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