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ABSTRACT
18
* **'? ~ +0.33
The above equation has been tested and proven over a wide range of
voidage and similarly between this equation and equation proposed by
Gibilaro et al. (198S) have been pointed out
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Laminar regime —- =
j_«
Turbulentregime AP = ^ejpVg + 3C DN ,e sP V L *
L
α ε Φd
These equations have been tested and proven for packed beds with
packings, with or without internal voidages and Kenics and Sulzer type of
static mixing elements. The force and energy balance method has been
extended for the estimation of hindered settling velocity in particulate (solid-
liquid and gas-liquid) fluidized beds. The similarity between these equations
and those proposed by Richardson and Zaki (1954) have been pointed out It
has been proposed that, all the column internals, such as packings and static
mixing elements can be characterised on the basis of phase hold-ups (83 and
EL), size, shape factor of internals and the fluid velocity. These parameters
are shown to be sufficient to correlate/predict the pressure drop data for
different type of reactor systems. The understanding of individual roles of
these parameters in altering the pressure drop characteristics is expected to
improve the prediction of the mixing, heat and mass transfer performance of
these reactors.
1. INTRODUCTION
and reunite the flow streams, achieving the degree of mixing required. The
alternative of making the flow turbulent is by either increasing the diameter
of the pipe or the velocity. This may not always be possible due to the
economic and process (limited volumetric flow rate and specified residence
time) constraints. However, with the same volumetric flow rate, the flow can
be made turbulent by inserting internals. The flow past internals results into
boundary layer separation and turbulence.
If the flow is already turbulent, then possibly no extra benefit can be
achieved in terms of radial mixing by the insertion of internals.
Nevertheless, the presence of internals can alter the local turbulence
structure by changing the scale of turbulence. If the change in the turbulent
structure happens to be near a place responsible for heat and mass transfer,
then extra benefit in terms of these transfer processes can be achieved.
The internals could be static as in the case of fixed beds (catalytic
reactors, adsorption, ion exchange, etc.), packed columns (absorption,
distillation, etc.) and static mixers. The internals may be mobile as in the
case of expanded or fluidized beds. The hydrodynamics of all these
equipment can be analyzed on an unified basis. For example, Ergun (1949,
1952) has suggested the following correlation for pressure drop :
ΔΡ 150,iVL ej vg p es
L dj,* £3 dp £ 3
It can be seen from the above equation that the pressure drop per unit
length in the laminar region is directly proportional to ss2, VL & inversely
proportional to φ2^3 and in the turbulent region ΔΡ/L is directly
proportional to ES pVL2 and inversely proportional to ψαρ^.3. AU the
internals (such as particles, packings, static mixing elements, etc.) can be
characterised in terms of 83, eL, φ and dp. It may be possible to develop a
unified procedure for the estimation of pressure drop. The constants of
proportionality in equation (1.1) (150 for laminar flow and 1.75 in the
turbulent flow) can be derived from first principles. This is perhaps possible
on the basis of energy balance. In case of such a success, the internals could
be selected in such a way as to get different φ and dp at same eL and ES or
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In fixed beds, the flow is considered laminar when the Reynolds number
(dpVLpL/HBs) is less than 10 and turbulent when the Reynolds number is
greater than 1000 (Bird et al [I960]). In the laminar regime, the pressure
drop is estimated using two theoretical approaches. In one method, the
packed bed is regarded as a bundle of tangled tubes. The results for single
circular straight tubes are then applied to the fixed bed. In the second
method, the fixed bed is visualized as a collection of submerged objects, and
the pressure drop is calculated by summing the resistances of the submerged
particles.
Let us begin with the first method. For a laminar flow in a straight tube,
the pressure drop is given by the following Haugen-Poiseuille equation:
ΔΡ = ^*· (2.1)
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or
ΔΡ V
TS
L S
where
Γ
Η = y (2-5)
In a straight pipeline of any cross-section, the pressure drop is due only
to the effect of skin friction. When there is a flow around a submerged
object, the resulting pressure drop is due to the sum of the frictional
resistances due to skin and form frictions. The form resistance arises due to
the pressure distribution around the submerged object and strongly depends
upon the shape.
In packed and fluidised beds, the flow occurs around the submerged
objects. Therefore, we need to consider the form resistance in addition to the
skin resistance. However, this is usually not taken into account (for instance,
Bird et al [I960]). Lali and Joshi [1989] have discussed this subject, a brief
summary is given below.
