CFD simulations of gas and liquid slugs for taylor flow in a microchannel

Dongying Qian, Adeniyi Lawal

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

The rapid development of microfabrication techniques creates new opportunities for applications of microchannel reactor technology in chemical reaction engineering. The extremely large volume-to-surface ratio and the short transport path in microchannels enhance heat and mass transfer dramatically and hence provide many potential opportunities in chemical process development and intensification. Multiphase reactions involving gas/liquid reactants with a solid as a catalyst are ubiquitous in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, and the hydrodynamics play a prominent role in reactor design and performance. For gas/liquid two-phase flow in a microchannel, the Taylor slug flow regime is the most commonly encountered flow pattern, therefore the present study deals with the numerical simulation of gas and liquid slugs in a microchannel. A T-junction microchannel (empty or packed) with varying cross-sectional width (0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1, 2 and 3 mm) served as the model micro-reactor, and a finite volume based commercial CFD package, FLUENT, was adopted for the numerical simulation. The gas and liquid slug lengths at various operating conditions were obtained and found to be in good agreement with the literature data.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Microchannels and Minichannels, 2005
Pages671-678
Number of pages8
DOIs
StatePublished - 2005
Event3rd International Conference on Microchannels and Minichannels, ICMM2005 - Toronto, ON, Canada
Duration: 13 Jun 200515 Jun 2005

Publication series

NameProceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Microchannels and Minichannels, 2005
VolumePART A

Conference

Conference3rd International Conference on Microchannels and Minichannels, ICMM2005
Country/TerritoryCanada
CityToronto, ON
Period13/06/0515/06/05

Keywords

  • Liquid and gas slugs
  • Microchannel
  • Numerical simulation
  • Taylor flow

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