Premium
CFD simulation of reactive flows: Catalytic combustion in a monolith
Author(s) -
Canu P.,
Vecchi S.
Publication year - 2002
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.690481219
Subject(s) - computational fluid dynamics , monolith , combustion , ignition system , mechanics , parametric statistics , catalytic combustion , experimental data , kinetic energy , chemistry , thermodynamics , simulation , computer science , materials science , catalysis , physics , mathematics , biochemistry , statistics , quantum mechanics
Catalytic combustion in a structured catalyst was used to test advantages of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) codes with respect to simpler approaches to simulation of actual data and kinetic studies. Published experimental data on square channels and segmented monoliths were compared and used as a basis for parametric studies. The relevance of temperature‐dependent transport properties was quantified. A comparison of 2‐D approximations with a full 3‐D model, which predicts a different ignition behavior, shows that the latter is needed to properly describe actual data. The segmentation of the monolith shows some influence on the overall combustion rate. The sensitivity analysis of the importance of chemical kinetics relative to mass transport suggests a need for a better description of surface mechanism, even if the simulated data are not uniquely under chemical control. A parameter‐fitting procedure for kinetic studies based on the detailed 3‐D, segmented CFD model was developed and successfully tested for modeling inhibition by water. Results show that more detailed surface and gas‐phase reactions mechanisms must be included, but only after developing and validating a comparably detailed model of the momentum and heat transport in the actual geometry of the real process.