Comparison of a Full Second-Order Moment Model and an Algebraic Stress Two-Phase Turbulence Model for Simulating Bubble-Liquid Flows in a Bubble Column

A full second-order moment (FSM) model and an algebraic stress (ASM) two-phase turbulence modelare proposed and applied to predict turbulent bubble-liquid flows in a 2D rectangular bubble column. Predictiongives the bubble and liquid velocities, bubble volume fraction, bubble and liquid Reynolds stresses and bubble-liquidvelocity correlation. For predicted two-phase velocities and bubble volume fraction there is only slight differencebetween these two models, and the simulation results using both two models are in good agreement with the particleimage velocimetry (PIV) measurements. Although the predicted two-phase Reynolds stresses using the FSM are insomewhat better agreement with the PIV measurements than those predicted using the ASM, the Reynolds stressespredicted using both two models are in general agreement with the experiments. Therefore, it is suggested to usethe ASM two-phase turbulence model in engineering application for saving the computation time.

Numerical Simulation of Unsteady-State Flowsin Bubble Column Reactors

Unsteady-state operation has been widely applied in chemical engineering, such as optimizing a process, increasing yield and saving energy, etc. But the knowledge of the flow characteristics in bubble column reactors(BCRs) under unsteady state control is far from enough. In order to study the flow structures in this operation, the volume of fluid (VOF) model and the standard k-ε model to simulate the evolution of gas-liquid flow in BCRs under the start-up state are combined. For both the symmetry and asymmetry flow, the layout of the gas-inlets, the gas-in velocity, the liquid viscosity and the aspect ratio of the BCR all have effects on the liquid velocity distribution. The simulation results could provide some information for the design and scale-up of the BCRs.

Numerical simulation of gas–liquid flow in the bubble column using Wray–Agarwal turbulence model coupled with population balance model

In this paper,an improved computational fluid dynamic(CFD)model for gas-liquid flow in bubble column was developed using the one-equation Wary-Agarwal(WA)turbulence model coupled with the population balance model(PBM).Through 18 orthogonal test cases,the optimal combination of interfacial force models,including drag force,lift force,turbulent dispersion force.The modified wall lubrication force model was proposed to improve the predictive ability for hydrodynamic behavior near the wall of the bubble column.The values simulated by optimized CFD model were in agreement with experimental data,and the errors were within±20%.In addition,the axial velocity,turbulent kinetic energy,bubble size distribution,and the dynamic characteristic of bubble plume were analyzed at different superficial gas velocities.This research work could provide a theoretical basis for the extension of the CFD-PBM coupled model to other multiphase reactors..

Velocity distribution of the flow field in the cyclonic zone of cyclone-static micro-bubble flotation column

Laboratory experiments have been conducted to study the flow field in a cyclone static micro-bubble flotation column. The method of Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) was used. The flow field velocity distribution in both cross section and longitudinal section within cyclonic zone was studied for different circulating volumes. The cross sectional vortex was also analyzed. The results show that in cross section as the circulating volume increases from 0.187 to 0.350 m 3 /h, the flow velocity ranges from 0 to 0.68 m/s. The flow field is mainly a non-vortex potential flow that forms a free vortex without outside energy input. In the cyclonic region the vortex deviates from the center of the flotation column because a single tangential opening introduces circulating fluid into the column. The tangential component of the velocity plays a defining role in the cross section. In the longitudinal section the velocity ranges from 0 to 0.08 m/s. The flow velocity increases as does the circulating volume. Advantageous mineral separation conditions arise from the combined effects of cyclonic flow in cross and longitudinal section.

Experimental and numerical investigations of scale-up effects on the hydrodynamics of slurry bubble columns

Experiments and simulations were conducted for bubble columns with diameter of 0.2 m(180 mm i.d.), 0.5 m(476 mm i.d.) and 0.8 m(760 mm i.d.) at high superficial gas velocities(0.12–0.62 m·s-1) and high solid concentrations(0–30 vol%). Radial profiles of time-averaged gas holdup, axial liquid velocity, and turbulent kinetic energy were measured by using in-house developed conductivity probes and Pavlov tubes. Effects of column diameter, superficial gas velocity, and solid concentration were investigated in a wide range of operating conditions. Experimental results indicated that the average gas holdup remarkably increases with superficial gas velocity, and the radial profiles of investigated flow properties become steeper at high superficial gas velocities. The axial liquid velocities significantly increase with the growth of the column size, whereas the gas holdup was slightly affected. The presence of solid in bubble columns would inhibit the breakage of bubbles, which results in an increase in bubble rise velocity and a decrease in gas holdup, but time-averaged axial liquid velocities remain almost the same as that of the hollow column. Furthermore, a 2-D axisymmetric k–ε model was used to simulate heterogeneous bubbly flow using commercial code FLUENT 6.2. The lateral lift force and the turbulent diffusion force were introduced for the determination of gas holdup profiles and the effects of solid concentration were considered as the variation of average bubble diameter in the model. Results predicted by the CFD simulation showed good agreement with experimental data.

