Chemical engineering, multi-scale

Chandrasekhar, S, Liquid Crystals, 2nd ed. Cambridge University Press Cambridge, 1992. Chang, H-C, Multi-Scale Analysis of Effective Transport in Periodic Heterogeneous Media, Chemical Engineering Communications 15, 83, 1982. 

Figure 6-24 Sachs-scaled overpressure and Sachs-scaled positive-phase duration for the TNO multi-energy blast model. Source Guidelines for Evaluating the Characteristics of Vapor Cloud Explosions, Flash Fires, and BLEVEs (New York American Institute of Chemical Engineers, 1994) used by permission.

Li, Jinghai, and Mooson Kwauk, Exploring Complex Systems in Chemical Engineering - the Multi-scale Methodology, Chem. Eng. Sci., 59, 521 (2003). 

Bunch, P.R., Rowe, R.L., and Zentner, M.G. (1998) Large scale multi-facility planning using mathematical programming methods. AIChE Symposium Series, Proceedings of the Third International Conference of the Foundations of Computer-Aided Process Operations. Snowbird, Utah, USA, July 5-10, American Institute of Chemical Engineering, 94, p. 249. 

Figure 1 Multi-scale characteristics of chemical engineering and its multilevel...

Figure 1.4 Micro mixers (laboratory scale) and micro structured mixers (pilot scale) close the gap with static mixers, yielding apparatus for a multi-scale concept. Today s microstructured devices achieve mixing at up to about 1 m3 fT1 liquid throughput [2, 64] (by courtesy of RSC and Chemical Engineering).

Stimulated by this recognition, multi-scale analysis and simulation have received unprecedented attention in recent years, as shown by the dramatic increase in related publications. However, measurement technology focused on multi-scale structures, particularly, on meso-scale phenomena, has not been sufficiently tackled. Without breakthroughs in this aspect, theories and simulations could not be verified and validated, and upgrading the knowledge base for chemical engineering would be futile. 

We hope the publication of this issue would stimulate the application of these measurement techniques in chemical engineering and further our understanding of multi-scale structures. I thank Prof. Guy B. Marin, the editor-in-chief of this book series, for his advice in selecting the present topic and, Prof. Zhuyou Cao and Dr. Jiayuan Zhang, for their contributions made in editing this issue. Thanks are also extended to reviewers and authors for their efforts and time. 

Science in 2004 that have been dedicated to Complex Systems and Multi-scale Methodology, the forth issue of the 29th volume in Computers in Chemical Engineering on Multiscale Simulation published in 2005, the Springer-Verlag IMA edited book on Dispersive Transport Equations and Multiscale Models resulting from a related workshop, numerous workshops, and a topical conference on Multiscale Analysis in the 2005 AIChE meeting, just to mention a few. 

Maroudas, D, Multi-scale modeling of hard materials Challenges and opportunities for chemical engineering. AIChE 7. 46, 878-882 (2000). 

Nonlinear optimization is one of the crucial topics in the numerical treatment of chemical engineering problems. Numerical optimization deals with the problems of solving systems of nonlinear equations or minimizing nonlinear functionals (with respect to side conditions). In this article we present a new method for unconstrained minimization which is suitable as well in large scale as in bad conditioned problems. The method is based on a true multi-dimensional modeling of the objective function in each iteration step. The scheme allows the incorporation of more given or known information into the search than in common line search methods. 

Koci P, Novdk V, StSpdnek F, Marek M, Kubicek M. Multi-scale modelling of reaction and transport in porous catalysts. Chemical Engineering Science 2010 65 412-419. 

Li J, Ge W, Kwauk M Meso-scale phenomena from compromise—a common challenge, not only for chemical engineering, 2015. L0.P.E. State Key Laboratory of Multi-phase Complex Systems, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Editor. 2015, http //arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/ 0912/0912.5407.pdf. 

Li J, Kwauk M Exploring complex systems in chemical engineering—the multi-scale methodology, Chem Eng Sci 58 521-535, 2003. 

Ge W, Liu X, Ren Y, Xu J, Li J Prom multi-scale to meso-scale new challenges for simulation of complex processes in chemical engineering, CIESCJ 61(7) 1613-1620, 2010. 

C. Lindenberg, J. Schoell, L. Vicum, M. Mazzotti, and J. Brozio, Experimental characterization and multi-scale modeling of mixing in static mixers. Chemical Engineering Science, 63 (16), 4135-4149, 2008. 

---