Flow direction

Figure Bl.14.10. Flow tlirough an KENICS mixer, (a) A schematic drawing of the KENICS mixer in which the slices selected for the experiment are marked. The arrows indicate the flow direction. Maps of the z-component of the velocity at position 1 and position 2 are displayed in (b) and (c), respectively, (d) and (e) Maps of the v- and the y-velocity component at position 1. The FOV (field of view) is 10 nnn. (From [31].)...

The flow directions in a PSA process are fixed by the composition of the stream. The most common configuration is for adsorption to take place up-flow. AH gases with compositions rich in adsorbate are introduced into the adsorption inlet end, and so effluent streams from the inlet end are rich in adsorbate. Similarly, adsorbate-lean streams to be used for purging or repressurizing must flow into the product end. 

Flow Sheet. Most purge-swing appHcations use two fixed-bed adsorbers to provide a continuous flow of feed and product (Fig. 16). Single beds are used when the flow to be treated is intermittent or cycHc. Because the purge flow is invariably greater than that of adsorption, purge is carried out in the down-flow direction to prevent bed lifting, and adsorption is up-flow. 

Cup anemometers have shaped cups mounted on the spokes of a wheel. The cups, under the action of the fluid forces, spin in a horizontal plane about a vertical shaft mounted in bearings. Vane or propeller types use a multibladed rotor, the axis of which is parallel to the flow direction as the rotating member. Both designs are commonly used for wind speed measurement or similar appHcations such as the velocity in ventilation ducts. Because of inertia, anemometers are most accurate under steady conditions. Velocity fluctuations cause readings that are too high. 

Another design, shown ia Figure 5, functions similarly but all components are iaside the furnace. An internal fan moves air (or a protective atmosphere) down past the heating elements located between the sidewalls and baffle, under the hearth, up past the work and back iato the fan suction. Depending on the specific application, the flow direction may be reversed if a propeUer-type fan is used. This design eliminates floorspace requirements and eliminates added heat losses of the external system but requires careful design to prevent radiant heat transfer to the work. 

NUh2 is the Nusselt number for uniform heat flux boundary condition along the flow direction and periphery. 

Fittings. Fittings connect pipes and provide for the attachment of equipment to change flow direction. They must be easily cleaned inside and out, have no exposed pipe threads, and, if of the detachable type, have an appropriate gasket. The fittings are constmcted of the same or similar materials as the pipeline and are installed on tubing. Standard shapes and sizes are specified by the 3A Standards Committee. 

In free molecular flow, if gaseous conductance were not independent of the flow direction, a perpetual-motion machine could be constmcted by connecting two large volumes by a pair of identical ducts having a turbine in front of one of the ducts. A duct that has asymmetricaUy shaped grooves on its waU surface could alter the probabUity of molecular passage in such a way that for a tube of equal entrance and exit areas, the probabUity of passage would be made directional. 

DP systems can be shut down when not in use to conserve energy. If a Hquid-nitrogen trap is incorporated, the manner in which this trap is warmed up and the DP is cooled down should be deterniined by the presence or absence of a valve between the chamber and the Hquid-nitrogen trap. In critical systems, this head valve can be included in order to permit rapid shutdown and rapid return to operation. The assertion that dry nitrogen gas can be used to sweep contamination from traps and pumps in such manner that oil contamination is prevented from mnning counter to the nitrogen-sweeping flow direction is questionable. Proper placement of valves can eliminate the need of a sweep gas. 

Since membrane fording could quickly render the system inefficient, very careful and thorough feedwater pretreatment similar to that described in the section on RO, is required. Some pretreatment needs, and operational problems of scaling are diminished in the electro dialysis reversal (EDR) process, in which the electric current flow direction is periodically (eg, 3—4 times/h) reversed, with simultaneous switching of the water-flow connections. This also reverses the salt concentration buildup at the membrane and electrode surfaces, and prevents concentrations that cause the precipitation of salts and scale deposition. A schematic and photograph of a typical ED plant ate shown in Eigure 16. 

Convection heat transfer is dependent largely on the relative velocity between the warm gas and the drying surface. Interest in pulse combustion heat sources anticipates that high frequency reversals of gas flow direction relative to wet material in dispersed-particle dryers can maintain higher gas velocities around the particles for longer periods than possible ia simple cocurrent dryers. This technique is thus expected to enhance heat- and mass-transfer performance. This is apart from the concept that mechanical stresses iaduced ia material by rapid directional reversals of gas flow promote particle deagglomeration, dispersion, and Hquid stream breakup iato fine droplets. Commercial appHcations are needed to confirm the economic value of pulse combustion for drying. 

One-dimensional Flow Many flows of great practical importance, such as those in pipes and channels, are treated as onedimensional flows. There is a single direction called the flow direction velocity components perpendicmar to this direction are either zero or considered unimportant. Variations of quantities such as velocity, pressure, density, and temperature are considered only in the flow direction. The fundamental consei vation equations of fluid mechanics are greatly simphfied for one-dimensional flows. A broader categoiy of one-dimensional flow is one where there is only one nonzero velocity component, which depends on only one coordinate direction, and this coordinate direction may or may not be the same as the flow direction. 

For gradual changes in channel cross section and hquid depth, and for slopes less than 10°, the momentum equation for a rectangular channel of width b and liquid depth h may be written as a differential equation in the flow direction x. 

FIG. 8-69 Ecc( ntric plii valve shown in erosion-resistant reverse flow direction, Shaded components can he made of hard metal or ceramic materials, Cm 1 li(isy Fislier-R/iseuimini. ... 

Dynamic pressure may be measured by use of a pitot tube that is a simple impact tube. These tubes measure the pressure at a point where the velocity of the fluid is brought to zero. Pitot tubes must be parallel to the flow. The pitot tube is sensitive to yaw or angle attack. In general angles of attack over 10° should be avoided. In cases where the flow direction is unknown, it is recommended to use a Kiel probe. Figure 10-3 shows a Kiel probe. This probe will read accurately to an angle of about 22° with the flow. 

Chile [Prog. Aerosp. Sc7, 16, 147-223 (1975)] reviews the use of the pitot tube and allied pressure probes for impact pressure, static pressure, dynamic pressure, flow direction and local velocity, sldn friction, and flow measurements. 

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