Fluid flow mass velocity

Reynold s number It describes the nature of hydraulic regime such as laminar flow, transitional flow or turbulent flow. It is defined as the ratio of the product of hydraulic diameter and mass flow velocity to that of fluid viscosity. Mass velocity is the product of cross-flow velocity and fluid density. Laminar flow exists for Reynold s numbers below 2000 whereas turbulent is characterized by Reynold s numbers greater than 4000. 

Statement of the problem. In the preceding chapters we considered processes of mass transfer to surfaces of particles and drops for the case of an infinite rate of chemical reaction (adsorption or dissolution.) Along with the cases considered in the preceding chapters, finite-rate surface chemical reactions (see Section 3.1) are of importance in applications. Here the concentration on the surfaces is a priori unknown and must be determined in the course of the solution. Let us consider a laminar fluid flow with velocity U past a spherical particle (drop or bubble) of radius a. Let R be the radial coordinate relative to the center of the particle. We assume that the concentration is uniform remote from the particle and is equal to C. Next, the rate of chemical reaction on the surface is given by Ws = KSFS(C), where Ks is the surface reaction rate constant and the function F% is defined by the reaction kinetics and satisfies the condition Fs(0) = 0. 

Momentum Flow Meters. Momentum flow meters operate by superimposing on a normal fluid motion a perpendicular velocity vector of known magnitude thus changing the fluid momentum. The force required to balance this change in momentum can be shown to be proportional to the fluid density and velocity, the mass-flow rate. 

Coolant flow is set by the designed temperature increase of the fluid and needed mass velocity or Reynolds number to maintain a high heat transfer coefficient on the shell side. Smaller flows combined with more baffles results in higher temperature increase on the shell side. Reacting fluid flows upwards in the tubes. This is usually the best plan to even out temperature bumps in the tube side and to minimize temperature feedback to avoid thermal runaway of exothermic reactions. 

Theoretical representation of the behaviour of a hydrocyclone requires adequate analysis of three distinct physical phenomenon taking place in these devices, viz. the understanding of fluid flow, its interactions with the dispersed solid phase and the quantification of shear induced attrition of crystals. Simplified analytical solutions to conservation of mass and momentum equations derived from the Navier-Stokes equation can be used to quantify fluid flow in the hydrocyclone. For dilute slurries, once bulk flow has been quantified in terms of spatial components of velocity, crystal motion can then be traced by balancing forces on the crystals themselves to map out their trajectories. The trajectories for different sizes can then be used to develop a separation efficiency curve, which quantifies performance of the vessel (Bloor and Ingham, 1987). In principle, population balances can be included for crystal attrition in the above description for developing a thorough mathematical model. 

Figure 10-50C. Tube-side (inside tubes) liquid film heat transfer coefficient for Dowtherm . A fluid inside pipes/tubes, turbulent flow only. Note h= average film coefficient, Btu/hr-ft -°F d = inside tube diameter, in. G = mass velocity, Ib/sec/ft v = fluid velocity, ft/sec k = thermal conductivity, Btu/hr (ft )(°F/ft) n, = viscosity, lb/(hr)(ft) Cp = specific heat, Btu/(lb)(°F). (Used by permission Engineering Manual for Dowtherm Heat Transfer Fluids, 1991. The Dow Chemical Co.)...

If a concentration gradient exists within a fluid flowing over a surface, mass transfer will take place, and the whole of the resistance to transfer can be regarded as lying within a diffusion boundary layer in the vicinity of the surface. If the concentration gradients, and hence the mass transfer rates, are small, variations in physical properties may be neglected and it can be shown that the velocity and thermal boundary layers are unaffected 55. For low concentrations of the diffusing component, the effects of bulk flow will be small and the mass balance equation for component A is ... 

Gt = mass velocity, mass flow per unit area, kg/m2s, fj, = fluid viscosity at the bulk fluid temperature, Ns/m2,... 