The frictional resistance will be evaluated using the well-known
procedure. Using the definition of hydraulic radius given by equation (2.5),
we get
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ΓΗ
:d p <2·6>
De= —^dp (2.7)
6 6S
Substituting equation (2.7) in equation (2.1) and noting that the true
velocity is VI/BL, we get
Δρ = -
d 8L
i (2.8)
(2.9)
where APS is the pressure drop due to shear forces and is given by
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For the case of fixed bed of spherical particles (SL = 0.4), equation (2.11) can
be written as
_
<fj «L
fti) Modification in hydraulic radius
The definition of hydraulic radius rH emerges out of the force balance
given by equation (2.3), where rH is given by equation (2.5). In equation
(2.3), only shear stresses were considered. Since the form drag is also acting
on the solid surface, equation (2.3) takes the following form:
I · »· V rf* Ί Ο\
Tg + Τρ = — (2.13)
or
(2.14)
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Bird et al. [1960] have shown that, for a single spherical particle, the
form drag is half the shear drag or TF/TS is 0.5 when particle Reynold's
number lie in the laminar regime. Using equation (2.6), the modified
equations for hydraulic radius and equivalent diameter are
DC - £ ^ dp (2-16)
Substituting equation (2.16) in equation (2.1) and noting that the true
velocity is VJe^ we get
ΛΡ - (2.17)
dj »L
Equations (2.12) and (2.17) are similar with constants 180 and 162,
respectively. The value of 180 is in line with the data of Carman [1937],
while Ergun [1952] has reported a value of 150. Hicks [1970] has presented
a comparison of correlations proposed by different workers. He has shown
that the value of the constant depends upon the limit of Reynolds number up
to which the laminar flow is assumed to prevail. In any case, the values of
150, 162 and 180 are fairly close to each other, so let us select the
intermediate value of 162.
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ΔΡ = ' (2.18)
Equation (2.18), however, does not hold for the extreme case of ES -» 0,
i.e., when a few or a single particle is present in the bed. This limiting case
can be included in the pressure drop equation by taking a force balance.
Consider a bed of diameter D, height L, voidage EL and consisting of Ν
particles. If Δρ is the pressure drop and FD is the force on a single particle,
the force balance gives :
-^ — = FD (2.20)
L 80
ρ (2.21)
Therefore, the total pressure drop which considers the limiting case of es
->0 is given by
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Δρ Vp^ 10.8παρνίμε8
3πόρ-- |/ I .L»
(2.22)
L
e
Equation (2.22) can be also be presented in the form of drag coefficient:
(2.24a)
(2.24b)
-
(2.25)
Re,Ρ I
At this stage, three points may be noted (i) the area Ap in equation (2.24)
has been taken as the total surface area of the particle and not the projected
area. This is because, while estimating Δρ [equations (2.3) to (2.8) and
(2.13) to (2.17)], it was considered that the shear stresses (TS and TF) act on
the total surface area, (ii) from equation (2.25) it can be seen that, for a
single particle, CD is 6/Rep on the basis of total surface area as similar
analysis can be extended to non-spherical where the projected area could
vary depending on the orientation, (iii) the bracketed term on the RHS of
equations (2.23) and (2.25) may be presented in simple power law form:
(2-26)
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Table 2.1
Numerical values for the approximation represented by equation (2.26)
EL 3-6es ει.·48
•4L
The values of LHS and RHS at different values of eL are given in Table
2.1. It can be seen that equation (2.26) holds with a deviation 4 to 8%.
Substitution of equation (2.26) in (2.23) and (2.25) gives:
f = AP 18
(2.27)
L
ΔΡ
(2.28)
A similar equation has been developed by Wen and Yu (1966) using the
empirical exponent over eL proposed by Richardson and Zaki (1964). Eqn.
(2.28) is only an approximate form of eqn. (2.25) presented in the power law
form.
It may be noted that equation (2.27) is different from equation (2.28) by
a factor of three.
Equations (2.23), (2.25), (2.27) and (2.28) predict pressure drop in fixed
and expanded beds. It may be pointed out that the only assumption made
while deriving these equations are i) form friction being proportional to the
projected area and ii) the ratio of form drag to shear drag is 0.5 over the
entire laminar range.
