Computational fluid dynamics comparison of two-equation turbulence models by studying hydrodynamic parameters in the distillation trays

Abstract

A comparison was performed between three various (laminar, standard k-e, and standard k-w) for the calculation of hydrodynamic parameters of a Nye tray. Air and water were selected as the gas and liquid phases. The liquid phase was only supposed as a complete turbulent phase and the standard k-e model was chosen for that in three simulations. On the other hand, the gas phase was simulated with the mentioned three models (laminar, standard k-e, and standard k-w). The simulations were carried out in the froth regime and the framework of Eulerian–Eulerian. Entrainment and a couple of other hydrodynamic parameters were calculated for the industrial scale Nye tray. Ultimately, the results illustrated that the selection of standard k-w for the gas phase leads to more exact results for the hydrodynamic parameters. The obtained results from the standard k-w model were closer to experimental data than the two other models.