Shorter Communications CL Pas k t Fractional oxidation partial pressure of 08, atm Surface reaction velocity constant time, min

REFERENCE [II R.

I.

kWXJK,

M. Y. FARAH,R. S. M~IKJWIL and G. A. KOLTA,J. Appl, Chem. 1962 12 190.

Mass transfer by forced convection at the front pole of a sphere ef PI. [S] and confbmed by the authors for current densities up to 1.5 x 1O-4A/ems when the cathode potential was held at -0,225 V with respect to a reference normal calomel electrode. The circuit used in shown in Fig. 1. The choice of resistors RI and RII gave essentially a potentiostatic cathode for all current densities used. A uniform liquid flow at the cathode was obtained by holding it near the base and walls of a rotating cylinder containing the electrolyte, where the local velocity was directly proportional to the speed of rotation. To cause minimum disturbance to the flow the anode and the salt bridge to the calomel electrode were placed in the core of the vortex. The tapered end of a 7-mm glass tube. was fused to each spherical nose, into which was sealed and flush-ground an 0.45 mm platinum wire at the front pole. The spherical radii used were 52,3*9 and 3.2 mm respectively. Solution properties were:
Kinematic viscosity (fi) Diffisivity 151 (cni%4 Conceatratfon Fi(cN)= (gm ions/l.) Concentration

years several authors [l-3] have predicted mass transfer rates from a rigid sphere ot a liquid stream through boundary layer methods. Such methods are valid only forward of separation of the incident flow, and relationships of the form
IN
RECENT (i%& = ~Rel~*i%cl~Sfo (1)

result. For example, AK~ELRWD [l] obtained for very large Schmidt numbers (Ns& = 1523N~erWs&s( 1- 0*1728& - 0.011484) (2)

Equation (2) predicts that the maximum mass transfer rate occurs at the front pole (8 = 0). One assumption inherent in the boundary layer methods is that

u*s -y>

However, for a steady, viscous incident flow a very small stagnation zone ought to form in the neighbourhood of the front pole where the streamlines diverge. In turn, this impliqs that inequality (3) no longer holds and that the boundary layer theory will break down near the front pole. EXPERIMENTAL To test whether the theory becomes inapplicable at the front pole, local mass transfer rates from a number of spheres were measured electrochemically by a technique described by SCHUTZ[4]. The front pole of each sphere was the cathode in the reduction of ferricyanide ion to ferrocyanide. This reduction was found to be diffusion controlled by LIN

(gnY&l.) 5 x 10-s

1.2

0.678 x 1O-5

1.01 x 10-s

Sphere Reynolds numbers (-rrNdTde/v) varied between 500 and 3 x 104. RESULTS ANDDISCUSSION The authors data are plotted in Fig. 3. Results are obtained for both undisturbed or steady conditions and cases when the rotating flow was disturbed by placing the anode about 5 cm in front of the cathode.

I
Microamm*tcr

Calomel

electrode

Null point galvrnometer

Pt.

loading b b

Pt.

point

electrode

electrode

FIG. 1. Experimental circuit. 444

Shorter

Communications

7mm dia. glass

Hg

cohtoct

FIG. 2. A small area cathode (at which the mass transfer rate of ferricyanide ions was measured).

22

,oL-2
4 6 6

103

IO

FIG. 3. Sherwood number at the front pole of the sphere against Reynolds number for disturbed and steady, rotating flow. Spherical radii (mm) Flow Turbulent 0 X V

Lam&tar

?
3.2 V

These results and those obtained by other workers are given in Table 1 below. In experiments A, B and C the authors set out to establish a steady, viscous incident flow and in all eases the index m is less than that required by boundary layer theory (0.5). If in experiment C the apparently anomalous value at Nne = 1650 is discarded, then the vahte of m falls to 0.412. While

so few data are not highly significant, neither are they inconsistent with the more numerous data of experiments A and B. For either turbulent or disturbed incident flow (experiments D, E, F and G) the index m is roughly 0.5, as demanded by the theory. The data of Hsu and SAGE [7] give the lowest index of this group of experiments. Their work was carried out at the threshold of turbulence with a

445

Shorter Communications Table 1. Heat and mass transfer rates from the front pole of a rigid sphere log Nsi, - C 1ogNne 0.375 0.378 0435 0.467 O-481 0.490 0.505 No. expt 63 54 7

Expt. A B C D : G

Author This work GARNER and SUCKLING[6] LINTON and SUrHsaLAND 131 Hsu and SAGE [7] This work CAaY [S] GARNER and SUCKLING[6]