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The predictive ability of these equations can be checked in two ways: (i)
comparison of experimental pressure drop from an expanded bed where
particles are held stationary by connecting rods or wires. Happel and Epstein
(1954), Rumpfand Gupte (1971) and Rowe et al (1961a, 1961b)) could vary
the voidage of expanded bed in the range of 0.4 to 0.94. A good agreement
was found between the predicted and experimental pressure drops. Further
details of comparison will be given in Section 2.3. (ii) The predictive ability
of equations (2.23) to (2.28) can also be checked from the velocity-voidage
relationship in a paniculate fluidization. It is known that the pressure drop
across a bed equals the buoyant weight of the bed per unit area. The drag
force for a particle in an infinite medium is given by equation (2.21) where
VL equals the terminal velocity of a particle Vs..
The drag force for any particle in a fluidized bed is given by equation
(2.21)
(2.31)
(2.32)
s.
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(2.33)
»Soo
Οοπ^τΡι,νί! = f d J ( P s - P L ) g (2.35)
At this stage, two points may be noted (i) On the LHS of equations (2.34)
and (2.35), total surface area has been used in place of the projected area as
a similar analysis has been extended for non-spherical particles. This is in
line with the derivation of equations (2.3) to (2.8), (2.13) to (2.17) and
(2.25). (ii) the RHS represents the force due to gravity minus buoyancy and
is independent of the particle concentration. Equating equations (2.34) and
(2.35):
(2 36)
-
Further, for a single particle (Rep < 0.1),
suspended in a fictitious tube where the free area between the tube wall and
particle corresponds to the equivalent diameter [equation (2.7)]. This means
that the liquid flows in the annulus formed by the fictitious tube and the
particle. The following equation is assumed to hold:
Dt2 = - S - d ^ D 2 (2.38)
where, KI accounts for the fraction of the drag (acting on the particle) out of
the total drag on the tube and particle surface. Kj also accounts for the
equivalent length over which a given particle influences the pressure drop.
Further, Kj accounts for the tortuous path between the tube and the particle
and hence the form drag.
When the tube diameter is very large as compared to particle diameter
(D, » dp), equation (2.39)reducesto
04»
(Dt - d,)
^
v
s.o - -^f
(1-R 2 ) vw
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and
VL = BL(! - R)2
v (2.42b)
s» (1 - R 2 )
and
Cr,
^D _ IfVo
Y
Soo (l-R2)2 (2.43a)
CD» I V, .
where
V2
R = ί ι } (2.43b)
ll +(48 L /6s s )J
Equation (2.42b) can be simplified as
e L (l -
«i* (2.44)
(1 -
The values of LHS and RHS of equation (2.44) at different 8L are given
in Table (2.2). It can be seen that equation (2.44) is fairly good
approximation. Further, the comparison between the predicted [equation
(2.42a)] and experimental values of Vs is shown by Joshi et al. (1983).
Excellent agreement was found.
Table 2.2
Numerical values for the approximation represented by equation (2.44)
EL R 8L(1-R)2 BL48
(l-R 2 )
0.4 0.914 0.018 0.012
0.5 0.832 0.045 0.036
0.6 0.707 0.103 0.086
0.7 0.540 0.207 0.180
0.8 0.350 0.384 0.342
0.9 0.164 0.645 0.603
1.0 0 1.00 1.00
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When the particle Reynolds number is greater than about 1000, the solid-
liquid fluidised bed operates in the turbulent regime. The hydrodynamic
behavior in this regime can be conveniently analyzed using the energy
balance.
In fluidised beds, the fiictional force between particles and liquid
counterbalances the net force of gravity and buoyancy. The fiictional force
between particles and liquid depends on the relative velocity of the particle
with respect to the surrounding liquid. This relative velocity is termed as
'slip velocity', Vs. Estimation of Slip velocity can be made from the
knowledge of fractional phase hold-ups and the superficial velocities of the
phases with respect to the stationary column walls. Thus, by definition,
Vs = ¥±-
B
± ^-
E
(2.45)
L s
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where CD' is the increased drag coefficient due to increased turbulence and
CD«, is the drag as experienced by a single particle in an infinite liquid. The
force balance on a particle in a fluidised bed can be given by equation (2.35).
