CFD simulations are used for a wide variety of applications in the process industry. For instance for calculating mixing or separating processes, the pressure drop and forces on components or systems and (chemical) processes.
Mixing or separating
A CFD simulation can verify the efficiency of equipment used for mixing or separating of liquids or solids. It can assist in optimising the design for dedicated processes and/or select the right type of equipment.
Bubble columns
With a bubble column mixing, reactions or dissolution processes are accelerated. The bubble column is formed by sparging gas at the bottom of a reactor, this process is in some cases aided by a rotor for better distribution of the bubbles. CFD simulations are an ideal tool to verify and optimise processes that use bubble columns. An example of this type of product is a bioreactor for which we validated our simulations.
Humidifiers and dryers
For many processes gases need to be humidified or dried. With a CFD simulation this process can well be analysed. For instance to verify if the gas reaches its required properties before it is used for further processing.
Components
CFD simulations are often used to optimise or obtain performance specifications of certain components. It can be used to calculate the expected pressure drops or resulting forces within valves or pipe and duct systems. A CFD simulations can also calculate flow/pressure curves for pumps fans, turbines or other rotating equipment.