Investigation of bubble breakup and coalescence in a packed-bed reactor – Part 2: Development of a new bubble breakup and coalescence model

A mechanistic model of bubble breakup and coalescence has been developed for a packed bed. Bubble breakup and coalescence models are developed for two coalescence and three breakup mechanisms by taking account of geometry effects and local flow conditions. The bubble size distribution estimated with the present bubble breakup and coalescence models are compared with the experimental data. Change of bubble size distributions along the axial direction is studied with the median bubble size. Median bubble size as a function of the axial location is estimated under two inlet flow conditions: (1) bubble breakup dominated flow and (2) bubble coalescence dominated flow. The predictions of the median bubble size with the present model result in the best among other existing bubble breakup and coalescence models. However, the prediction of the median bubble size for the bubble coalescence dominated flow is still significantly larger than the experimental data. Breakup and coalescence coefficients need to be adjusted in order to predict more accurate bubble size distributions and median bubble size for both flow conditions. For the bubble breakup dominated flow, the breakup and coalescence coefficients are found to be 0.35 and 0.4, respectively. For the bubble coalescence dominated flow, the breakup and coalescence coefficients are found to be 0.35 and 0.01, respectively.     

Investigation of bubble breakup and coalescence in a packed-bed reactor – Part 1: A comparative study of bubble breakup and coalescence models

In a packed-bed reactor a comparative study of bubble breakup and coalescence models has been investigated to study bubble size distributions as a function of the axial location. The bubble size distributions are obtained by solving population balance equations that describe gas–liquid interactions. Each combination of bubble breakup and coalescence models is examined under two inlet flow conditions: (1) predominant bubble breakup flow and (2) predominant bubble coalescence flow. The resulting bubble size distributions, breakup and coalescence rates estimated by individual models, are qualitatively compared to each other. The change of bubble size distributions along the axial direction is also described with medians. The medians resulting from CFD analyses are compared against the experimental data. Since the predictions estimated by CFD analyses with the existing bubble breakup and coalescence models do not agree with the experimental data, a new bubble breakup and coalescence model that takes account of the geometry effects is required to describe gas–liquid interactions in a packed-bed reactor.     

窦部对称狭窄对颈动脉内流场影响的数值研究

以颈动脉分岔血管为例，采用数值方法研究了窦部环缩狭窄之后的流场分布情况，并和正 常血管情况下的流场分布进行了比较. 结果表明，采用环缩方式给颈动脉分岔血管施加对称 的狭窄改变了颈动脉窦内流场，特别是壁面剪应力的分布规律. 低剪应力区出现在狭窄段之 后的窦内，并且沿整个周向均匀分布. 根据低剪应力和动脉粥样硬化的关系，指出： 若人为地给颈动脉窦内施加对称狭窄，则脂质沉积将在狭窄下游的窦内沿周向轴对称 发展. 为了更真实地反映颈动脉窦内的狭窄，建议根据动脉血管中的实际狭窄情况，采用非 对称的狭窄分布模式.     

Experimental investigation on flow characteristics in a narrow annulus

Experiments are carried out to investigate the flow characteristics with/without heat exchange in a narrow annulus. In the experiments, directions of flow include horizontal, upstream and downstream flow. Experimental results show that the flow characteristics of water through the narrow annulus are different from those in normal tubes. Flow directions have little influences on the flow friction for the fluid flow in the narrow annulus with/without heat exchange. The flow characteristics in the narrow annulus have relations to the liquid temperature difference at the inlet and outlet of the annulus. Their influences on the flow characteristics are relatively obvious in the laminar flow area. When the Reynolds number is larger than 10⁴, there are little differences between the flow friction factors with/without heat exchange. It is also found that the asymmetrical flow can make the friction factor increase, whereas the symmetrical flow can reduce the flow friction. In the experiments, the transition from laminar to turbulent flow is carefully observed. In the narrow annulus, the flow transition is initiated earlier than that in normal pipes at a Reynolds number range from 1,100 to 1,500, which is different from the heat transfer transition. The results are gained to provide bases for the further investigations on the two-phase flow in narrow annuli.     