It should be noted that the drag coefficient CD» has been defined on the
basis of total particle surface area and not on the projected area. Thus, for
Newton's range (Rep > 1000) and for spherical particles, the value of CD« is
0.11 instead of 0.44 based on the projected area.
Energy balance
Joshi (1983) has described the energy balance approach. A brief
summary is given below:
The liquid required for fluidization is introduced against a static bed
height The rate of energy input is given by the following equation:
= A D2 VL gH (esPL + e L p L ) (2.47)
(2.48)
ΕΒ = Ε;-Ε, (2.49)
By substitutions,
Using eqn (2.35) for the fluidised bed in equation (2.50), we obtain
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dp
v
dp ' '
„
Ε
3π D2HCD'ssVgpL
δ = I 3 (2·3
where ES is the energy dissipation rate in the vicinity of the solid phase, ES
is the rate of energy dissipation in the bulk liquid, and
(2.54)
F _ 3π D2HCD'ssVJ|pL
EB - — -j-- (2.55)
The power dissipation per unit mass of liquid in the bed is given by
a fa
Em = ^ e =P m (2.56)
In turbulent flow, the power dissipation per unit mass of liquid has been
related to turbulence intensity and scale of turbulence [Davies (1972)]:
Also, in the vicinity of the wall, the friction factor has been related to
friction velocity U*. The value of U* is very nearly the normal component,
U'r. From the definition of U*,
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(2.58)
Eqn. (2.58) has been put forwarded on the basis of analogy between the
pipe-flow and current flow situation. Friction factor (f) for a pipe flow can be
expressed as f = 2(U*/V02 where U* is the normal component of friction
velocity. As a result, the drag coefficient in the current flow situation has
been expressed in an identical mann««·,
The scale and intensity of turbulence in fluidized beds have received
little attention in the past Considerable work needs to be done in this area to
establish the nature of turbulence in fluidised beds. Hanratty et al (1956),
Cairns and Prausnitz (I960), and Handley et al (1966) performed unique
experiments to throw some light on this subject In general, it appears that
scale and intensity of turbulence are dependent on a host of parameters
which include physical properties and voidage fraction in the bed. From
these studies, it may be assumed that the scale of turbulence is
approximately equal to twice the particle diameter and the radial fluctuating
velocity component UV is equal to half the overall fluctuating velocity
component Or,
l = 2dp (2.59)
and
ur = UY2 (2.60)
Thus, from eqns. (2.56), (2.57) and (2.60), one may write
(2.62)
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and
Ur'=1.58SVs (2.63)
(2.64)
(2.65)
Handley et al (1966) have shown over a wide range of voidage that for a
solid-liquid fluidised bed
U-X = UV (2.66)
ϋχ = υ,/2.5 (2.67)
Table 2.3 gives the comparison between the predicted and experimental
values of UVV. and UVV.. The experimental data have been taken from the
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Table 2.3
Values of fluctuating velocity components in solid-liquid fluidised bed
experimental results by Handley et al. (1966)
ι.49εβ γ (2.73)
8L J
CD«, =0.11
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and
L 'Doo
2.4
(2.75)
The numerical values of L.H.S. and R.H.S. of eqn. (2.75) are given in
Table 2.4. It can be seen that eqn. (2.75) is a fairly good approximation.
Substitution of eqn. (2.75) in (2.74) gives:
(2.76)
s.
Table 2.4
Numerical values for the approximation represented by equation (2.75)
l
cL f
EL " V40.9s| + ε£ eL" BL"
0.4 0.104 0.111 0.101
0.5 0.154 0.189 0.176
0.6 0.228 0.293 0.278
0.7 0.343 0.423 0.409
0.8 0.530 0.585 0.572
0.9 0.845 0.777 0.768
1.0 1.000 1.000 1.000
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or
where the value of CD« is 0.11 on the basis of the total area of the particle.
Substitution of eqn.(2.77) in eqn. (2.24b) gives:
ΔΡν
The above equation can be expressed in the form of Ergun friction factor
[please refer equations (2.22) and (2.23)].
For the case of fixed bed, EL = 0.4 and CD» = 0.11 and the RAS. works
out to be 1.72. This is in excellent agreement with the value of 1.75 in
Ergun equation. However, equation (2.79) is most general and can be used
for fixed as well as expanded beds. Further, it also explains velocity hold-up
relationship as pointed out by equation (2.76). The comparison between the
predicted and experimental pressure drops for case of expanded bed will be
presented in the next section.
