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Periodic reactive flow simulation: Proof of concept for steam cracking coils
Author(s) -
Van Cauwenberge David J.,
Vandewalle Laurien A.,
Reyniers Pieter A.,
Van Geem Kevin M.,
Marin Guy B.,
Floré Jens
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
aiche journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.958
H-Index - 167
eISSN - 1547-5905
pISSN - 0001-1541
DOI - 10.1002/aic.15530
Subject(s) - periodic boundary conditions , reduction (mathematics) , computational fluid dynamics , speedup , turbulence , boundary value problem , product (mathematics) , flow (mathematics) , computer science , mechanics , process engineering , mathematics , engineering , physics , parallel computing , mathematical analysis , geometry
Streamwise periodic boundary conditions (SPBCs) have been successful in reducing the computational cost of simulating high aspect ratio processes. Extending beyond the classic assumptions of constant property flows, a novel approach incorporating non‐equilibrium kinetics was developed and implemented for the simulation of an industrial propane steam cracker. Comparison with non‐periodic benchmarks provided validation as relative errors on the main product yields were consistently below 1% for different reactor configurations. A further order‐of‐magnitude reduction of the radial errors on product concentrations was obtained via an intuitive correction method based on the concept of local fluid age. The computational speedup achieved through application of SPBCs was a factor 16–250 compared to the non‐periodic simulations. The presented methodology thus serves as a quick screening tool for the development of novel reactor designs and unlocks the potential for using more elaborate kinetic models or a more fundamental approach toward turbulence modeling. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J , 63: 1715–1726, 2017