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1. Introduction:A typical chemical process plant involves fluid flow devices such as pipes and valves. Fluid transport equipment such as pumps, compressors are employed for moving fluid from one unit operation to another. Drying equipment such as fluidized beds, cyclone driers, spray driers form an essential part of many processes. Dynamic and static mixing equipment are at the heart of most chemical processing plants. Heat generation and heat transfer units such as boilers, furnaces, burners, process heaters, heat exchangers, evaporators, and condensers are employed for generating and transferring heat essential for various processes. Separation equipment such as cyclones, electro-static precipitators, hydro-cyclones, centrifuge separators, gravity separators is employed for gas-solid separation, gas- liquid separation and liquid-solid separation. The flow fields in these units are very complex and difficult to measure. Trouble-shooting as well as improvements in efficiency requires multiple data points, which very often are unavailable. Failure of chemical process equipment can result in undesirable downtime and loss of revenue. Reliable methods of analysis and trouble shooting of equipment are required. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) methods can be applied to examine different equipment designs, or compare performance under different operating conditions. Studies to examine the influence of various parameters on flow behavior and hence performance can be conducted using CFD methods. These methods provide an inside look into the function and operation of process equipment and provide valuable information to equipment manufacturers, plant managers, production managers, process engineers and research and development staff.

HISTORY:1

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The purpose of this section is to provide a concise review of the history of CFD. A general Historical perspective summarizing the key milestones in CFD is presented. The Hall of fame includes short biographical sketches of the people who made significant contributions to CFD along with a summary of these contributions. The Famous presents a list of crucial problems that were solved using CFD techniques. Here are a few milestones in the early history of CFD:

1910 - Richardson, 50 page paper to Royal Society, hand calculations 1960 - Scientific American articles on CFD 1965 - Marker and Cell methods - Harlow & Welch 1965 - Use in research and "grand challenges" (NASA, Los Alamos...) 1970 - Finite difference methods for Navier-Stokes 1970 - Finite element methods for stress analysis 1980 - Finite volume methods (Imperial College) 1985 - Use in "aero" industries (Boeing, General Electric, ...) 1995 - Use in "non-aero" industries (GM, Ford, Astra, Ericsson...)

with human computers, 2000 operations per week...

What is fluid flow?

Fluid dynamics is the science of fluid motion. Fluid flow is commonly studied in one of three ways: Experimental fluid dynamics. Theoretical fluid dynamics. Numerically: computational fluid dynamics (CFD). During this course we will focus on obtaining the knowledge required to be able to solve practical fluid flow problems using CFD.
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Fluid flows encountered in everyday life include meteorological phenomena (rain, wind, hurricanes, floods, fires) environmental hazards (air pollution, transport of contaminants) heating, ventilation and air conditioning of buildings, cars etc. combustion in automobile engines and other propulsion systems interaction of various objects with the surrounding air/water complex flows in furnaces, heat exchangers, chemical reactors etc. processes in human body (blood flow, breathing, drinking . . . )

Basic concept:-

Fig. Components of Fluid Mechanics

What is CFD?
First, break down the words: Computational - having to do with mathematics, computation.
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Fluid Dynamics - the dynamics of things that flow and react. CFD stands for Computational Fluid Dynamics. CFD uses computers to represent (or model) the physical and chemical processes occurring in a unit operation. Prediction fluid flow with the complications of simultaneous flow of heat, mass transfer, phase change, chemical reaction, etc using computers. CFD is a branch of Fluid dynamics Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is the science of predicting fluid flow, heat transfer, mass transfer, chemical reactions, and related phenomena by solving the mathematical equations which govern these processes using a numerical process. CFD provides a qualitative (and sometimes even quantitative) prediction of fluid flows by means of Mathematical modeling (partial differential equations) Numerical methods (discretization and solution techniques) Software tools (solvers, pre- and post processing utilities) CFD enables scientists and engineers to perform numerical experiments (i.e. computer simulations) in a virtual flow laboratory. The result of CFD analyses is relevant engineering data used in: Conceptual studies of new designs. Detailed product development. Troubleshooting. Redesign. CFD analysis complements testing and experimentation. Reduces the total effort required in the laboratory.

Why use CFD?

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Numerical simulations of fluid flow (will) enable architects to design comfortable and safe living environments designers of vehicles to improve the aerodynamic characteristics chemical engineers to maximize the yield from their equipment petroleum engineers to devise optimal oil recovery strategies surgeons to cure arterial diseases (computational hemodynamics) meteorologists to forecast the weather and warn of natural disasters safety experts to reduce health risks from radiation and other hazards military organizations to develop weapons and estimate the damage CFD practitioners to make big bucks by selling colorful pictures :-)

How Does CFD Work?