The drag coefficient for a particle in laminar (Re <0.1) and turbulent (Re
>1000) regimes are given by eqns. (2.25) and (2.77b) respectively. These
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equations can be combined to give the drag coefficient for the transition
regime in the following form :
C D = (£ + B) (2.80)
CD = U ^ - + V B (2-83)
Plots on the basis of eqns. (2.80) and (2.83) are given in Figures 2.2 and
2.3 respectively.
For Fig. 2.1, A = 6 χ sL^8 and Β = 0.11 χ e^* whereas for Fig. 2.2, A =
4.8 χ et·*1 and B = 0.25 χ at4* as proposed by Dallavalle (1948).
The Ergon equation can be written on the basis of eqns. (2.23) and (2.79)
as
d
ΔΡ peL _ 18
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C D = ( A / R e p ) -H B.
101-
CD10 2 -
10-
10*-
10Γ3 10" Iff1 10 ΙΟ2 103
A7
ΔΡ 18
+0.33 (2.85)
Re„
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106-
te?- (B)0'5}2.
10*-
103-
= 0-2
10-
1-
-2
10
.-3
10 10' 1 10 ίο2 ίο3
''ρ
al. (1985) have shown that the predictive ability .of equation 2.85 for
correlating the reported data of Happel and Epstein (1954), Rumpf and
Gupte (1971) and Wentz and Thodos (1963A, 1963B) is excellent over a
wide range of voidage. The details pertaining to the experiments of these
authors have been given in Table 2.5. In addition, the data of Martin et al.
(1951) has also been included in the present analysis. Figure 2.3 shows the
plot of equation (2.85) with the data reported by the above mentioned
authors. It can be seen that equation (2.85) correlates its suitability for the
prediction of pressure drop in fixed, fluidized and expanded beds.
A similar attempt to correlate the drag coefficient data of Rowe et al
(1961 A, 196 IB) proved unsuccessful when based on the overall voidages.
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'S 0 Ό
o
1-4
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oo c^ •r» <s SO
Tj- OO VO
VO O\ m oo cn
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ι
it
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t-" I S 2
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ΚΛ
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t~ «o
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10 -
T 10-
o
(j
1-
iff 1
ΙΟ'' 10" 10 10 10"
Rer
The use of linear voidage or cross-sectional flow area available for the flow,
does allow the correct prediction of the increased drag ratio with a decrease
in the separation distance of arranged spheres as proposed by Rowe et al.
(1961A). The limiting value of the drag ratio for 8L = 0.4 works out to be 84
(drag on sphere in an assembly/drag on the individual sphere) as compared
to value of 75 reported by Rowe et al. (1961A). Thus equation (2.82) and
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(2.85) can be used to predict the drag on a particle in an ensemble and the
pressure drop, respectively.
In fixed beds the flow is considered laminar when the Reynolds number
{dppi.Vi/uEi.} < 0.1. For this case also we will use the approach of Section
2.1. The equivalent diameter for non-spherical particles in the laminar
regime can be written as
voidvolume
— D 2 Le
D = ___ *_ L_ (3 la)
wetted surface —
— β τε
If we use the true velocity as VL/EL, and equation (3. Ib) with
ΛΡ - (3.2,
we get
We will now incorporate the form drag (for details refer Section 2.1.1)
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+ _ AP V
s Tf
L S
- * - l - '-
For the sphere the ratio TS/TT is given as 0.5(Bird et at) and results in a
pressure drop equation (same as eqn. 2. 12) for spheres as
This value of 180 for a bed of non spherical particles has been confirmed
by the other investigators [ Ergun (1951), Leva et al (1951), Leva (1959),
Scarlett (1977)]. Casal et al (1985) have shown that the value of 180 in
equation (3.5) seems to be the most satisfactory for a bed of non-spherical
particles.
Carman (1937) has also shown that the value of φ calculated from
pressure drop experiments, closely matches that value calculated on the basis
of particle geometry. In order to validate such a procedure, he considered φ
in the comprehensive range of 0.43 to 0.95.
This procedure can further be supported by the following calculations.
Consider a cylindrical particle (diameter = do) of aspect ratio ten. It can
easily be shown that the shape actor is 0.58 and the equivalent particle
diameter is 2.46.
