Numerical simulation of heat transfer in the near-wall region of tubular reactors packed with metal open-cell foams

作者：Bianchi Enrico; Groppi Gianpiero; Schwieger Wilhelm; Tronconi Enrico; Freund Hannsjoerg^*

来源：Chemical Engineering Journal, 2015, 264: 268-279.

DOI：10.1016/j.cej.2014.11.055

• Metal open-cell foams
• Sponges
• Conjugated heat transfer
• Wall heat transfer coefficient
• Catalytic structured reactors
• CFD

A numerical investigation of the thermal transport processes in the near-wall region of a reactor packed with metal open-cell foams is presented in view of the development of externally-cooled tubular reactors packed with catalytically active foams. Two different aluminium open-cell foams were scanned by X-ray micro-computed tomography in order to generate the 3D models used in this study. The conjugated solid-fluid heat transfer problem is solved by finite volume analysis (FVA) for different flow rates and fluid properties (Peclet number range from 1 to 105). Predictive correlations for the wall heat transfer coefficient are derived according to different thermal coupling scenarios between the open-cell foam bed and the reactor wall. Such kind of systematic study and the proposed correlations that account for the gap size represent a novelty in the field of published literature on open-cell foams.

• 出版日期2015-3-15