Flow of Newtonian and Non-Newtonian Fluids Through Packed Beds: An Experimental Study

The phenomena of flow reduction and flow enhancement was observed in case of viscoelastic and viscoinelastic fluids flowing through packed beds, respectively. In this study, the pressure drop-flow rate behaviors for the flow of Newtonian (water), non-Newtonian viscoinelastic (Carboxy methyl cellulose solution in water, CMC) and viscoelastic (Polyacrylamide solution in water, PAA) fluids have been experimentally studied and pressure drop behavior compared with existing models for viscoinelastic and viscoelastic fluids. Based on the observed data, an appropriate empirical correlation for pressure drop prediction in case of non-Newtonian fluid flowing through packed bed has been proposed. The correlation predicts the data well to within a reasonable accuracy.