The velocity profile during slip flow in a cylindrical tube is shown in Figure 21. As in conventional fluid flow, the flow velocity in the z direction, u(r), is parabolic, but rather than reach zero at the tube wall, slip occurs, and the velocity at the wall is greater than zero. The velocity does not reach zero until distance h from the wall surface. The derivation of the mass flux equation proceeds along the same lines as the derivation of Poiseuille s law in conventional hydrodynamics, but in slip flow, u(r) = 0 at r = a + h instead of reaching zero at r = a. 

Steps 1 and 7 are highly dependent on the fluid flow characteristics of the system. The mass velocity of the fluid stream, the particle size, and the diffusional characteristics of the various molecular species are the pertinent parameters on which the rates of these steps depend. These steps limit the observed rate only when the catalytic reaction is very rapid and the mass transfer is slow. Anything that tends to increase mass transfer coefficients will enhance the rates of these processes. Since the rates of these steps are only slightly influenced by temperature, the influence of these processes... 

Consider a fluid flowing in a conical section, as illustrated in Fig. 5-P75. The mass flow rate is the same going in (through point 1) as it is coming out (point 2), but the velocity changes because the area changes. They are related by... 

Chisholm, D., The influence of mass velocity on frictional pressure gradients during steam-water flow. Paper 35 presented at 1968 Thermodynamics and Fluid Mechanics Convention, Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Bristol, March (1968). 

The process parameters influencing droplet sizes may include liquid pressure, flow rate, velocity ratio of air to liquid (mass flow rate ratio of air to liquid), and atomizer geometry and configuration. It has been clearly established that increasing the velocity ratio of air to liquid is the most important practical method of improving atomization)211] In industrial applications, however, the use of mass flow rate ratio of air to liquid has been preferred. As indicated by Chigier)2111 it is difficult to accept that vast quantities of air, that do not come into any direct contact with the liquid surface, have any influence on atomization although mass flow rates of fluids include the effects of velocities. 

In Sect. 3.2, the development of the design equation for the tubular reactor with plug flow was based on the assumption that velocity and concentration gradients do not exist in the direction perpendiculeir to fluid flow. In industrial tubular reactors, turbulent flow is usually desirable since it is accompanied by effective heat and mass transfer and when turbulent flow takes place, the deviation from true plug flow is not great. However, especially in dealing with liquids of high viscosity, it may not be possible to achieve turbulent flow with a reasonable pressure drop and laminar flow must then be tolerated. 

The momentum equation (the Navier-Stokes equation) for fluid flow (De Groot and Mazur, 1962) is complicated and difficult to solve. It is the subject of fluid mechanics and dynamics and is not covered in this book. When fluid flow is discussed in this book, the focus is on the effect of the flow (such as a flow of constant velocity, or boundary flow) on mass transfer, not the dynamics of the flow itself. 

Note that while the fluid density may be a function of the pressure in the bed in a compressible flow, the superficial mass velocity is constant. The Ergun equation in the form given in eq. (3.450) is more convenient when analyzing the effects of pressure drop in the fluid density. 

Next we consider a fluid flowing through a circular tube with material at the wall diffusing into the moving fluid. This situation is met with in the analysis of the mass transfer to the upward-moving gas stream in wetted-wall-tower experiments. Just as in the discussion of absorption in falling films, we consider mass transfer to a fluid moving with a constant velocity profile and also flow with a parabolic (Poiseuille) profile (see Fig. 5). 

The transfer of heat and/or mass in turbulent flow occurs mainly by eddy activity, namely the motion of gross fluid elements that carry heat and/or mass. Transfer by heat conduction and/or molecular diffusion is much smaller compared to that by eddy activity. In contrast, heat and/or mass transfer across the laminar sublayer near a wall, in which no velocity component normal to the wall exists, occurs solely by conduction and/or molecular diffusion. A similar statement holds for momentum transfer. Figure 2.5 shows the temperature profile for the case of heat transfer from a metal wall to a fluid flowing along the wall in turbulent flow. The temperature gradient in the laminar sublayer is linear and steep, because heat transfer across the laminar sublayer is solely by conduction and the thermal conductivities of fluids are much smaller those of metals. The temperature gradient in the turbulent core is much smaller, as heat transfer occurs mainly by convection - that is, by... 

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