Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Degree

Master of Engineering Science

Program

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering

Collaborative Specialization

Scientific Computing

Supervisor

Prakash, Anand

2nd Supervisor

Zhang, Chao

Co-Supervisor

Abstract

Bubble columns are multiphase contactors with wide applications in industrial processes. Often they are equipped with longitudinal tube bundles to facilitate heat exchange. Studying effects of these internals on column hydrodynamics is vital for the design of these internals. Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) simulations provide an understanding of the complex two-phase flow enabling the study of the effects of the internals on the column hydrodynamics. In the present work, an Eulerian-Eulerian based two-fluid model (TFM) coupled with a population balance model (PBM) is used to simulate the gas-liquid two-phase flows in bubble columns. The models studied were validated using experimental data from the literature. The selected model was used to simulate the effects of the tube-to-tube distance and height of the internals on the hydrodynamics in the column. It was found that the tube-to-tube distance has a significant impact on the liquid axial velocity distribution and flow recirculation. Decreasing the tube-to-tube space reduces the axial liquid flow and the height of internals affects the liquid recirculation only in homogeneous flow regime.

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