The Effect of Sparger Geometry on Gas Bubble Flow Behaviors Using Electrical Resistance Tomography

By electrical resistance tomography (ERT) the cross sectional profiles of gas hold-up in a φ56mm bubble column are obtained with four designs of gas sparger. The effect of sparger geometry on the bubble distribution is re-vealed by applying a sensitivity conjugated gradients reconstruction method (SCG). Experimental results show that over-all hold-up obtained by ERT is generally in good agreement with those measured with the pressure transducer and the ERT system produces informative evidence that the radial profiles of hold-up is very similar to the sparger design in the lower section of bubble column. Meanwhile, the rise velocity of bubble swarm and the Sauter mean bubble size are evaluated using ERT based on dynamic gas disengagement theory. The experimental results are in good agreement with correlations and conventional estimation obtained using pressure transmitter methods.

Effects of Orifice Orientation and Gas-Liquid Flow Pattern on Initial Bubble Size

In many gasliquid processes, the initial bubble size is determined by a series of operation parameters along with the sparger design and gasliquid flow pattern. Bubble formation models for variant gasliquid flow pat terns have been developed based on force balance. The effects of the orientation of gasliquid flow, gas velocity, liquid velocity and orifice diameter on the initial bubble size have been clarified. In ambient airwater system, thesultable gasllquid flow pattern is important to obtain smaller bubbles under the low velocity liquid crossflow con ditions with stainless steel spargers. Among the four types of gasliquid flow patterns discussed, the horizontal orifice in a vertically upward liquid flow produces the smallest initial bubbles. However the orientation effects of gas and liquid flow are found tobe insgnifican whenliq.uid velocity is.higher than. 3.2 m;sa or theorifice diameter is small enough.

Visualisation of air–water bubbly column flow using array Ultrasonic Velocity Profiler

In the present work, an experimental study of bubbly two-phase flow in a rectangular bubble column was performed using two ultrasonic array sensors, which can measure the instantaneous velocity of gas bubbles on multiple measurement lines. After the sound pressure distribution of sensors had been evaluated with a needle hydrophone technique, the array sensors were applied to two-phase bubble col- umn, To assess the accuracy of the measurement system with array sensors for one and two-dimensional velocity, a simultaneous measurement was performed with an optical measurement technique called particle image velocimetry （PIV）. Experimental results showed that accuracy of the measurement system with array sensors is under 10% for one-dimensional velocity profile measurement compared with PIV technique. The accuracy of the system was estimated to be under 20% along the mean flow direction in the case of two-dimensional vector mapping.

Hydrodynamics and bubble behaviour in a three-phase two-stage internal loop airlift reactor

Local hydrodynamics of a gas–liquid–solid system,such as bubble circulation regime,gas holdup,liquid velocity and axial profile of solid concentration,are studied in a two-stage internal loop airlift reactor.Empirical correlations for gas holdup and liquid velocity are proposed to ease the reactor design and scale-up.Different bubble circulation regimes were displayed in the first(lower) and second(upper) stages.Increasing superficial gas velocity and solid loading can promote regime transition of the second stage,and the gas holdup of the second stage is higher than that of the lower stage.In addition,the effects of solid loading on bubble behaviour are experimentally investigated for each stage.It is found that bubble size in the downcomer decreases with the presence of solid particles,and bubble size distribution widens under higher superficial gas velocity and lower solid loading.

An optimization method for enhancement of gas–liquid mass transfer in a bubble column reactor based on the entropy generation extremum principle

In this study,an optimization method is proposed to enhance the gas–liquid mass transfer in bubble column reactor based on the entropy generation extremum principle.The mass transfer–induced entropy generation can be maximized with the increase of mass transfer rate,based on which the velocity field can be optimized.The oxygen gas–liquid mass transfer is the major rate–limiting step of the toluene emissions biodegradation process in bubble column reactor,so the entropy generation due to oxygen mass transfer is used as the objective function,and the conservation equations of the gas–liquid flow and species concentration are taken as constraints.This optimization problem is solved by the calculus of variations,the optimal liquid flow pattern is obtained and the relationship of the maximum mass transfer enhancement on viscous dissipation is revealed,which can be used to improve the design of internal structure of the bubble column reactor.

