop has been measured as a function of the liquid and gas flow rates, column diameter and the power law model constants. Depending upon a suitable combination of the gas and liquid fluxes and the power law index, the two phase pressure drop may be less than its value for the flow of liquid alone. A simple expression is proposed which correlates the present set of experiments (nearly 500 data points) with satisfactory levels of accuracy over the following ranges of conditions: 0.54 ≤ n ≤ 1; 0.001 ≤ Re_L^* ≤ 50; 3.7 ≤ Re_G ≤ 177 and 0.9 ≤χ (Lockhart-Martinelli parameter) ≤ 104.     

Experimentally‐based constitutive relations for co‐current gas‐liquid flow in randomly packed beds

Experimental Observations on average pulse velocity and frequency in concurrent gas‐liquid (down) flow through randomly packed beds are used to extract constitutive relations for the gas‐liquid interaction and mean curvature terms that appear in a recently proposed volume‐averaged two‐fluid model for bubbly flow. The proposed closures lead to a reasonably quantitative prediction of the average pressure drop and liquid saturation under bubbly flow conditions and in the near pulse regime. In addition, the proposed closures provide realistic estimates for the location of the bubble‐to‐pulse transition in microgravity and in 1g down‐flow and predict the disappearance of the bubbly flow pattern at low liquid fluxes in 1g down‐flow. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 63: 812–822, 2017     

Oil–water two‐phase flow in microchannels: Flow patterns and pressure drop measurements

This paper investigates oil–water two‐phase flows in microchannels of 793 and 667 µm hydraulic diameters made of quartz and glass, respectively. By injecting one fluid at a constant flow rate and the second at variable flow rate, different flow patterns were identified and mapped and the corresponding two‐phase pressure drops were measured. Measurements of the pressure drops were interpreted using the homogeneous and Lockhart–Martinelli models developed for two‐phase flows in pipes. The results show similarity to both liquid–liquid flow in pipes and to gas–liquid flow in microchannels. We find a strong dependence of pressure drop on flow rates, microchannel material, and the first fluid injected into the microchannel.     

Three‐dimensional simulations of gas‐liquid cocurrent downflow in vertical,inclined, and oscillating packed beds

The hydrodynamic behavior of gas‐liquid downflow in vertical, inclined, and oscillating packed beds related to offshore floating applications was analyzed by means of three‐dimensional unsteady‐state two‐fluid simulations. Angular oscillations of the column between two angled symmetrical positions and between vertical and inclined position were considered while bed non‐uniformity was described using radial porosity distributions. For vertical and slightly inclined columns, two‐phase flow was concentrated in the core area of the bed. However, the two‐phase flow was predicted to deviate significantly from axial symmetry at higher inclinations with prominent liquid accumulation in the bottommost reactor cross‐sectional area. Oscillating packed beds unveiled complex reverse secondary flows radially and circumferentially resulting in oscillatory patterns of liquid holdup and pressure drop whose amplitude and propagation frequency were affected by column inclination angle and travel time between vertical and angled positions. © 2015 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 62: 916–927, 2016     

A new mechanistic model to predict gas–liquid interface shape of gas–liquid flow through pipes with low liquid loading

Devising a new mechanistic method to predict gas–liquid interface shape in horizontal pipes is concerned in this article. An experiment was conducted to find the pressure gradients of air–water flow through a 1‐in. pipe diameter. Comparing results of model with some experimental data available in the literature demonstrates that the model provides quite better predictions than existed models do. This model also predicts flow regime transition from stratified to annular flow better than Apparent Rough Surface and Modified Apparent Rough Surface models for both 1‐ and 2‐in. pipe diameters. The model also leads to reliable predictions of wetted wall fraction experimental data. Although one parameter of new model was evaluated based on air–water flow pressure loss experimental data for 1 in. pipe, it was considerably successful to predict pressure drop, liquid holdup, stratified‐annular transition and wetted wall fraction for other gas–liquid systems and pipe diameters. © 2014 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 61: 1043–1053, 2015     

Steady‐state behavior of liquid fuel hydrazine decomposition in packed bed

A general theoretical model is presented to analyze the steady‐state decomposition process of liquid monopropellants in packed beds for thruster systems. Additionally, an experiment studying the decomposition of liquid hydrazine in a packed bed is used to validate this model. The liquid droplet evaporation rate is determined through calculating the gas‐liquid mass transfer for the mixture temperatures lower than the liquid propellant boiling point and solving the gas‐liquid or liquid‐solid heat transfer equations at the temperature exceeding the boiling point. The process of liquid propellant decomposition in packed beds are simulated based on the Naive–Stokes equation for the mixture model integrated with the developed liquid evaporation rate, in which both the heterogeneous catalytic reaction coupled with the diffusion of reactants in the pore of catalyst, and the homogenous decomposition reactions are considered. The calculated results for the axial distribution of the temperature are in good agreement with the experimental data. © 2014 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 61: 1064–1080, 2015     

Flow pattern of the phases and liquid saturation in gas-liquid concurrent downflow through packed beds

Flow pattern was visually observed for non-foaming and foaming Newtonian and non-Newtonian liquids under concurrent downflow with air in packed beds using different configurations of column geometry and packins. Flow maps delineating the different flow regions were presented based on the present study as well as that of earlier investigations. The total and dynamic liquid saturation were experimentally measured and correlations were presented in terms of (i) the Lockhart-Martinelli parameter, χ, and (ii) the flow variables.     

