Three‐Dimensional CFD Simulation of Stratified Two‐Fluid Taylor‐Couette Flow

Two‐fluid Taylor‐Couette flow, with either one or both of the co‐axial cylinders rotating, has potential advantages over the conventional process equipment in chemical and bio‐process industries. This flow has been investigated using three‐dimensional CFD simulations. The occurrence of radial stratification, the subsequent onset of centrifugal instability in each phase, the cell formation and the dependency on various parameters have been analyzed and discussed. The criteria for the stratification, Taylor cell formation in each phase have been established. It can be stated that the analysis of single‐phase flow acts as the base state for the understanding of radial stratification of the two‐fluid flows. The extent of interface deformation also has been discussed. A complete energy balance has been established and a very good agreement was found between dissipation rate by CFD predictions and the energy input rate through the cylinder/s rotation.     

Influence of Shear‐Thinning Rheology on the Mixing Dynamics in Taylor‐Couette Flow

Non‐Newtonian rheology can have a significant effect on mixing efficiency, which remains poorly understood. The effect of shear‐thinning rheology in a Taylor‐Couette reactor is studied using a combination of particle image velocimetry and flow visualization. Shear‐thinning is found to alter the critical Reynolds numbers for the formation of Taylor vortices and the higher‐order wavy instability, and is associated with an increase in the axial wavelength. Strong shear‐thinning and weak viscoelasticity can also lead to sudden transitions in wavelength as the Reynolds number is varied. Finally, it is shown that shear‐thinning causes an increase in the mixing time within vortices, due to a reduction in their circulation, but enhances the axial dispersion of fluid in the reactor.     

Transitional Mixing of Shear‐Thinning Fluids in Vessels with Multiple Impellers

The mixing efficiency of shear‐thinning fluids was evaluated using carboxymethylcellulose sodium salt (Na‐CMC) aqueous solutions of varying mass concentrations and three types of impellers (Rushton turbine (RT), six‐flat‐blade turbine (FBT), six‐pitched‐down‐blade turbine (PBT)) which were mounted on a common shaft in combinations of three, four, and five impellers. The mixing time proved to be dependent on the number of impellers as well as on the distance between. The Reynolds number has a significant influence on the mixing time for all studied systems. The results of power consumption allowed to choose the impeller system with the best efficiency.     

Power Requirement for Mixing Shear‐Thinning Fluids with a Planetary Mixer

The optimal control of processes dealing with non‐Newtonian liquids requires the knowledge and control of the power demand of the mixing equipment. In this context, an extension of the Metzner and Otto concept to planetary mixers is proposed to adapt this concept to planetary mixers. The theoretical part of this work defines modified expressions of Reynolds and power numbers. These definitions introduce a characteristic velocity u_ch that is used to define the parameter K_s. A planetary mixer is employed to experimentally ascertain this guideline. Power consumption measurements carried out by mixing shear‐thinning fluids permit to determine the K_s factor. This factor varies only slightly with the flow behavior index and may be regarded as a defined constant for this geometry. Finally, experiments with an additional shear‐thickening fluid confirm the validity of this approach.     

Experimental and Numerical Analysis of the Viscous Fingering Instability of Shear‐Thinning Fluids

Miscible flow displacements in a rectilinear Hele‐Shaw cell of Newtonian as well as rheologically well‐characterized shear‐thinning fluids are examined through experimental measurements and numerical modelling. Water is used as a displacing fluid while the displaced fluid consists of either a reference Newtonian glycerol solution or shear‐thinning solutions of Alcoflood? polymers of different molecular weights. The experimental measurements revealed that the shear‐thinning behaviour of the non‐Newtonian solutions resulted in more complex instability patterns and new finger structures not previously observed in the case of Newtonian displacements are identified and characterized. An analysis of the effects of the rheological behaviour of the shear‐thinning fluids on instability characteristics such as the finger width and finger tip velocity is presented. Numerical simulations using a pseudo‐spectral method are conducted and allowed to compare the predictions of the mathematical model based on an effective Darcy's law with the experimental measurements.     

