High Spatial Resolution of Fluid Flow in Fixed-Bed Reactors

High Spatial Resolution of Fluid Flow in Fixed-Bed Reactors 

Such regions of the bed are associated with high fluid velocities, and inertial effects increasingly influence the flow profile as Reynolds number increases (80). On the basis of these images, it is clear that any theoretical analysis of the flow within such a reactor must account for distinct populations of fast- and slow-moving liquid— channeling does not occur just at the walls of the bed. 

Reynolds number, a parabolic flow profile typical of Poiseuille flow is evident (--------). At the higher 

Reynolds number, inertial effects in the flow are evident, and the flow approaches plug flow (- - - -). For this particular bed, the Reynolds number based on bed diameter is 15. Reproduced with permission from reference (80). Copyright 2000 AIChE. 

Regions of high shear are particularly evident in (c) (i.e., along the direction of superficial flow, z). Reprinted from reference (77) with permission from Elsevier, Copyright (2001). 

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