Thesis (MScEng (Process Engineering))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Mass transfer efficiency in distillation, absorption and stripping depends on both thermodynamic efficiency and hydrodynamic behaviour. Thermodynamic efficiency is dependent on the system kinetics while hydrodynamics is the study of fluid flow behaviour. The focus of this thesis is the hydrodynamic behaviour in tray columns, which affects entrainment. In order to isolate hydrodynamic behaviour from the thermodynamic behaviour that occurs inside sieve tray columns, investigations are conducted under conditions of zero mass transfer. When the gas velocity is sufficiently high to transport liquid droplets to the tray above, entrainment occurs. The onset of entrainment is one of the operating limits that determines the design of the column and thus impacts on the capital cost. By improving the understanding of the parameters that affect entrainment, the design of the tray and column can be improved which will ultimately increase the operability and capacity while reducing capital costs. Existing correlations predicting entrainment in sieve tray columns are based on data generated mainly from an air/water system. Previous publications recommend that more testing should be performed over larger ranges of gas and liquid physical properties. An experimental setup was therefore designed and constructed to test the influence of the following parameters on entrainment: 1. gas and liquid physical properties 2. gas and liquid flow rates 3. tray spacing The experimental setup can also measure weeping rates for a continuation of this project. The hydrodynamic performance of a sieve tray was tested with air and water over a wide range of gas and liquid flow rates and at different downcomer escape areas. It was found that the downcomer escape area should be sized so that the liquid escaping the downcomer always exceeds a velocity of approximately 0.23 m/s in order to create a sufficient liquid seal in the downcomer. For liquid velocities between 0.23 and 0.6 m/s the area of escape did not have an effect on the percentage of liquid entrained. It was also established that entrainment increases with increasing gas velocity. The rate at which entrainment increases as the gas velocity increase depends on the liquid flow rate. As soon as the liquid flow rate exceeded 74 m3/(h.m) a significant increase in entrainment was noted and the gas velocity had to be reduced to maintain a constant entrainment rate. This is because the increased liquid load requires a longer flow path length for the froth to fully develop. The undeveloped froth, caused by the short (455 mm) flow path, then creates a non-uniform froth that is pushed up against the column wall above the downcomer. Consequently, the froth layer is closer to the tray above resulting in most of the droplets ejected from the froth reaching the tray above and increasing entrainment. By reducing the gas velocity, the froth height and ejecting droplet velocity is reduced, resulting in a decrease in entrainment. The results from the experiments followed similar trends to most of the entrainment prediction correlations found in literature, except for the change noted in liquid flow rates above 74 m3/(h.m). There was, however, a significant difference between the experimental results and the correlations developed by Hunt et al. (1955) and Kister and Haas (1988). Although the gas velocities used during the air/water experiments were beyond the suggested range of application developed by Bennett et al. (1995) their air/water correlation followed the results very well. The entrainment prediction correlation developed by Bennett et al. (1995) for non-air/water systems was compared with the experimental air/water results to test for system uniformity. A significant difference was noted between their non-air/water prediction correlation and the air/water results, which motivates the need for a general entrainment prediction correlation over a wider range of gas and liquid physical properties. Based on the shortcomings found in the literature and the observations made during the experiments it is suggested that the influence of liquid flow path length should be investigated so that the effect on entrainment can be quantified. No single correlation was found in the literature, which accurately predicts entrainment for a large range of liquid loads (17 – 112 m3/(h.m)), high superficial gas velocities (3 – 4.6 m/s) and different gas and liquid physical properties. It is therefore recommended that more work be done, as an extension of this project, to investigate the influence of gas and liquid physical properties on entrainment (under zero mass transfer conditions) for a large range of liquid (5 – 74 m3/(h.m)) and gas (2 – 4.6 m/s) flow rates. In order to understand the effect of droplet drag on entrainment, tray spacing should be varied and increased to the extent where droplet ejection velocity is no longer the mechanism for entrainment and droplet drag is responsible for droplet transport to the tray above. Since it is difficult and in most cases impossible to measure exact gas and liquid loads in commercial columns, another method is required to measure or determine entrainment. Since liquid hold-up was found to be directly related to the entrainment rate (Hunt et al. (1955), Payne and Prince (1977) and Van Sinderen et al. (2003) to name but a few), it is suggested that a correlation should be developed between the dynamic pressure drop (liquid hold-up) and entrainment. This will contribute significantly to commercial column operation from a hydrodynamic point of view.