Flow dynamics in Taylor–Couette flow reactor with axial distribution of temperature

In this study, the flow dynamics of a Taylor–Couette flow with an axial distribution of temperature was experimentally investigated. The flow can be classified into three patterns based on the balance between the centrifugal force and the buoyancy. If the buoyancy is dominant, global heat convection is observed instead of Taylor vortices (Case I). When the buoyancy is comparable to the centrifugal force, the Taylor vortices and global heat convection appear alternately (Case II). If the centrifugal force is sufficiently high to suppress the buoyancy, stable Taylor vortices are observed (Case III). The characteristics of the mixing/diffusion are investigated by conducting a decolorization experiment on a passive tracer. In Case II, the tracer is rapidly decolorized in the presence of the global heat convection instead of the Taylor vortices. This result implies that the interaction between the centrifugal force and the buoyancy would induce an anomalous transport. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 64: 1075–1082, 2018     

Effect of Rotor Disc Diameter on Holdup,Axial Dispersion and Droplet Size in a Taylor‐Couette Disc Contactor

Application of liquid‐liquid extraction is on a steady rise. Although there are considerable designs of extraction devices, equipment design and optimization is still on the research agenda. Utilization in the biorefinery industry or metallurgy requires robust technologies and equipment. The simple design and stable operation performance of the Taylor‐Couette disc contactor suffices the technical needs for these harsh operation conditions. The effect of different rotor disc diameter on the dispersed phase holdup, axial dispersion, and droplet size was investigated. It was shown that with smaller rotor disc diameter stable operation is still feasible but higher axial backmixing has to be expected.     

Mixing of Shear‐Thinning Fluids with Dual Off‐Centred Impellers

Mixing times for inelastic shear‐thinning fluids in stirred tanks have been experimentally investigated using a combination of two off‐centred impellers operating in both co‐ and counter‐rotating modes. A colour‐discolouration technique based on fast acid‐base reaction was used for the determination of the mixing times as well as to reveal the possible presence of caverns and dead regions. A statistical plan of experiments allowed determining the effects of the impeller position, the rotational speed, the flow behaviour index, the impeller type and their mutual interactions. A stronger influence of the impeller position on mixing times was observed for both rotating modes with fluids exhibiting pronounced shear‐thinning. It was also found that segregated regions could be readily destroyed by dual off‐centred impellers as compared with the single centred impeller configuration. Mixed flow impellers were shown to be less efficient in terms of mixing times than radial flow impellers. Results obtained under the best operating conditions were compared to steady stirring experiments showing the potential and drawbacks of the proposed scenarios.     

Numerical Simulation of Gas‐Liquid Flow in a Stirred Tank with Swirl Modification

Although the standard k‐? model is most frequently used for turbulence modeling, it often leads to poor results for strongly swirling flows involved in stirred tanks and other processing devices. In this work, a swirling number, R_S, is introduced to modify the standard k‐? model. A Eulerian‐Eulerian model is employed to describe the gas‐liquid, two‐phase flow in a baffled stirred tank with a Rushton impeller. The momentum and the continuity equations are discretized using the finite difference method and solved by the SIMPLE algorithm. The inner‐outer iterative algorithm is used to account for the interaction between the rotating impeller and the static baffles. The predictions, both with and without R_S corrections, are compared with the literature data, which illustrates that the swirling modification could improve the numerical simulation of gas‐liquid turbulent flow in stirred tanks.     

Numerical Simulation of Oil‐Water Core Annular Flow in a U‐Bend Based on the Eulerian Model

The oil‐water core annular flow through a U‐bend is simulated by computational fluid dynamics based on the Eulerian model. More flow parameters and the effect of annulus thickness on core annular flow are discussed. Conformity between the simulated and experimental data is observed. The development of oil‐water core annular flow in the U‐bend is analyzed, and the distributions of pressure and velocity are discussed. Results of the Eulerian model and volume‐of‐fluid (VOF) model are compared and the influence of oil properties on total pressure gradient is investigated. The suitable range of annulus thickness is identified. The results provide suitable operation conditions for designing the U‐bend pipefitting.     