The CFD model represents the furnace: Geometry (furnace walls, burners, air ports, cooling tubes, etc) Operating conditions (fuel flow, air flow, surface conditions, etc) Combustion processes Flow patterns Turbulent mixing Gas-phase chemical reactions Heterogeneous particle reactions Particle dispersion and deposition Radiative and convective heat transfer Pollutant formation and destruction (NOx, SOx, CO, etc) The CFD model solves equations which represent the combustion processes.

How Accurate is CFD Modeling?

CFD model accuracy depends on
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Accuracy of the furnace inputs Geometry Operating conditions Fuel, air and surface properties Accuracy of the numerical methods used to solve the equations. Accurate representation of physical and chemical processes. Model accuracy is usually limited by the accuracy to which Furnace operating conditions and properties are known. Validation of CFD models for full-scale furnaces is difficult due to a paucity of reliable measured data.

Experiments vs. Simulations

CFD gives an insight into flow patterns that are difficult, expensive or impossible to study using traditional (experimental) techniques.

Experiments: Quantitative description of flow phenomena using measurements.

For one quantity at a time At a limited number of points and time instants For a laboratory-scale model For a limited range of problems and operating conditions Error sources: measurement errors, flow disturbances by the probes. Simulations:Quantitative prediction of flow phenomena using CFD software. For all desired quantities With high resolution in space and time For the actual flow domain For virtually any problem and realistic operating conditions
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Error sources: modeling, discretization, iteration, implementation As a rule, CFD does not replace the measurements completely but the amount of experimentation and the overall cost can be significantly reduced. Experiments expensive slow sequential single-purpose cheap(er) fast(er) parallel multiple-purpose Simulations

The results of a CFD simulation are never 100% reliable because,

The input data may involve too much guessing or imprecision. The mathematical model of the problem at hand may be inadequate. The accuracy of the results is limited by the available computing power.

2. CFD PROCESS
Geometry of problem is defined . Volume occupied by fluid is divided into discrete cells. Physical modeling is defined. Boundary conditions are defined which involves specifying of fluid behavior and properties at the boundaries. Equations are solved iteratively as steady state or transient state. Analysis and visualization of resulting solution.
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3. Derivation of Navier Strokes equation:The Navier-Stokes equations are the fundamental partial differentials equations that describe the flow of incompressible fluids. Two of the alternative forms of equations of motion, using the Eulerian description, were given as Equation (1) and Equation (2) respectively:

( qi ) + ( qi q j ) , j = f i + ji , j t
dqi qi 1 = + q j qi , j = f i + ji , j . dt t

..1

..2

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If we assume that the fluid is isotropic, homogeneous, and Newtonian, then:

~ ij = ( p kk )ij + 2 ij .

..3

Substituting Eq.(3) into Eq..(2), and utilizing the Eulerian relationship for linear stress tensor we get:

~ ~ ~ dqi 1 + = f i p,i + q j , ji + qi , jj , dt
For incompressible fluid flow the Navier-Stokes- Duhem equation is:

..4

~ dq i 1 = f i p,i + qi , jj dt
If the fluid medium is a monatomic ideal gas, then:

..5

2~ ~ = 3
Navier stokes equation for compressible flow of monatomic ideal gas is:

..6

~ ~ dqi 1 1 = f i p,i + q j , ji + qi , jj , dt 3

..7

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4. Types of CFD codes:Various types of codes are as follow:

Commercial CFD code: FLUENT, Star-CD, CFDRC, CFX/AEA, etc.

Research CFD code: CFDSHIP-IOWA Public domain software (PHI3D, HYDRO, and WinpipeD, etc.) Other CFD software includes the Grid generation software (e.g. Gridgen,

Gambit) and flow visualization software (e.g. Tecplot, Field View)

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5. Types of Errors and Problems:Types of Errors: Modeling Error. Discretization Error. Convergence Error. Reasons due to which Errors occur: Stability. Consistency. Conservedness and Boundedness.

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6. CFD Analysis of Chemical Processing Equipment:-

Table I: Impact of CFD on Various Processes in the Chemical Processing Industries.

CFD for Dryers:Drying equipment is usually large and expensive. As a result, efficiency is an important factor that influences production and operation cost. In this section the benefits derived from CFD study of a spray dryer are discussed.

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Figure 4: Spray Dryer Velocity Field CFD is used to analyze the performance of an industrial spray dryer in advance of making major structural changes to the dryer. The risk of lost profit during change over is minimized. CFD is applied to examine configuration changes and thus minimize risk and avoid unnecessary downtime during testing. The velocity distribution depicted in Fig. 4 shows skewed flow. This is a result of uneven pressure distribution in the air dispersing head. CFD models are applied to determine optimum equipment configuration and process settings. CFD results can provide the necessary confidence that the proposed modifications will work before capital equipment is ordered and field-testing scheduled. The impact of CFD on chemical process equipment are as follow:-

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7. Applications of CFD:CFD is used in wide variety of disciplines and industries, including aerospace, automotive, power generation, chemical manufacturing, polymer processing, petroleum exploration, pulp and paper operation, medical research, meteorology, and astrophysics. 1. Analysis of Airplane:- CFD allows one to simulate the reactor without making any assumptions about the macroscopic flow pattern and thus to design the vessel properly the first time