The production of chlorate, chlorine and sodium hydroxiderelies heavily on electrical energy, so that savings in thisarea are always a pertinent issue. This can be brought aboutthrough increased mass transfer of reacting species to therespective electrodes, and through increased catalytic activityand uniformity of current density distribution at theseelectrodes. This thesis will present studies involvingmathematical modelling and experimental investigations of theseprocesses. They will show the effect that hydrodynamicbehaviour has on the total current density and cell voltages,along with the effects on current density distributions andindividual overpotentials atthe respective electrodes. Primary, secondary and psuedo-tertiary current densitydistribution models of a chlor-alkali anode are presented anddiscussed. It is shown that the secondary model presentsresults rather similar to the pseudo-tertiary model, when thecurrent density distribution is investigated, although thepotential distribution differs rather markedly. Furthermore, itis seen that an adequate description of the hydrodynamicsaround the anode is required if the potential distribution, andthereby the prevalence of side-reactions, is to be reasonablepredicted. A rigorous tertiary current density distribution model ofthe chlorate cell is also presented, which takes into accountthe developing hydrodynamic behaviour along the height of thecell. This shows that an increased flowrate gives more uniformcurrent density distributions. This is due to the fact that theincreased vertical flowrate of electrolyte replenishes ioncontent at the electrode surfaces, thus reducing concentrationoverpotentials. Furthermore, results from the model lead to theconclusion that it is the hypochlorite ion that partakes in themajor oxygen producing side-reaction. A real-scale cross-section of a segmented anode-cathode pairfrom a chlorate cell was designed and built in order to studythe current density distribution in industrial conditions.These experiments showed that increased flowrate brought aboutmore even current density distributions, reduced cell voltageand increased the total current density. An investigation ofthe hydrodynamic effects on the respective electrodeoverpotentials shows the anode reactions being more favoured byincreased flowrate. This leads to the conclusion that theuniform current density distribution, caused by increasedflowrate, occurs primarily through decreasing the concentrationoverpotential at the anode rather than by decreasing thebubble-induced ohmic drop at the cathode. Finally, results from experiments investigating thebubble-induced free convection from a small electrochemicalcell are presented. These experiments show that Laser DopplerVelocimetry is the most effective instrument for investigatingthe velocity profiles in bubble-containing electrochemicalsystems. The results also show that the flow can transform fromlaminar to turbulent behaviour on both the vertical andhorizontal planes, in electrochemical systems where bubbles areevolved.

<p>The production of chlorate, chlorine and sodium hydroxiderelies heavily on electrical energy, so that savings in thisarea are always a pertinent issue. This can be brought aboutthrough increased mass transfer of reacting species to therespective electrodes, and through increased catalytic activityand uniformity of current density distribution at theseelectrodes. This thesis will present studies involvingmathematical modelling and experimental investigations of theseprocesses. They will show the effect that hydrodynamicbehaviour has on the total current density and cell voltages,along with the effects on current density distributions andindividual overpotentials atthe respective electrodes.</p><p>Primary, secondary and psuedo-tertiary current densitydistribution models of a chlor-alkali anode are presented anddiscussed. It is shown that the secondary model presentsresults rather similar to the pseudo-tertiary model, when thecurrent density distribution is investigated, although thepotential distribution differs rather markedly. Furthermore, itis seen that an adequate description of the hydrodynamicsaround the anode is required if the potential distribution, andthereby the prevalence of side-reactions, is to be reasonablepredicted.</p><p>A rigorous tertiary current density distribution model ofthe chlorate cell is also presented, which takes into accountthe developing hydrodynamic behaviour along the height of thecell. This shows that an increased flowrate gives more uniformcurrent density distributions. This is due to the fact that theincreased vertical flowrate of electrolyte replenishes ioncontent at the electrode surfaces, thus reducing concentrationoverpotentials. Furthermore, results from the model lead to theconclusion that it is the hypochlorite ion that partakes in themajor oxygen producing side-reaction.</p><p>A real-scale cross-section of a segmented anode-cathode pairfrom a chlorate cell was designed and built in order to studythe current density distribution in industrial conditions.These experiments showed that increased flowrate brought aboutmore even current density distributions, reduced cell voltageand increased the total current density. An investigation ofthe hydrodynamic effects on the respective electrodeoverpotentials shows the anode reactions being more favoured byincreased flowrate. This leads to the conclusion that theuniform current density distribution, caused by increasedflowrate, occurs primarily through decreasing the concentrationoverpotential at the anode rather than by decreasing thebubble-induced ohmic drop at the cathode.</p><p>Finally, results from experiments investigating thebubble-induced free convection from a small electrochemicalcell are presented. These experiments show that Laser DopplerVelocimetry is the most effective instrument for investigatingthe velocity profiles in bubble-containing electrochemicalsystems. The results also show that the flow can transform fromlaminar to turbulent behaviour on both the vertical andhorizontal planes, in electrochemical systems where bubbles areevolved.</p>