Hydrodynamic Model for Horizontal Two‐phase Flow Through Porous Media

A unidirectional, two‐fluid model based on the volume‐average mass and momentum balance equations was developed for the prediction of two‐phase pressure drop and external liquid hold‐up in horizontally positioned packed beds experiencing stratified, annular and dispersed bubble flow regimes. The so‐called slit model drag force closures were used for the stratified and annular flow regimes. In the case of dispersed bubble flow regime, the liquid‐solid interaction force was formulated on the basis of the Kozeny‐Carman equation by taking into account the presence of bubbles in reducing the available volume for the flowing liquid. The gas‐liquid interaction force was evaluated by using the respective solutions of drag coefficient for an isolated bubble in viscous and turbulent flows. The proposed drag force expressions for the different flow patterns occurring in the bed associated with the two‐fluid model resulted in a predictive method requiring no adjustable parameter to describe the hydrodynamics for horizontal two‐phase flow in packed beds.     

Co‐current descending two‐phase flows in inclined packed beds: Experiments versus simulations

The effect of inclination angle of a packed bed on its corresponding gas–liquid flow segregation and liquid saturation spatial distribution was measured in co‐current descending gas–liquid flows for varying inclinations and fluid velocities, and simulated using a two‐phase Eulerian computational fluid dynamics framework (CFD) adapted from trickle‐bed vertical configuration and based on the porous media concept. The model predictions were validated with our own experimental data obtained using electrical capacitance tomography. This preliminary attempt to forecast the hydrodynamics in inclined packed bed geometries recommends for the formulation of appropriate drag force closures which should be integrated in the CFD model for improved quantitative estimation.     

Impact of gravity on the bubble‐to‐pulse transition in packed beds

A model based on two‐phase volume‐averaged equations of motion is proposed to examine the gravity dependence of the bubble‐to‐pulse transition in gas‐liquid cocurrent down‐flow through packed beds. As input, the model uses experimental correlations for the frictional pressure drop under both normal gravity conditions and in the limit of vanishing gravity, as well as correlations for the liquid‐gas interfacial area per unit volume of bed in normal gravity. In accordance with experimental observations, the model shows that, for a given liquid flow, the transition to the pulse regime occurs at lower gas‐flow rates as the gravity level or the Bond number is decreased. Predicted transition boundaries agree reasonably well with observations under both reduced and normal gravity. The model also predicts a decrease in frictional pressure drop and an increase in total liquid holdup with decreasing gravity levels. © 2013 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J 60: 778–793, 2014     

Process intensification of gas–liquid downflow and upflow packed beds by a new low‐shear rotating reactor concept

In the present work, a new low‐shear rotating reactor concept was introduced for process intensification of heterogeneous catalytic reactions in cocurrent gas–liquid downflow and upflow packed‐bed reactors. To properly assess potential advantages of this new reactor concept, exhaustive hydrodynamic experiments were carried out using embedded low‐intrusive wire mesh sensors. The effect of the rotational velocity on liquid flow patterns in the bed cross‐section, liquid saturation, pressure drop, and regime transition was investigated. Furthermore, liquid residence time and Péclet number estimated by a stimulus‐response technique and a macro‐mixing model were presented and discussed with respect to the prevailing flow patterns. The results revealed that the column rotation induces different flow patterns in the cross‐section of the packed bed operating in a concurrent downflow or upflow mode. Moreover, the new reactor concept exhibits a more flexible adjustment of pressure drop, liquid saturation, liquid residence time, and back‐mixing at constant flow rates. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 63: 283–294, 2017     

Correlating gas–liquid co‐current flow hydrodynamics in packed beds using the F‐function concept

A phenomenological model based on the generalization of the single‐phase Forchheimer equation was recently proposed for predicting pressure drop and phase saturations in gas–liquid co‐current horizontal and downward high‐pressure packed beds. Here, we extend the model to packed‐bubble (co‐current upflow) and trickle‐bed operation using phase saturation power laws similar to Corey relative permeabilities. The power‐law exponents were fitted using a wide pressure gradient and liquid saturation databank in co‐current up/downward packed‐bed flows. It was found that this approach, as well as other in the literature developed for down‐flow reactors apply also to upward flows; the prediction accuracy was comparable for both flow directions to existing literature approaches. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry     

错流旋转填料床气相压降特性研究

旋转床的气相压降是旋转床工程设计的一项重要指标。笔者利用空气,水系统对错流旋转填料床的气相压降进行实验研究。结果表明：在实验范围内,错流旋转床压降是逆流旋转床的十分之一;对错流旋转床压降影响较大的是转速和气量,与液流量几乎无关。     

Slow non-newtonian flow through packed beds: Effect of zero shear viscosity

The slow non-Newtonian (inelastic) flow through packed beds of mono-size spherical particles has been simulated by solving the equations of motion numerically. The inter-particle interactions have been modelled by using a simple cell model. Theoretical estimates of pressure, friction and total drag coefficients as function of the pertinent physical (l≥n≥ 0.2; 0.3 ≤ e ≤ 0.5) and kinematic parameters (0.01 ≤ '≤ 100) for a fixed value of Reynolds number {Re = 0.001) have been obtained. The theoretical predictions reported herein have been validated using the suitable experimental results available in the literature, and the importance of including the zero shear viscosity in analyses for the creeping flow problems is convincingly demonstrated.     

Pressure buildup in gas‐liquid flow through packed beds due to deposition of fine particles

In order to understand the increase in pressure drop in hydrotreating reactors due to deposition of fine solids, experiments were conducted with a model suspension of kaolin clay in kerosene. The suspension was circulated through packed beds of catalyst pellets in the trickle‐flow and pulse‐flow regimes, and the increase in pressure drop measured as a function of particle concentration in the bed. The increase in pressure drop was linear with particle concentrations over the range 0–60 kg.m^?3. A consistent approach to modeling the pressure drop behavior was to determine an effective porosity of the packed bed as a function of the concentration of fine particles, then use this porosity in the Ergun equation as a basis for calculating the two‐phase pressure drop.