Validation of CFD models and integration of CFD-RTD methods for industrial process visualization and optimization

The main objectives of research project were: (i) Validation of the CFD models developed for different industrial systems by comparing the process parameters such as mean residence time, residence time distribution, mixing time etc. measured by radiotracer techniques and predicted by CFD simulations. (ii) Integration of experimentally measured results with that of results predicted by conventional flow modeling and CFD simulations to understand the complete flow behavior of the investigated system. The integration of the three different results will provide complete solution to process engineers for design of new chemical reactors and design modification, troubleshooting and optimizing the performance of full-scale industrial systems. Radiotracer experiments were carried out for measurement of mixing time and residence time distributions in different batch and continuous industrial systems, respectively. The measured results were treated and analysed using conventional modeling approach. Computational fluid dynamic (CFD) models were developed for the systems under investigations and validated. The validated CFD models were used to predict the flow behavior of the systems at conditions used in the experiments. The experimental results were integrated with that of the results of conventional modeling and CFD simulations to visualize the flow. The results of the research could help to promote the application of radiotracer techniques for flow visualization and validation of CFD models. The Indian Process Industry will be enormously benefited by this new approach in near future. (author)