CFD simulations of hydrodynamic/thermal coupling phenomena in a bubble column with internals

CFD simulations have been carried out in a full three‐dimensional, unsteady, Eulerian framework to simulate hydrodynamic/thermal coupling in a bubble column with internals. A first part of the study, dedicated to the hydrodynamic/thermal coupling in liquid single‐phase flows, showed that assuming constant wall temperature on the internals constitutes a reasonable approximation in lieu of comprehensive simulations encompassing shell flow and coolant flow together. A second part dealing with the hydrodynamics of gas–liquid flows in a bubble column with internals showed that a RNG k–ε turbulence model formulation accounting for gas‐induced turbulence was a relevant choice. The last part used these conclusions to build a hydrodynamic/thermal coupling model of a gas–liquid flow in a bubble column with internals. With a per‐phase RNG k–ε turbulence model and assuming constant wall temperature, it was possible to simulate heat transfer phenomena consistent with experimentally measured heat transfer coefficients. © 2010 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2010