On the breakup of bubbles at high Reynolds numbers and subcritical Weber numbers

In this paper we propose a simplified two-dimensional model to describe some aspects of the turbulent breakage of bubbles at subcritical Weber numbers. In particular we focus on the breakup of bubbles owing to their interaction with an array of successive eddies, modeled by a train of straining flows. Our simulations show that, under certain conditions, a bubble accumulates energy due to its interaction with a sequence of turbulent structures until it eventually breaks, even if none of the eddies is sufficiently energetic to split the particle by itself. It is also shown that the different strain directions of the eddies acting on the surface of the bubble, and the resonance effect between their characteristic frequency and the natural oscillation frequency of the bubble immersed into the straining flow are the two key factors in the bubble deformation, and subsequent breakup mechanism. Moreover, the breakup patterns obtained from our simulations seem to agree qualitatively well with the experimental observations.     

Some features of spray breakup in effervescent atomizers

The near orifice spray breakup at low GLR (gas to liquid ratio by mass) values in an effervescent atomizer is studied experimentally using water as a simulant and air as atomizing gas. From the visualizations, the near orifice spray structures are classified into three modes: discrete bubble explosions, continuous bubble explosions and annular conical spray. The breakup of the spray is quantified in terms of the mean bubble bursting distance from the orifice. The parametric study indicates that the mean bubble bursting distance mainly depends on airflow rate, jet diameter and mixture velocity. It is also observed that the jet diameter has a dominant effect on the bubble bursting distance when compared to mixture velocity at a given airflow rate. The mean bubble bursting distance is shown to be governed by a nondimensional two-phase flow number consisting of all the aforementioned parameters. The location of bubble bursting is found to be highly unsteady spatially, which is influenced by flow dynamics inside the injector. It is proposed that this unsteadiness in jet breakup length is a consequence of varying degree of bubble expansion caused due to the intermittent occurrence of single phase and two-phase flow inside the orifice.     

Quantitative comparison of Taylor flow simulations based on sharp‐interface and diffuse‐interface models

A pressure‐driven flow of elongated bullet‐shaped bubbles in a narrow channel is known as Taylor flow or bubble‐train flow. This process is of relevance in various applications of chemical engineering. In this paper, we describe a typical simplified experimental setting, with surface tension, density and viscosity as prescribed input parameters. We compare a sharp‐interface model based on a moving grid aligned with the bubble boundary (ALE coordinates) and a diffuse‐interface model where the bubble shape is implicitly given by a phase‐field function. Four independent implementations based on the two modeling approaches are introduced and described briefly. Besides the simulation of the bubble shapes, we compare some resulting quantities such as pressure difference and film widths within the implementations and to existing analytical and experimental results. The simulations were conducted in 2D and 3D (rotationally symmetric). Good accordance of the results indicate the applicability and the usability of all approaches. Differences between the models and their implementations are visible but in no contradiction to theoretical results. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On the interaction of a bubble and a vortex ring at high Reynolds numbers

The interaction of a bubble and a vortex ring at high Reynolds numbers could be considered a simplified model of the interaction of a bubble and a turbulent structure of similar size, with the possible subsequent bubble breakup. In this paper, some results from axisymmetric and 3D simulations of the interaction of a bubble and a vortex ring at high Reynolds numbers are presented for different values of the Weber number and vortex ring sizes. Some bubble breakup patterns that could not be obtained by previous axisymmetric boundary integral models are shown. Results obtained are discussed into the framework of the classical Kolgomorov–Hinze theory on bubble breakup and some recent experimental investigations.     

Three-dimensional CFD simulation of bubble–melt two-phase flow with air injecting and melt stirring

This paper reports on progress in developing CFD simulations of gas bubble–metallic melt turbulent flows induced by a pitched-blade impeller with an inclined shaft. Foaming process of aluminum foams, in which air is injected into molten aluminum composites and the melt is mechanical stirred by the impeller, has been investigated. A two-fluid model, incorporated with the Multiple Reference Frames (MRF) method is used to predict the three-dimensional gas–liquid flow in the foaming tank, in which a stirring shaft is positioned inclined into the melt. Locally average bubble size is also predicted by additively solving a transport equation for the bubble number density function, which accounts for effects of bubble breakup and coalescence phenomena. The computed bubble sizes are compared with experimental data from our water model measurement and reasonable agreements are obtained. Further, simulated results show that the volume averaged total and local gas fractions are generally increased with rising impeller speed and gas flow rate. The local averaged bubble size increases with increasing gas flow rate and orifice diameter and decreasing liquid viscosity, and decreases also with rising rotation speed of the impeller.     