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Table 3.1
Comparison between geometric ratio (l/ψ) and force ratio (A,)
* unreliable
Cliff et al (1975) have reported overall drag force ratio Ac (total drag on
non-spherical particle/drag or sphere of equal volume) at same fluid
velocity. It can be shown (Table 3.1) that the value of l/φ and Ae are
identical over a wide range of the aspect ratio (0.1 to 10). This indicates that
φ, as computed geometrically, also gives us the information about the overall
increase in the drag force due to the non-sphericity of the particle. Thus in
the absence of information about the individual variation in the skin and
form drag components as a function of the shape for the non-spherical
particles of different shapes the use of φ is considered adequate for the
development of the correlation. In section 2.0, it has been shown, that in the
case of the sphere the total drag force (skin and form drag combined) gives
the correct estimate of the constant in the Ergun equation for the pressure
drop and the use l/φ (equivalent to the increased total drag force as
compared to the spherical particle) should account for the total drag on the
non-spherical particle.
Thus in the subsequent analysis φ has been used for the energy balance
purposes.
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In the case of fluidized beds, the slip velocity is less as compared to the
terminal settling velocity. This is because, in the presence of a swarm of
particles the bulk turbulence intensity is much higher compared to the
settling of a single particle. As a result, the drag on an individual particle in
the fluidized bed increases and relative velocity between particle and liquid
decreases. This subject has been discussed in Section 2.2.
Dividing equation (3.7) by equation (3.6), we get
(3.8)
'Deo
where ψ = AS/AN
Using equations (2.46), (2.58) and (2.63)
•ON ~ *"DN T
*-DN<o + CDNe, (3.9)
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2APv
= N (3.11)
^ES A N e L VL
(3.14)
(3.15)
"SNoo
Packed columns are very widely used in Chemical Processes Industry for
absorption and distillation. The capacity of packed columns depends upon
the pressure drop characteristics of packings. During the past fifty years,
there has been a continuous attempt to develop new shapes of the packings
which give lower pressure drop and enhanced gas-liquid contacting
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( V* V
= + C D . USS- (3.16)
VV SN<0 y
For spherical and non-spherical particles, Clift et al. (1978) have given
the following equations for the estimation of the terminal settling velocities:
1/2
1/2
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The two major types of tower packings with no internal voidage are Berl
saddles and Intalox saddles. The major characteristic of these types of
packings which distinguishes them from packings with internal voidage (i.e.
Raschig and Pall rings) is that the effective voidage of the packed bed
remains same whether the packings are dumped or stacked in the bed. This
means that the preferred orientation of packings does not affect the tower
voidage and shift it from that for stacked packed bed voidage. Therefore, the
tower voidage data can be directly used to predict the pressure drop.
In the case of 25 mm Intalox saddles (Table 4.1) the dp comes out to be
18 mm on the volumetric basis. The value of area of non-spherical particles
(AN) is calculated as the specific area per unit volume divided by the number
of particles per unit volume (it comes out as 3.03xlO~3 m2/packing). Inverse
of this area multiplied with the area of a volume equivalent sphere gives ψ
(as 0.338). CDU» was calculated using equation (3.7) and its value works out
as 0.22. Using these calculations along with the pressure drop data shows
that the predicted and experimental values of friction factor are extremely
close, thus showing the success of this method of analysis. Tables 4.1 and
4.2 show the comparison between the predicted and the experimental values
Table 4.1
Comparison between predicted and experimental friction factors
for the case of Intalox saddles (Ceramic)
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Table 4.2
Comparison between predicted and experimental friction factors
for the case of Bert saddles (Ceramic)
of friction factor for different sizes of Intalox and Bert saddles, respectively
(experimental data, Raschig Booklet). It can be seen that the agreement is
reasonable over a wide range of packing sizes.
It may be pointed out that the Intalox and Berl saddles are some non-
spherical shapes. The Section 3 encompasses a wide range of non-sphericity
and over a wide range of Reynolds number.
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Table 4.3
Effective voidage and mean angle of orientation in Raschig rings (Ceramic)
Packing size dp
Φ Voidage Mean angle of
orientation
degrees
Vertical Horizontal Eff.
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Table 4.4
Effective voidage and mean angle of orientation in Raschig rings (Metal)
value. The results for Raschig rings (both metal as well as ceramic) of
different sizes are summarized in Tables 4.3 and 4.4.
