ABSTRACT
Extensive usage of the structured packings in various industrial applications has led to comprehensive investigations of their properties and performance. Among various methods of modeling, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is an efficient approach to present full details of fluid behavior inside structured packings. This review focuses on the application of CFD for investigation and development of the structured packings. Applications of the CFD for the simulation of gas–liquid flow behavior, flow distribution, liquid hold-up, and mass transfer are extensively reviewed. Literature survey of the available CFD studies can provide a comprehensive and descriptive insight about governing mechanisms of fluid flow inside packings and reveals qualitative/quantitative effects of the process variables on the packed system.
Nomenclature
ap | = | Specific surface area of packing, [m2/m3] |
ae | = | Effective area of packing, [m2/m3] |
b | = | Corrugation base dimension, [m] |
g | = | Gravitational acceleration, [m s−2] |
Fs | = | Gas capacity factor, uG(ρG).5, [m/s (kg/m3).5] |
h | = | Corrugation crimp height, [m] |
S | = | Corrugation side length, [m] |
u | = | Velocity, [m/s] |
UgS | = | Superficial gas velocity, [m/s] |
Z | = | Packed height, [m] |
Dh | = | Hydraulic diameter, [m] |
Greek symbols
α | = | Corrugation angle, [°] |
β | = | Crimping angle, [°] |
ε | = | Void fraction of packing, [-] |
ρL | = | Liquid density, [kg/m3] |
ρ | = | Density, [kg/m3] |
μ | = | Viscosity, [Pa .s] |
δ | = | Liquid film thickness, [m] |
Subscripts
G | = | Gas phase |
i | = | Index |
L | = | Liquid phase |