Numerical investigation of gas-driven flow in 2-D bubble columns

Journal Article · Wed Mar 01 04:00:00 EST 2000 · AIChE Journal (American Institute of Chemical Engineers)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/aic.690460303· OSTI ID:20080292

Pan, Y; Dudukovic, M P; Chang, M

Gas-liquid bubbly flow in 2-D bubble columns was studied by numerical simulation. A Eulerian-Eulerian two-fluid model used describes the time-dependent motion of liquid driven by small, spherical gas bubbles injected at the bottom of the columns. Such equations, numerically implemented in this work, were derived by Zhang and Prosperetti. A distinctive feature of this method is the derivation of the disperse-phase momentum equation by averaging the particle (here, the bubble) equation of motion directly, not the macroscopic equation for the particle phase. Both the time-averaged quantities and dynamic characteristics of the macroscopic coherent structures agree with the experimental data of Lin et al. and Muddle et al. The comparison of simulated results with data demonstrates that this physical model and numerical approach can provide the key features of the time-dependent behavior of dispersed bubbly flows qualitatively with reasonable quantitative accuracy. Effects of the number of injectors, magnitude of bubble-induced viscosity, and various parameters in the interphase momentum exchange were also studied by simulating various cases and comparing with measurements. The applicability of different boundary conditions and the sensitivity to the mesh system used are also examined.

• Research Organization: Washington Univ., St. Louis, MO (US)
• Sponsoring Organization: US Department of Energy
• DOE Contract Number: FG22-95PC95212; FC22-95PC95051
• OSTI ID: 20080292
• Journal Information: AIChE Journal (American Institute of Chemical Engineers), Journal Name: AIChE Journal (American Institute of Chemical Engineers) Journal Issue: 3 Vol. 46; ISSN 0001-1541; ISSN AICEAC
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
BUBBLES
CHEMICAL INDUSTRY
FLOW VISUALIZATION
HEAT TRANSFER
MASS TRANSFER
MATHEMATICAL MODELS