Stability of the crossflow pattern around a slender and influence of disturbance

Topological structure and stability of a slender cross flow is discussed by the stability theory of dynamic system. The inner boundary of flow field was limiting streamline and it was proved that the topological structure connected saddles by limiting streamline is stable. It is proved that the development of slender vortices leads to the change of topological structure about cross flow. And it is the change from stable and symmetrical vortices flow pattern to unstable and symmetrical vortices flow pattern, and then to stable and asymmetrical vortices flow pattern due to little disturbance which leads to the development of asymmetrical slender vortices. The influence of disturbance to flowfield structure was discussed by unfolding theory too.     

Numerical study of bubble rise and interaction in a viscous liquid

In this article, the flow instabilities during the rise of a single bubble in a narrow vertical tube are studied using a transient two-dimensional/axisymmetric model. To predict the shape of the bubble deformation, the Navier-Stokes equations in addition to an advection equation for liquid volume fraction are solved. A modified volume-of-fluid technique based on Youngs' algorithm is used to track the bubble deformation. To validate the model, the results of simulations for terminal rise velocity and bubble shape are compared with those of the experiments. The effect of different parameters such as initial bubble radius, channel height, liquid viscosity and surface tension on the shape and rise velocity of the bubble is investigated.     

Curvature induced flow pattern transitions in serpentine mini-channels

Experimental investigation of the phase interactions in two-phase mini-channel serpentine systems is performed with a focus on determining the effect of radius of curvature of the serpentine on two-phase flow pattern transitions. The initial formation of two-phase flow patterns in T-junction contactors and the resulting effect on the flow through serpentine geometries are studied to predict the initiation of bubble breakup and/or coalescence in planar serpentine arrangements. Bubble breakup maps are developed for each of the serpentine geometries, identifying curvature-induced shifts in the transitions between flow patterns.     

One-group interfacial area transport equation and its sink and source terms in narrow rectangular channel

The characteristics of two-phase flow in a narrow rectangular channel are expected to be different from those in other channel geometries, because of the significant restriction of the bubble shape which, consequently, may affect the heat removal by boiling under various operating conditions. The objective of this study is to develop an interfacial area transport equation with the sink and source terms being properly modeled for the gas–liquid two-phase flow in a narrow rectangular channel. By taking into account the crushed characteristics of the bubbles a new one-group interfacial area transport equation was derived for the two-phase flow in a narrow rectangular channel. The random collisions between bubbles and the impacts of turbulent eddies with bubbles were modeled for the bubble coalescence and breakup respectively in the two-phase flow in a narrow rectangular channel. The newly-developed one-group interfacial area transport equation with the derived sink and source terms was evaluated by using the area-averaged flow parameters of vertical upwardly-moving adiabatic air–water two-phase flows measured in a narrow rectangular channel with the gap of 0.993 mm and the width of 40.0 mm. The flow conditions of the data set covered spherical bubbly, crushed pancake bubbly, crushed cap-bubbly and crushed slug flow regimes and their superficial liquid velocity and the void fraction ranged from 0.214 m/s to 2.08 m/s and from 3.92% to 42.6%, respectively. Good agreement with the average relative deviation of 9.98% was obtained between the predicted and measured interfacial area concentrations in this study.     

Chaotic and asymmetrical beam response to impulsive load

Both symmetrical and asymmetrical final displacements are observed for elastic–plastic beams under symmetrical impulsive loading. A three-degree-of-freedom Shanley-type model is developed in this study, which is capable of revealing chaotic and asymmetrical responses of an elastic–plastic beam by introducing initial imperfections. To identify the asymmetrical displacement, the beam response is decomposed into three vibration modes. Corresponding modal participation factors are derived based on the displacement of the three-degree-of-freedom beam model. Phase plane trajectories, Poincaré maps and power spectral density diagrams are derived to illustrate both the symmetrical and asymmetrical chaotic vibrations. Numerical simulations using a general-purpose FE code LS-DYNA are carried out for an elastic–plastic beam subjected to impulsive load. The simulation results indicate that the elastic–plastic beam demonstrates chaotic and asymmetrical vibration when the applied impulsive load exceeds a critical value, which agrees with experimental observations.     