La modélisation à l’aide de l’approche RANS (Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes) a été menée en trois dimensions, en considérant les régimes permanent et non permanent, dans le but de simuler les écoulements au niveau des jonctions, bifurcations et déversoirs d’orage. A travers ces trois exemples d’étude, plusieurs stratégies de modélisation (différentes combinaison lois de paroi/modèles de turbulence, différents algorithmes de couplage pression/vitesse, différents schémas de discrétisation spatiale, différentes conditions aux limites, différents types et tailles de maille, etc.) ont été testées et évaluées à l’aide de plusieurs indicateurs de performance (de type RMS –Root Mean Square) en s’appuyant sur les données de vitesses (vitesses moyennes in situ et champs de vitesses obtenus par PIV en laboratoire), hauteurs d’eau, débits (répartition de débits en bifurcation en laboratoire ou débits déversés in situ). Les résultats obtenus sont transposables aux autres cas de singularités et ouvrages spéciaux rencontrés en réseau d’assainissement et montrent que : i) les résultats des simulations 3D sont sensibles à la rugosité, aux conditions limites de hauteur et de vitesse ; ii) dans les trois cas d’étude, les schémas de discrétisation du second ordre et l’algorithme de couplage pression/vitesse PISO sont appropriés ; ii) la loi de paroi scalable couplée aux modèles de turbulence de type k-ε pour le cas des jonctions (avec un débit latéral inférieur ou égal au débit principal) ou des déversoirs semblent convenir, tandis que le modèle de turbulence RSM associé à la loi de paroi enhanced ou scalable permet de mieux représenter les écoulements à travers les bifurcations ou au niveau des jonctions lorsque le débit latéral est dominant. Sur la base de ces résultats, une méthodologie de modélisation plus générale définie en six étapes et fondée sur le guide proposée par Jakeman et al. (2006) a été mise au point. La méthodologie ainsi définie a été utilisée pour i) améliorer l’instrumentation du déversoir OTHU (Observatoire de Terrain en Hydrologie Urbaine) situé à Ecully, à partir de la simulation de sa courbe de fonctionnement et en fournissant les incertitudes sur les débits déversés obtenus ; ii) simuler l’implémentation des capteurs débitmétriques à l’aval d’une jonction. Elle a permis de concevoir et de dimensionner un nouveau dispositif de maîtrise des flux d’eau et de polluants déversés (technologie DSM – dispositif de surveillance et de maîtrise des flux déversés au milieu naturel). Ce dispositif a fait l’objet d’un dépôt de brevet international. Enfin, la mise en œuvre de cette méthodologie a été à l’origine de la découverte d’une nouvelle structure d’écoulement dans la branche latérale d’une bifurcation à 90°. L’analyse des résultats des simulations des écoulements mettant en évidence cette nouvelle structure a montré qu’il était possible de prédire l’apparition de cette dernière à partir du rapport d’aspect et du nombre de Froude. / The understanding of sewer flows behaviour is a key component for better urban drainage monitoring and management. However, these flows are conveyed across singularities (such as bends, drops, deviations, etc.) and special structures (combined sewer overflows –CSOs–, channels junction, dividing flow structures, etc.). These singularities and specific structures exhibit complex geometries, leading to open channel turbulent, three-dimensional and multiphase (pollutants and storm and sewer waters) flows. Using three-dimensional CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) platform allows a better understanding of mechanisms of contaminants transport through these structures and singularities, leading to a better sewer monitoring. In this thesis, 3D-RANS (Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes) modelling approach under steady-state conditions is used in order to study flows within CSOs, junctions and bifurcations. Through these three structures, several modelling strategies (wall law/turbulence model combination, velocity/pressure coupling algorithm, spatial discretisation schemes, boundary conditions, computational mesh –shape and size of cells–, etc.) are tested and evaluated thanks to performance indicators (such as RMS –Root Mean Square– indicators) based on velocities (in situ mean velocities and PIV velocity fields obtained in laboratory), water depths and discharge (discharge repartition for bifurcation in laboratory or in situ overflow discharge, for CSOs). Results deriving from these tests are transposable to other singularities or special structures encountered in sewer network and suggest that: i) simulated CFD results are sensitive to the roughness coefficient; ii) for the three studied structures, second-order discretisation schemes and SIMPLE or PISO velocity/pressure coupling algorithm are appropriate; iii) scalable wall function associated to the group of k-ε turbulence model for junction flows (with a lateral inflow lower or equal to the main inflow) or for CSOs is appropriate, whereas RSM turbulence model associated to enhanced wall function allows a better representation of bifurcation flows or junctions flows when the lateral inflow is greater than the main inflow. Based on these results and on Jakeman et al. (2006) guideline, a six steps-methodology focused on the using of RANS approach modelling has been proposed. This six steps-methodology is used in order to i) enhance the monitoring of an OTHU (Observatoire de Terrain en Hydrologie Urbaine) CSO located at Ecully accounting for uncertainties on overflow discharge values ;ii) simulate the performance of flowmeters downstream of a junction, defining the best location for these sensors. This methodology is used to design the new overflow discharge measurement device. This device is an international patent. Finally, the application of the methodology led to point out a new flow structure, occurring in the downstream lateral branch of a 90° bifurcation.