CFD simulations and particle image velocimetry measurements in an industrial scale rotating disc contactor

Abstract

in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com).Fluid dynamics of the single-phase and two-phase flow in a segment of a rotating disc contactor (RDC) liquid-liquid extraction column with 450 mm inner diameter were studied by performing computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations and particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements. The fluid dynamics were investigated to test the predictivity of CFD at industrial scale. Different turbulence models in conjunction with the Eulerian approach were applied in the single-phase and two-phase simulations. The turbulent flow characteristics were analyzed by PIV measurements to validate the CFD simulations. An iso-optical system composed of CaCl 2 /water-butylacetate allows for the two-phase PIV measurements. Local turbulent energy dissipation was derived from velocity gradients in PIV data. In this connection, the influence of the PIV spatial resolution on the measured energy dissipation was also analyzed, and different fit functions were tested to scale the measured energy dissipation. Simulated velocity fields as well as the energy dissipation were compared with the experimental PIV data. The results from the simulations and experiments are in good agreement. The work shows that CFD can predict hydrodynamic characteristics even at bigger scales but is still subject to some minor restrictions.

Characterization of liquid‐liquid dispersions with variable viscosity by coupled computational fluid dynamics and population balances

“…[39][40][41] This concept consists of solving of the continuity equation and momentum balance equation for each phase. In this formulation, the continuity equation of each phase has form…”

A pseudo-3D model with 3D accuracy and 2D cost for the CFD–PBM simulation of a pilot-scale rotating disc contactor

“…10) It is well known that the turbulent dissipation rate is the most important physical quantity for PBM simulations (Drumm et al, 2011). It has direct effects on the calculations of coalescence and breakage rates, which finally influence the results of droplet size.…”

CFD Simulation of Two-Phase Flow in a Hybrid Pulsed Sieve-Plate Solvent Extraction Column: Prediction of Holdup and Axial-dispersion Coefficients

“…CFD can give detailed information such as velocity field, phase distribution and turbulence parameters inside the column by solving partial differential equations given by fluid mechanics theory. It is expected that future developments of this modeling method will significantly save time and cost in extraction column design by reducing expensive physical experiments [21] .…”

“…In the past decades researchers have made efforts to apply CFD to extraction columns such as Disc and Doughnut Column [22,23] and Rotating Disc Column (RDC) [21,[24][25][26] which can be simplified with central symmetry of their structures. The CFD modeling of pulsed sieve plate columns is more difficult due to the complexity in its structure and the non-steady feature from pulsation.…”