Different efficiency toward the biomimetic aerobic oxidation of benzyl alcohol in microchannel and bubble column reactors: Hydrodynamic characteristics and gas–liquid mass transfer

The selective aerobic oxidation of benzyl alcohol to benzaldehyde has attracted considerable attention because benzaldehyde is a high value-added product. The rate of this typical gas–liquid reaction is significantly affected by mass transfer. In this study, CoTPP-mediated(CoTPP: cobalt(II) mesotetraphenylporphyrin) selective benzyl alcohol oxidation with oxygen was conducted in a membrane microchannel(MMC) reactor and a bubble column(BC) reactor, respectively. We observed that 83% benzyl alcohol was converted within 6.5 min in the MMC reactor, but only less than 10% benzyl alcohol was converted in the BC reactor. Hydrodynamic characteristics and gas–liquid mass transfer performances were compared for the MMC and BC reactors. The MMC reactor was assumed to be a plug flow reactor,and the dimensionless variance was 0.29. Compared to the BC reactor, the gas–liquid mass transfer was intensified significantly in MMC reactor. It could be ascribed to the high gas holdup(2.9 times higher than that of BC reactor), liquid film mass transfer coefficient(8.2 times higher than that of BC reactor), and mass transfer coefficient per unit interfacial area(3.8 times higher than that of BC reactor). Moreover,the Hatta number for the MMC reactor reached up to 0.61, which was about 15 times higher than that of the BC reactor. The computational fluid dynamics calculations for mass fractions in both liquid and gas phases were consistent with the experimental data.

Hydrodynamic Behavior in a Tapered Bubble Column

The experiment was conducted to explore the hydrodynamics in a conical column with a height of 3.00 m, and a taper angle of 1.91°. Three regimes occur in succession with increasing superficial gas velocity. Overall gas holdup increases with an increase in gas velocity and a decrease in solid concentration or static slurry height. Axial solid holdup becomes more uniform with increasing gas velocity, while axial gas holdup decreases from the bottom to the top. Both dry and wet pressure drops across the gas distributor increase with an increase in superficial gas velocity.

Exploration on the stability conditions in bubble columns by noncooperative game theory

The energy-minimization multiscale(EMMS)model,originally proposed for gas-solid fluidization,features a stability condition to close the simplified conservation equations.It was put forward to physically reflect the compromise of two dominant mechanisms,i.e.,the particle-dominated with minimal potential energy of particles,and the gas-dominated with the least resistance for gas to penetrate through the particle bed.The stability condition was then formulated as the minimization of the ratio of these two physical quantities.Analogously,the EMMS approach was later extended to the gas-liquid flow in bubble columns,termed dual-bubble-size model.It considers the compromise of two dominant mechanisms,i.e.,the liquid-dominated regime with small bubbles,and the gas-dominated regime with large bubbles.The stability condition was then formulated as the minimization of the sum of these two physical quantities.Obviously,the two stability conditions were expressed in different manner,though gas-solid and gas-liquid systems bear some analogy.In addition,both the conditions transform the original multiobjective variational problem into a single-objective problem.The mathematical formulation of stability condition remains therefore an open question.This study utilizes noncooperative game theory and noninferior solutions to directly solve the multi-objective variational problem,aiming to explo re the different pathways of compromise of dominant mechanisms.The results show that only keeping the single dominant mechanism cannot capture the jump change of gas holdup,which is associated with flow regime transition.Hybrid of dominant mechanisms,noninferior solutions and noncooperative game theory can predict the flow regime transition.However,the game between the two mechanisms makes the two-bubble structure degenerate and reduce to the single-bubble structure.The game of the three mechanisms restores the two-bubble structure.The exploration on the formulation of stability conditions may help to understa nd the roles and interactions of different domina nt mechanisms in the origin of complexity in multiphase flow systems.

Dynamic Characteristics of Bubble Distribution Zone in Gas-Liquid Reactors

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Flow mixing model of liquid phase in an internal airlift loop reactor

Residence time distribution (RTD) analysis of liquid phase was conducted in an internal airlift loop reactor (AL) and a bubble column (BC) with the tracer response technique. These data were simulated and compared through several flow mixing models. The modeling results of two-parameter model indicated that there were higher ratio of full mixing zones and lower ratio of bypass flow in AL than in BC. Then a completely mixed-plug flow parallel combined (four-parameter) model was established. Modeling results show that it is more precise and more obvious than two-parameter model.