A similar analysis in the case of Pall rings has also been carried out
accounting for the slots in the wall of the rings. The slots provide additional
utilization of the internal voidage even when the orientation changes.
Further, the effect of inner projections on reducing internal voidage was also
considered when the Pall rings are vertical. For example, in the case of
35mm Pall rings, the bed voidage for horizontal Pall rings works out as
60.5% as opposed to the value of 96% when the rings are vertical and all the
internal voidage is free and available for fluid flow. It may be pointed out
that, in the case of Pall rings, even when they are horizontal, only 60% of
the internal voidage is taken as blocked for the flow (based on geometrical
considerations) as opposed to the case of horizontal Raschig rings where the
total internal voidage is blocked for the flow. The results for metal Pall rings
of various sizes are summarized in Table 4.5. Again, in this case the
orientation of packings is in the range of 46-51°, similar to other
non-spherical particles.
Further justification for our theory of effective voidage comes from Leva
(1952). He suggests that the pressure drop in the case of stacked bed of 50
mm ceramic Raschig Rings is l/4th of that for dumped bed. It can indeed be
shown by following a similar analysis that the pressure drop in the case of
stacked bed varies between 0.29 to 0.286 times that for the dumped case
(Table 4.6). This difference in the pressure drop is due to the difference in
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Table 4.5
Effective voidage and mean angle of orientation in Pall rings (Metal)
Table 4.6
Comparison of pressure drop in stacked and dumped beds of ceramic
Raschig rings
the voidages for the stacked and the dumped case as discussed earlier. Also
the voidages reported in the literature consider that all the internal voidage
is also available for the flow. Obviously this is not true and hence for the
case of dumped packing the effective voidage need to be considered for the
prediction of the pressure drop.
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Re
where Ά' gives the friction factor in the turbulent regime and B/Re in the
laminar regime. The values of A and B have been reported in the literature
(Pahl and Muschelnautz 1982), Wilkinson and Clift (1977), Kabatek et al
(1982), Heywood et al. (1984)).
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Based on the understanding of the geometry of the Kenics type of mixer, the
following relations are valid
(ft V'3
dp = l-L s Dt (5.1)
\7I f
(5.2)
v
AN (TtDL + 2 LSD) '
Thus in the definition of ψ, tube internal surface area has also been
considered as it is treated as a packing.
Substituting L =1.44L and L/D =1.0, we get
LsD
es = ! = 1.83 1 /D (5.4)
7i/4D 2 L
8L = (l-1.83t/D> (5.5)
ΔΡ 326
L (L/D) D2
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Wilkinson and Cliff (1977) and Kabatek et al (1989) have reported the
following correlations for Kenics type of static mixers
for L/D=1.5, *L = 230 μΥι2· (5.7)
L D
170=1.8, .1?5 L_ (5 g)
L D2
L/D =2.0, ^L - 162-^- (5.9)
L D2
Substituting L/D =1.5, 1.8 and 2.0 in equation (5.6), the following
correlations are obtained
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Table 5.1
Geometrical details for some static mixers
ES 0.09 0.13
EL 0.91 0.87
In the turbulent regime, the analysis presented in the Section 3.2.1 can
be extended to explain the pressure drop characteristics of the static mixers.
Simplification of equation 3.14 in the form of pressure drop per unit length
gives
ΔΡ = 3C D N g ) s
(5.15)
L 4>d
As seen from the above equation, that in addition to the parameters ψ, dp,
es and eL, the drag coefficient CDN« is also required. The values of the drag
coefficient (CDN«) have not been reported in the literature for the static
mixer elements. Hence, the procedure described in the Section 3.2.1 has
been adapted to estimate V** VSN« and hence CDN«. The major limitation of
the extension of this procedure to the static mixer is due to the fixed
orientations of the element It has been shown in Section 3.2.1 that the
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procedure for the estimation of CM*» is quite successful for the random
packings. In the case of static mixer elements, since the orientation is fixed,
the estimated VSN« and CD»» are likely to be different than, those for a
random orientation. Nevertheless an attempt has been made to explain the
observed pressure drop for the same static mixers as considered in the
laminar range. The correlations obtained is of the following form:
(5.16)
Table 5.2 shows the predicted and the reported values of 'M1 for different
static mixer elements.