Nlte 700-3 x 104 60-950 1490-7580 15304200 506-2.2 x lo4 (44-15) x lo4 60-950

Transfer Mass Mass Mass Heat Mass Heat Mass

m =

R 0.979 0.876 0.955 0.999 0994 0.994 0.915

Flow type Steady Parabolic Distributed Turbulent Disturbed Turbulent Distributed

turbulence intensity of 5 per cent. While GARNER and SUCKLING[6] set out to get a laminar distributed flow, their mass transfer data suggest that the distributing screens generated turbulence that did not decay completely before the test section, as pointed out elsewhere [3]. The degree of turbulence produced by CARY [8] (m = 0.490) is thought to be high, as the ring of separation at 105 from the front pole is some 20 retarded behind the value commonly accepted [3,9]. It thus appears that a boundary layer is formed at the front pole only when the incident turbulence is intense enough to destroy the effect of the stagnation zone. When u*8 u < 1, creeping flow prevails and thus for very steady incident flow it is expected that m --f 0.333 (NP~B 1). In practice, a stable stagnation zone is never attained and the magnitude of the mass transfer rate at the front pole depends upon small fluctuations in the incident flow. This would explain why the data for well developed turbulence seem to correlate better than those for nominally laminar flow, and that the creeping flow limit (m = 0333) is not attained practically. When a near-stagnation zone forms in the vicinity of the front pole, it would be expected that in consequence, the local mass transfer rates near the front pole would be lower than those predicted by boundary layer theory. The position of maximum mass-transfer rate would be displaced to a ring over the frontal area of the sphere. In experiments C and D there is some evidence of this displacement, tabulated below. Table 2. Position of maximum mass transfer rate m 0.467 0.435 NRe 1530 2100 3060 4450 7580 efor (Nshjmsx 11 13 20 28 31

CoNCLuSIONs 1. When the incident flow is steady and laminar the dependence of the mass-transfer rate at the front pole on velocity is less than that predicted by the boundary layer theory over a 500-fold range in velocities. 2. When the turbulence of the incident flow is intense enough the transfer rate at the front pole varies with the velocity in the manner predicted by the boundary layer theory. 3. It is thought likely that the depression of the transfer rate at the front pole is due to the formation of a very small stagnation zone. Furthermore, this lowering of the transfer rate appears to have a marked influence on the total transfer from the upstream surface. Boundary layer methods thus would appear to have a very limited usefulness for predicting local mass-transfer rates in laminar incident flow. Acknowledgements-The authors thank Mr. I. G. WATSON of this department for helpful advice in developing the electrochemical technique. J. B. Glen wishes to acknowledge the financial assistance of a New Zealand Research Fund Fellowship.

c
d ds dT m N R Ue 6 e

Constant (Nsh at Nae = 1) cm Diameter cm Diameter of sphere cm Diameter of circle described by cathode (log Nsa - C)/log NRC! se& Speed of rotation of vessel Correlation coefficient Liquid velocity at outer edge of boundary layer

Experiment JX71 CL31

u=
Hydrodynamic boundary layer thickness radians Angle from front pole cma/sec Kinematic viscosity V Reynolds number (based on approach velocity and NR~ sphere diameter) Schmidt number NSC Sherwood number (for forced convection only) hh Npe Peclet number J. B. GLEN R. B. REEY University of Canterbury, New Zealand

In the case of GARNBRand SUCKLINGS work [6], the effect of the singularity of the front pole does not become negliible until NR* > 60. At such low Reynolds numbers boundlayer methods have limited applicability.

Shorter Communications
REFERENCES

Ul

Zh. jiz. Khim. 1953 27 1445. Luna!~Univ. Arsskr. 1940 36 No. 4 K. L., Chem. Engng. Sci. 1960 12 214. :; LINTON M. and SUTHERLAND SCHUTZ G., Znt. J. Heat Mass Transfer 1963 6 873. l%.S. and PUTNAM G. L., Zndustr. Engng. Chem. 1951 43 2136. :; LIN C. S., DENTONE. B., GASKILL R. D.. Amer. Inst. Chem. Enars. J. 1958 4 114. bl GARNER F. H. and SUCKLING N. T. and SAGEB. H., Amer. Z&t. Chem. Engrs. J. 1937 3 405. r71 HSTJ b-4 CARY J. R., Trans. Amer. Sot. Mech. Engrs. 1953 75 483. O., Physik. Zeitschr. 1927 28 461. PI FLACHSBART
AKSELRUDG. A.,
M., FR&SLINO

447