Lagrangian coherent structures analysis of gas-liquid flow in a bubble column

The objective of this paper is to apply a new identifying method to investigating the gas-liquid two-phase flow behaviors in a bubble column with air injected into water. In the numerical simulations, the standard k-c turbulence model is employed to de- scribe the turbulence phenomenon occurring in the continuous fluid. The Finite-Time Lyapunov Exponent （FTLE） and Lagrangian Coherent Structures （LCS） are applied to analyze the vortex structures in multiphase flow. Reasonable agreements are obtained between the numerical and experimental data. The numerical results show that the evolution of gas-liquid in the column includes initial and periodical developing stages. During the initial stage, the bubble hose is forming and extending along the vertical direction with the vortex structures formed symmetrically. During the periodical developing stage, the bub- ble hose starts to oscillate periodically, and the vortexes move along the bubble hose to the bottom of column alternately. Compared to the Euler-system-based identification criterion of a vortex, the FTLE field presents the boundary of a vortex without any threshold defined and the LCS represents the divergence extent of infinite neighboring particles. During the initial stage, the interfaces between the forward and backward flows are highlighted by the LCS. As for the periodical developing stage, the LCS curls near the vortex centers, providing a method of analyzing a flow field from a dynamical system perspec- tive.

气体流量和喷嘴直径对鼓泡塔内气泡大小和形状分布的影响

通过高速摄影结合图像处理算法,研究气体流量和喷嘴直径对气泡尺寸和纵横比分布的影响。结果表明,在所有喷嘴直径下,气泡当量直径的概率密度呈现双峰分布,其中第一个峰值接近直径为1.5~2 mm的小气泡区域,另一个峰值位于较大的气泡区域。将气体流量从0.1 L/min增加到0.2 L/min会导致大气泡的概率密度更高,表明气泡聚并现象普遍存在。当气体流量增加至1.2L/min时,峰值对应的气泡直径变小,并且气泡破裂占主导地位。对于直径为1~2 mm的气泡,形状受气体流量的影响较小,而3~9 mm的气泡在所有气体流量下气泡纵横比概率密度分布的峰值均位于纵横比E=0.5处。Iguchi和Chihara提出的模型能更好地预测气泡脱离直径随气体流量的增大的变化。

亚毫米气泡和常规尺寸气泡气液两相流流动与传质特性对比

通过实验和数值模拟系统研究了亚毫米气泡鼓泡塔与常规鼓泡塔在流动和传质特性上的区别,并建立了适用于亚毫米气泡气液两相流流动和传质过程的数值模拟方法。研究结果表明,相比常规鼓泡塔,相同操作条件下亚毫米气泡鼓泡塔的气泡尺寸分布更窄,平均尺寸降至前者3%左右,气含率提高2倍以上,比表面积提高2个数量级。另外亚毫米气泡气液两相流中气液径向分布更均匀,轴向返混程度更小。亚毫米气泡鼓泡塔的相界面积是强化传质的关键控制因素,其液相传质系数虽低于常规鼓泡塔,但依靠巨大的相界面积,其体积传质系数是常规鼓泡塔的10倍左右。针对大规模鼓泡塔反应器的模拟结果也表明,亚毫米气泡可使反应器达到更均匀的气含率分布,受初始气液分布的影响小。

应用电导探针测定鼓泡塔内气泡参数

介绍了一种性能稳定的双头电导探针的制作工艺、测量原理。并用此电导探针测量了一定静液层高的带单个泡罩的鼓泡塔内气液两相流参数,包括局部气含率、界面浓度、当量直径等,并首次回归了局部气含率随空间位置、气体流量变化的关联式。

鼓泡塔反应器气液两相流CFD数值模拟

对圆柱形鼓泡塔反应器内的气液两相流动进行了三维瞬态数值模拟,模拟的表观气速范围为0.02～0.30m.s-1;模拟采用了双流体模型,并耦合了气泡界面密度单方程模型预测气泡尺寸,该模型考虑了气泡聚并与破碎对气泡尺寸的影响。液相湍流采用考虑气相影响的修正k-ε模型,两相间的动量传输仅考虑曳力作用。模拟获得了轴向气/液相速度分布、气含率分布、湍流动能分布以及气泡表面面积密度等,对部分模拟结果与实验值进行了定量比较,结果表明模拟结果与实验结果吻合较好。