As seen from the Table 5.2, the agreement between the predicted and
reported values is reasonable (5 to 30% deviation). The possible reason for
this deviation has been explained earlier. In addition to the fixed orientation,
it might be unrealistic to use VSN«, to estimate Crab, as all the static mixing
elements have diameters almost equal to that of the tube and hence, it might
be appropriate to replace CBN» by CDw, which includes the wall effect as
Table 5.2
Comparison between the predicted and reported values of M
Element M M
Predicted eqn. 5.15 Repotted (Ref.)
Kenics L/D - 1.5 0.75 1.0
(Kabatekefoi, 1979)
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6. CONCLUSION
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Thus, the present analysis and the method of energy balance has been
proved useful for the prediction of the pressure drop behaviour for a variety
of the reactors under unified scheme.
NOMENCLATURE
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Greek
EL fractional liquid hold-up
8S fractional solid hold-up
μι. liquid phase viscosity, mPa.s
ψ shape factor, As/AN
Pa gas phase density, kg/m3
PL liquid phase density, kg/m3
PS solid phase density, kg/m3
Δρ density difference between the dispersed phase and the continuous
phase, kg/m3
TF shear stress component due to the form, N/m2
TS shear stress component due to the skin, N/m2
REFERENCES
1. Ergun, S., 1952, "Pressure drop through granular beds", Chem. Engng.
Prog., 48(2), 84-88.
2. Ergun, S. and Orning, A.A., 1949, "Fluid flow through randomly
packed columns and fluidised beds", Ind. Eng. Chem., 41,1179-1184.
3. Hicks, R.E.,1970, "Pressure drop in packed beds of spheres", Ind.
Engng. Chem. Fund., 9, 500-502.
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Beds, Packed Columns and Static Mixers
19. Wentz, C.A. and Thodos, G., 1963A, "Total and form drag friction
actors for the turbulent flow of air through packed and distended beds
of spheres, A.I.CH.E. J.t 9,358-361.
20. Wentz, C.A. and Thodos, G., 1963B, "Pressure drop in the flow of
gases through packed and distended beds of spherical particles,
A.I.CH.E. J., 9, 81-84.
21. Martin, J.J., McCabe, WJ. and Mourad, G.C., 1951, "Pressure drop
through stacked spheres : Effect of orientation", Chem. Engng. Prog.,
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22. Leva, M, 1959, "Fluidisation", McGraw Hill, New York.
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HA, 1951, U.S. Bur. Mines. Bull., 21,504-510.
24. Scarlett, B. in C. Oor. Edt, 1977, "Filtration principles and practices -
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25. Casal, J., Lucas, A. and Arualdos, J., 1985, "A new method for the
determination of shape factor and particle density", The Chem. Engng.
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26. Clift, R., Grace, R. and Weber, M.E., 1975, "Bubble drops and
particles", Academic Press, London.
27. Pandit, A.B. and Joshi, J.B., 1986, "Some aspects of the measurements
of shape actors of solid particles", Ind. J. Techn., 28,587-590.
28. Raschig Brochure, 1986, AG, Abteilung VRR, Mundenheimer Strape
100, D-6700, Zudwingshater, Germany.
29. Leva, M., 1953, "Tower packings and packed tower design", Acron,
U.S. Stoneware Corpn., Ohio.
30. Pabl, M.H. and Muschelknautz, E., 1982, "Static mixers and their
applications",/n/7. Chem. Engng., 22(2), 197-205.
31. Wilkinson, W.L. and Clift, M.J., 1977, "An investigation into the
performance of a static", In Lin Mixer, 2nd Eurp. Conf. Mixing,
BHRA, 30th March, A2-15-29.
32. Kabatek, J., Dift, P. and Novak, V., 1989, "Helax - a new type of static
mixer - operation characteristics and comparison with other types,
Chem. Engng. Process, 25,59-64.
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33. Heywood, N.I., Viney, LJ. and Stewart, I.W., 1984, "Mixing
efficiencies and energy requirements of a various motionless mixer
designs for laminar mixing applications", Jnstn. Chem. Engrs., Symp.
Ser., 88,147-176.
34. Sulzer Brocher, 1992, Mixing process equipments, Sulzer Brothers
Ltd., SMX and SMV series, Switzerland.
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