Numerical study on the gas and liquid slugs for taylor flow in a microchannel

Adeniyi Lawal, Dongying Qian

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

Abstract

The extremely large surface-to-volume ratio and the short transport path in microchannel-based reactors enhance heat and mass transfer dramatically and hence provide many potential opportunities for chemical process development and intensification. However, the development of microreactor technology raises new technical challenges that need to be addressed for successful application in chemical reaction engineering. For gas-liquid two-phase flows in microchannels dominated by surface tension effects, the Taylor slug flow regime is the most commonly encountered flow pattern. The present study focuses on the development of the gas and liquid slugs for such flow patterns in a microchannel, since the hydrodynamic characterization is very important for understanding the transport phenomena. In this study, a T-junction reactor (either as packed-bed or with catalytic wall) of varying 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 of the flow. The slug length, slug velocity, and velocity profile for the gas and liquid slugs as well as the reactor pressure drop were obtained for various operating conditions. The simulation results were in good agreement with our experimental results, and reported literature data. Several correlations for the predictions of the flow characteristics were developed based on the simulation results.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publication2005 AIChE Spring National Meeting, Conference Proceedings
Pages2429
Number of pages1
StatePublished - 2005
Event2005 AIChE Spring National Meeting - Atlanta, GA, United States
Duration: 10 Apr 200514 Apr 2005

Publication series

Name2005 AIChE Spring National Meeting, Conference Proceedings

Conference

Conference2005 AIChE Spring National Meeting
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityAtlanta, GA
Period10/04/0514/04/05

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