Étude numérique du champ de vitesse dans un échangeur à vortexNumerical study of the velocity field in a vortex heat exchanger

Flow through a cylindrical flat chamber, a model of some particular heat exchanger, is investigated numerically using the CFD-ACE code. Turbulence is modelled using the classical k–ε model. A better understanding of the secondary flow is then obtained: the k–ε model shows a strong dependence of the secondary flow velocity field with Reynolds number as was pointed out with precedent experimental results. Variations of the number of vortexes composing the secondary flow, giving a symmetrical or asymmetrical aspect, will influence the fluid particle trajectories and time residence. To cite this article: S. Petitot et al., C. R. Mecanique 330 (2002) 749–756.     

Bubbly jets in stagnant water

Air–water bubbly jets are studied experimentally in a relatively large water tank with a gas volume fraction, C_o, of up to 80% and nozzle Reynolds number, Re, ranging from 3500 to 17,700. Measurements of bubble properties and mean axial water velocity are obtained and two groups of experiments are identified, one with relatively uniform bubble sizes and another with large and irregular bubbles. For the first group, dimensionless relationships are obtained to describe bubble properties and mean liquid flow structure as functions of C_o and Re. Measurements of bubble slip velocity and estimates of the drag coefficient are also provided and compared to those for isolated bubbles from the literature. The study confirms the importance of bubble interactions to the dynamics of bubbly flows. Bubble breakup processes are also investigated for bubbly jets. It was found that a nozzle Reynolds number larger than 8000 is needed to cause breakup of larger bubbles into smaller bubbles and to produce a more uniform bubble size distribution. Moreover, the Weber number based on the mean water velocity appears to be a better criteria than the Weber number based on the bubble slip velocity to describe the onset of bubble breakup away from the nozzle, which occurs at a Weber number larger than 25.     

微通道人工泡状流的Lattice Boltzmann数值模拟

采用高频电控热激发汽泡的方式构造微通道人工泡状流,可以有效抑制微通道沸腾流动的不稳定性和强化传热。本文基于Lattice Boltzmann大密度比多相流复合模型,数值研究了通道内人工泡状流的流动和传热,通过比较分析不同发泡频率的泡状流,量化分析了汽泡运动和增长对微通道流动与传热的相互影响。一方面着重分析了汽泡运动对微通道运动边界层以及汽泡相变增长对热边界层的影响,另一方面也研究了边界层对汽泡动力行为的影响,所得结论对研究抑制微通道沸腾流动不稳定性和强化传热有参考意义。     

Effect of diameter on two-phase pressure drop in narrow tubes

The effect of tube diameter on two-phase frictional pressure drop was investigated in circular tubes with inner diameters of 0.6, 1.2, 1.7, 2.6 and 3.4 mm using air and water. The gas and liquid superficial velocity ranges were 0.01-50 m/s and 0.01-3 m/s, respectively. The gas and liquid flow rates were measured and the two-phase flow pattern images were recorded using high-speed CMOS camera. Unique flow patterns were observed for smaller tube diameters. Pressure drop was measured and compared with various existing models such as homogeneous model and Lockhart-Martinelli model. It appears that the dominant effect of surface tension shrinking the flow stratification in the annular regime is important. It was found that existing models are inadequate in predicting the pressure drop for all the flow regimes visualized. Based on the analysis of present experimental frictional pressure drop data a correlation is proposed for predicting Chisholm parameter “C” in slug annular flow pattern. For all other flow regimes Chisholm’s original correlation appears to be adequate except the bubbly flow regime where homogeneous model works well. The modification results in overall mean deviation of pressure drop within 25% for all tube diameters considered. This approach of flow regime based modification of liquid gas interaction parameter appears to be the key to pressure drop prediction in narrow tubes.     

Bubbly flow undergoing a steep pressure gradient

The effects of a steep pressure gradient on bubbly flow were studied to determine the cause of noise emanating from components of a piping system. We used an orifice to generate a local pressure difference. The behavior of bubbles passing through the orifice was observed by using a video camera, and the noise was measured by a condenser microphone outside the pipe. It was found that the sound pressure level of noise generated by a bubbly flow was proportional to the pressure difference. An empirical formula for estimating noise level is proposed. The changes in size and number of bubbles passing through an orifice were found related to the breakup, which is affected by pressure difference rather than airflow rate. The breakup of a single bubble undergoing a steep pressure difference was observed to determine the mechanism of sound generation. It was found that a bubble was broken by impingement of an inward protrusion in the bubble. The growth rate of the protrusion depended on the pressure difference.