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Fig. Airplane 2.Biomedical: - Flow modeling with computational fluid dynamics

(CFD) software lets you visualize and predict physical phenomena related to the flow of any substance. It is widely used in medical, pharmaceutical, and biomedical applications to analyze: manufacturing processes, device performance, physiological flows, fluid-structure interactions, the effectiveness of drug delivery systems, etc. It is also gaining recognition as a valuable tool for streamlining the regulatory approval process. The insight you gain using Ansys' CFD software allows you to make accurate predictions, troubleshoot endless scenarios rapidly, and achieve overall cost reduction in development projects while reducing cycle time. 3.Chemical industry: - widely used in the chemical, petrochemical and process industries. Engineers working in these areas have to solve tough problems in complex geometries with relative ease. Today, Ansys' products and services are used routinely alongside experiments, correlations, and other analysis
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methodologies to help engineers better understand their flow related issues and designs.

Fig. heat Exchanger The insight gained reveals opportunities for increased capacity, meet regulatory concerns, improved product quality and lower energy costs through process and equipment performance optimization, shortened design cycles, and a reduction in trouble shooting risks.

8. Software:-

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J-ROM Ltd. is a distributor in Israel of Ansys Inc. CFD software. Ansys Inc. Is the world leader in Computational Fluid Dynamics software? This software covers a wide range of specific needs in the industrial and services sectors. The company is also responsible for training and support of the above software. CFD Software from Ansys Inc.: ANSYS FLUENT: General Purpose Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) Software using the finite volume method ANSYS POLYFLOW : A finite-element based CFD package for the analysis of polymer processing ANSYS Icepak: Design Tool for Electronics Cooling, using the finite volume method ANSYS CFD-Post: ANSYS CFD-Post is the common post-processor for all ANSYS fluid dynamics products ANSYS Design Modeler: Geometry Creation ANSYS TGrid: Specialized preprocessor used to create unstructured tetrahedral and Hex Core meshes for complex and very large surface meshes ANSYS CFX: General purpose Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) Software using the finite volume method ANSYS ICEM CFD: Geometry acquisition, mesh generation and a wide variety of solver outputs and post-processing ANSYS CFD: Provides access to both ANSYS FLUENT and ANSYS CFX products ANSYS Mesher: Advanced meshing tool

8. Advantages of CFD:-

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1. Relatively low cost. Using physical experiments and tests to get essential engineering data for design can be expensive. CFD simulations are relatively inexpensive, and costs are likely to decrease as computers become more powerful. 2. Speed. CFD simulations can be executed in a short period of time. Quick turnaround means engineering data can be introduced early in the design process. 3. Ability to simulate real conditions. Many flow and heat transfer processes can not be (easily) tested, e.g. hypersonic flow. CFD provides the ability to theoretically simulate any physical condition. 4. Ability to simulate ideal conditions. CFD allows great control over the physical process, and provides the ability to isolate specific phenomena for study. Example: a heat transfer process can be idealized with adiabatic, constant heat flux, or constant temperature boundaries.

9. Limitations of CFD:1. Physical models: CFD solutions rely upon physical models of real world processes (e.g. turbulence, compressibility, chemistry, multiphase flow, etc.).
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The CFD solutions can only be as accurate as the physical models on which they are based. 2. Numerical errors: Solving equations on a computer invariably introduces numerical errors. Round-off error: due to finite word size available on the computer. Round-off errors will always exist (though they can be small in most cases). Truncation error: due to approximations in the numerical models. Truncation errors will go to zero as the grid is refined. Mesh refinement is one way to deal with truncation error. 3. Boundary conditions: As with physical models, the accuracy of the CFD solution is only as good as the initial/boundary conditions provided to the numerical model. Example: flow in a duct with sudden expansion. If flow is supplied to domain by a pipe, you should use a fully-developed profile for velocity rather than assume uniform conditions.

Summary: CFD is a method to numerically calculate heat transfer and fluid flow. Currently, its main application is as an engineering method, to provide data that is complementary to theoretical and experimental data. This is

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mainly the domain of commercially available codes and in-house codes at large companies. CFD can also be used for purely scientific studies, e.g. into the fundamentals of turbulence. This is more common in academic institutions and government research laboratories. Codes are usually developed to specifically study a certain problem.

References:1. Hoffmann, Klaus A, and Chiang, Steve.T Computational fluid dynamics for engineers vol. I and vol. II 2. Rajesh Bhaskaran, Lance Collins Introduction to CFD Basics 3. Subramanian R.S. Non-Newtonian Flows.
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4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

http://www.cham.co.uk/website/new/cfdintro.htm accessed on 11/10/06.

http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computational_fluid_dynamics http://www.google.com
http://navier-stokes-equations.search.ipupdate.com http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computational_fluid_dynamics

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