Typescript, etc. / Digitized by Kansas State University Libraries

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio University, August, 1994. / Title from PDF t.p.

No description available.

The ironmaking blast furnace (BF) is a complex reaction vessel involving counter-, coand/ or cross-current flows of gas, powder, liquid, and solids. However, the interactions of these multiphase flows have not been completely understood. The objective of this thesis is to develop a suitable model to simulate the powder flow and accumulation in packed beds and then extend it to numerically investigate the multiphase flow in the furnace. Gas-powder flow in a slot type packed bed has been experimentally studied in order to understand the flow and accumulation behaviour of powder in systems like an ironmaking blast furnace. A variety of variables including gas flowrate, powder flowrate and packing properties have been taken into consideration. It is found that a clear and stable accumulation region can form in the low gas-powder velocity zone at the bottom of the bed. The accumulation region is stable and shows strong hysteresis. The distribution of softening-melting layers in the blast furnace known as the cohesive zone (CZ) is modelled by inserting solid blocks into the bed. The results indicate that the inverse-V cohesive zone shape leads to low powder accumulation within the CZ and at the corner of the bed. A mathematical model is proposed to describe gas-powder flow in a bed packed with particles. The model is the same as the two fluid model developed on the basis of the space-averaged theorem in terms of the governing equations but extended to consider the interactions between gas, powder and packed particles, as well as the static and dynamic holdups of powder. In particular, a method is proposed to determine the boundary between dynamic and stagnant zones with respect to powder phase, i.e. the profile of the powder accumulation zone. The validity of numerical modelling is examined by comparing the predicted and measured distributions of powder flow and accumulation under various flow conditions. With high PCI rate operations, a large quantity of unburned coal/char fines flow together with the gas into the blast furnace. Under some operating conditions, the holdup of fines results in deterioration of furnace permeability and lower production efficiency. Therefore, the proposed model is applied to simulate the powder (unburnt coal/char) flow and accumulation inside the blast furnace when operating with different cohesive zone (CZ) shapes. The results indicate that powder is likely to accumulate at the lower part of W-shaped CZs and the upper part of V- and inverse V-shaped CZs. In addition, for the same CZ shape, a thick cohesive layer can lead to a large pressure drop while the resistance of narrow cohesive layers to gas-powder flow is found to be relatively small. Gas-powder flow in moving beds of solid particles has been numerically investigated, under conditions related to the ironmaking blast furnace and high rate pulverized coal injection. A new correlation, which is formulated to describe static powder holdup in a moving packed bed, is incorporated into the previous mathematical model and applied to a description of gas-powder flow in a blast furnace. Compared with the results of fixed beds, the results show that the solids descent due to the consumption of ore, coke and unburnt char in various regions, together with the non-uniform structural distribution, significantly affects powder flow and accumulation in a blast furnace. Finally, liquid flow is simulated through force balance approach and numerical results are compared with the different liquid inlet distribution under the iron-making blast furnace conditions with gas flow. The results show that the effect of inlet distribution on liquid flow is significant in the upper part of coke region in BF and possible loading and dry zone can be numerically identified. Then, this part of work is incorporated to the developed gas-powder-solid modelling system to investigate the influence of liquid phase on other phases flow in the blast furnace although heat transfer and chemistry are not considered in the model.

Understanding the transport of three fluid phases through porous media has important applications in subsurface contaminant remediation, oil and gas recovery, and geological CO��� sequestration. Existing transport models may be improved by including physical phenomena that govern fluid flow at the pore scale. In particular, thermodynamic arguments suggest that hysteresis in the capillary pressure-saturation (P[subscript c]-S) relationship may be resolved by including an additional parameter, fluid-fluid interfacial area per volume (a[subscript nw]). Synchrotron-based Computed X-ray Microtomography (CMT) is a method that allows observation of fluid interfaces. Flow experiments were conducted using CMT to investigate uniqueness of the P[subscript c]-S[subscript w]-a[subscript nw] relationship in a porous media system containing three immiscible fluid phases. Drainage and imbibition surfaces were fit to P[subscript c]-S[subscript w]-a[subscript nw] data collected over a limited range of water saturations. The root-mean-square error (RMSE) between the drainage and imbibition surfaces was negligible, indicating that the P[subscript c]-S[subscript w]-a[subscript nw] relationship is unique. These results are a first step in validating the P[subscript c]-S[subscript w]-a[subscript nw] relationship for three-phase porous media systems. In addition, spreading intermediate-phase layers were observed to bring oil and solid into contact, which in the presence of X-rays changed the solid wettability within a relatively short time period. These observations confirm a proposed theoretical scenario that three-phase systems are more susceptible to wettability changes than to two-phase systems due to intermediate-phase spreading behavior. / Graduation date: 2013

Graduation date: 1996

Thesis (M.S.)--Washington State University, December 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 176-181).

Multiphase pumping with twin-screw pumps is a relatively new technology that has been proven successful in a variety of field applications. By using these pumps to add energy to the combined gas and liquid wellstream with minimal separation, operators have been able to reduce capital costs while increasing overall production. In many cases, such as subsea operations, multiphase pumping is the only viable option to make remote wells economic. Despite their many advantages, some problems have been encountered when operating under conditions with high gas volume fractions (GVF). Twin-screw multiphase pumps experience a severe decrease in efficiency when operating under wet-gas conditions, GVF over 95%. Field operations have revealed severe vibration and thermal issues which can lead to damage of the pump internals, requiring expensive maintenance. The research presented in this thesis seeks to investigate two novel methods of improving the performance of twin-screw pumps under wet-gas conditions. The first involves increasing the viscosity of the liquid stream. We propose that by increasing the viscosity of the liquid phase, the pump throughput can be increased. Tests were conducted at high GVF using guar gel to increase the viscosity of the liquid phase. Along with results from a multiphase pump model the pump behavior under wet-gas conditions with increased liquid viscosity was evaluated. The experimental results indicate that at high GVF, viscosity is not a dominant parameter for determining pump performance. Possible reasons for this behavior were proposed. These results were not predicted by current pump models. Therefore, several suggestions for improving the model’s predictive performance were suggested. The second method is the direct injection of liquid into the pump casing. By selectively injecting liquid into specific pump chambers, it is believed that many of the vibration issues can be eliminated with the added benefit of additional pressure boosting capacity. Since this method requires extensive mechanical modifications to an existing pump, it was studied only analytically. Calculations were carried out that show that through-casing liquid injection is feasible. More favorable pressure profiles and increased boosting ability were demonstrated.