螺旋内槽管内的层流流动与传热的数值模拟

应用数值方法对一种螺旋内槽管管内的流体层流流动和传热进行了数值分析。采用数学变量置换把控制方程由原坐标系中的三维动量、能量及连续性方程转化为二维螺旋坐标系下的数值计算模型，并利用现有的二维数值模拟软件进行模拟计算。计算考察了恒壁温、轴向恒热流螺旋内层流充分发展流体的流动与传热随雷诺数的变化，并研究了螺距的影响。     

Numerical Simulation of Fluid Flow and Heat Transfer in Thermoplates

A thermoplate is a heat transfer device consisting of two metallic sheets that are spot‐welded according to an appropriate pattern over the whole surface area whereas the edges – except for connecting tubes – are continuously seam‐welded. By applying a hydro‐form technique, a channel having a complex geometry is established between the sheets. Such heat transfer devices are encountered in several areas of cooling and heating techniques and process technology, e.g. as condensers or evaporators. The objective of the described investigations was to numerically obtain the optimal geometry of the thermoplate with respect to heat transfer of the inside fluid that passes through the channel as a single phase. The numerical experiments show that the heat transfer potential of the thermoplate having a staggered arrangement of welding spots is markedly higher than that of a common flat channel, particularly at larger Reynolds numbers. The variations of the geometrical parameters show the potential for the heat transfer improvement in comparison to a corresponding parallel plate channel.     

搅拌釜内流场三维数值模拟及功率预测

大型搅拌釜,尤其是涉及传热或两相介质搅拌的容器,其搅拌效果和功率往往难以预测。针对大型搅拌釜的搅拌器设计、流场结构模拟和功率预测等问题,采用CFD数值模拟技术,对搅拌釜内部的三维流场进行了数值计算。分析了搅拌釜内的流动结构,计算了不同曝气量时的搅拌功率,获得了详细的流场信息和各项特性参数。     

Numerical Simulation of the Two‐Phase Fluid Field in a Gas‐Around‐Liquid Spray Nozzle

A new gas‐around‐liquid spray nozzle (GLSN) was designed, and the two‐phase flow fluid field in this nozzle was simulated numerically. Flow characteristics under different structural parameters were obtained by changing the L/D ratio of the premixing chamber, incident angle, and inlet pressures. Increasing the L/D ratio and incident angle improved flow characteristics such as atomization flow, outlet velocity, and turbulence intensity. The nozzle performed optimally at an L/D ratio of 0.5 and incident angle of 60°. The atomization flow decreased with higher gas pressure and increased with higher liquid pressure. The outlet velocity mainly depended on the inlet gas pressure, not on the inlet liquid pressure. These results provide an indication for optimum structures and parameters of the GLSN.     

弯管内部油水两项流的数值模拟

在油井出油管道以及石化生产中,油水两项流是非常常见的现象。为了减少能耗、便于制订防腐措施,利用GAMBIT软件建模以及FLUENT软件的可实现模型对弯管中油水两项流的压力场和速度场进行模拟。结果表明,管内入口直管压力呈逐阶减小趋势;弯管内壁出形成低压区且又内向外逐渐增大;而速度分布正好与压力分布规律相反,恰好与自由涡流理论的模型相符。且通过对油水两项所占体积分数分别为30%、50%、80%三种情况的模拟得出,由于水密度大于油的原因,随着油相体积分数的下降,管内整体压强减小,整体速度增大。     

Full‐Loop Simulation of Gas‐Solids Flow in a Pilot‐Scale Circulating Fluidized Bed

In order to study the system hydrodynamics in a circulating fluidized bed (CFB), a 3D full‐loop simulation was conducted for a pilot‐scale CFB. The Eulerian‐Eulerian two‐fluid model with the kinetic theory of granular theory helped to simulate the gas‐solids flow in the CFB. The system hydrodynamics including pressure balance, vectors of gas and solids, distribution of solids holdup, and instantaneous circulating rates were obtained to get a comprehensive understanding of the system. It was predicted that the main driving force was the pressure drop of the storage tank. The storage height and valve opening were critical operating factors to control the riser operation. The effects of operating conditions including solids circulating rates and superficial gas velocity on the hydrodynamics were investigated to provide guidance for the stable operation of the CFB system.     

Numerical Simulation of the Hydrodynamics of Gas/Solid Two‐Phase Flow in a Circulating Fluidized Bed with Different Inlet Configurations

The gas/solid flow characteristics in a circulating fluidized bed with two different inlet configurations were investigated by numerical simulation based on an Eulerian approach. In order to describe the interaction between the gas phase and the solid phase and the influence of the solid phase on the gas turbulence, a source term formulation with a more reasonable physical meaning was introduced. The simulation results were validated by the experimental data; then, the model was employed to examine the effect of the inlet configuration on the gas and solid feeding. The simulation results showed that, using the side feeding system, the distributions of solid flow and concentration were highly variable both over the column cross‐section and along the column height. However, such variations can be improved by using the elbow inlet system where the gas and solid are fed from the bottom.