FLOW IN POROUS BEDS

Industrial application
Packed columns

Filters

Porous bed: porous material (felt, ceramics, paper)

granular bed (sand, filter cake)
packing (spheres, rings, saddles, special packings)
grid packings (mesh, grate, filler)

Packing special elements

a Raschig ring, b Lessing ring, c Pall

ring, d Berl saddle, e saddle Intalox,
f element Interpack

Packed beds
Random packing

Structured packing

Grid packings
Grate

Shaped continuous filler

Properties and characteristics of

porous bed
Characteristics particle size
Monodisperse material
Equivalent particle diameter by volume diameter of sphere having to same
volume as given particle:

DV 3

6V j

Equivalent particle diameter by surface diameter of sphere having to same

surface as given particle:

DA

Aj

Equivalent particle diameter by specific surface (Sauter diameter)

diameter of sphere having same ratio of surface to volume as given particle:

6D p2

D 3p

Aj
Vj

Dp

6V j
Aj

Fraunhofer Calculation selected.

Mean
Values...
D43 =
23. m D42 =
D32 =
4.83 m D31 =
D21 =
1.12 m D20 =
D10 =
1.8 m

Polydisperse particle size distribution

Statistical Means...
Arithmetic Mean Diameter
Geometric Mean Diameter
Quadratic Square Mean Diameter
Harmonic Mean Diameter

Frequency distribution E(D), f(D)

Specific Surface Area

Density
Form Factor

Dmin

EdD

Cumulative distributionF(D) (undersize)

R(D)=1-F (oversize)
Mean sizes:
Number (arithmetic)-length mean DN,1: DN ,1

Number-volume mean DN,3:

Cubic-volume (or mass) mean Dm,3:

22.998 m
12.559 m
31.16 m
4.828 m

Statistical Modes...
Skewness
Curtosis
Span
Uniformity

E d F /d D

F EdD

10.54 m D41 =
2.32 m D30 =
.81 m

3
N ,3

3
m,3

N D

3
i

3
i

12427.45 cm2/cm3
1. g/cc
1. g/cc

0.93 %
4.00 %
19.12 %
28.32 %
53.27 %
88.45 %
99.65 %

<=
<=
<=
<=
<=
<=
<=

0
1
3
6
20
50
100

Interpolation Values...
1.00 % <=
15.00 % <=
30.00 % <=
45.00 % <=
60.00 % <=
75.00 % <=
90.00 % <=

D:\EPL\KERAMIKA.FPV
0.52 m
5.00 % <=
2.41 m 20.00 % <=
6.98 m 35.00 % <=
15.40 m 50.00 % <=
23.94 m 65.00 % <=
34.45 m 80.00 % <=
52.72 m 95.00 % <=

1.15 m
3.16 m
9.85 m
18.17 m
27.09 m
39.08 m
65.32 m

10.00 %
25.00 %
40.00 %
55.00 %
70.00 %
85.00 %
99.00 %

<=
<=
<=
<=
<=
<=
<=

1
4
12
21
30
44
89

dD

Dmax

D E

2
18.

1.147 Mode
1.054 Median
2.8 Mean/Median Ratio
.9

0.40 m
0.80 m
2.00 m
5.00 m
10.00 m
40.00 m
80.00 m

dD

Dmin

m D

446.4
21
16.
91

D:\EPL\KERAMIKA.FPS
0.30 m
0.46 % <=
0.60 m
2.69 % <=
1.50 m 11.63 % <=
4.00 m 26.40 % <=
8.00 m 35.26 % <=
30.00 m 80.84 % <=
60.00 m 98.02 % <=

Dmin

N D

Variance
Mean Squre Deviation
Average Deviation
Coefficiant of Variation

Interpolation Values...
****** % <=
1.46 % <=
7.59 % <=
23.73 % <=
31.75 % <=
69.22 % <=
93.30 % <=

Dmax

DE

4.99 m D40 =
1.47 m

Dmax

xi D D 3 E M d D
3
i

Dmin

Particle size analysis (measurement)

Sieving for particles greater then 45 m, adjacent sieve sizes 4 2 (e.g. 45,
53, 63, 75,...), sieve vibrations, high accuracy for isometric
particles
D D s ,i
Di s ,i 1
2
Microscopy computer analysis (image analysis)

Sedimentation 1m 1 mm, settling (sedimentation) velocity analysis

(stop watch, sampling, sedimentation balances, light absorption - sedigraph, X-ray absorption)

Laser diffraction 1nm 1 mm

www.malvern.com

Porosity (voidage) of porous bed

V Vs
V

volume of voids in bed

total volume of bed voids solids

Ground view

Vp

Front view

Porosity (voidage) is defined by ratio of volume of voids in bed to total

volume of bed:

Specific surface of particle

Absolute specific surface (density of bed surface) a is surface area of all
particles A in all volume of bed V:

A
V

Own specific surface aV is ratio of particle surface area A to volume of particle

Vs :

aV

A
Vs

Sphericity
Sphericity is defined by ratio of surface area of sphere having same volume
as particle to surface area of particle:
Druh npln

AK D DV

A j D DA
2
V
2
A

keramick Raschigovy krouky

8 x 8 x 1,5
10 x 10 x 1,5
15 x 15 x 2
25 x 25 x 3
35 x 35 x 4
50 x 50 x 5
ocelov Raschigovy krouky
8 x 8 x 0,3
10 x 10 x 0,5
15 x 15 x 0,5
25 x 25 x 0,8
50 x 50 x 1
keramick Pallovy krouky
25 x 25 x 3
35 x 35 x 4
50 x 50 x 5
60 x 60 x 6
kovov nebo polypropylenov Pallovy krouky
15 x 15 x 0,4
25 x 25 x 0,6
35 x 35 x 0,8
50 x 50 x 1
keramick Berlova sedlka
12,5 x 12,5
25 x 25
38 x 38
50 x 50
keramick sedlka Intalox
12,5
19
25
38
50

Porzita

Specifick povrch
a [m2m-3]

Sfricita

0,64
0,7
0,7
0,74
0,78
0,785

570
440
340
200
140
90

0,488
0,428
0,399
0,374
0,363
0,335

0,90
0,88
0,92
0,92
0,95

630
500
350
220
110

0,181
0,217
0,167
0,163
0,12

0,74
00,76
0,78
0,79

220
165
120
96

0,9
0,9
0,9
0,9

380
235
170
108

0,68
0,69
0,7
0,73

460
260
165
120

0,37
0,32
0,31

0,78
0,77
0,775
0,81
0,79

625
335
255
195
118

Single phase flow in porous bed

2

h u
ez
de 2
Vp
S
Sh
de 4 4
4
O
Oh
A
Vp

modified Reynolds number:

Re

u de

de 4 V 4
A
a
V

u 4 2 u0 D p 2
0

Re
a
3 1 3

Re

u0 D p

uo S o u S u
u

So
uo
S

Soh
u
V
uo
uo o
Sh
Vp

1 h 2
ez 3
u0
Dp

f Re, particle shape

Dependence of friction factor for single phase flow in monodisperse

bed with spherical particles on modified Reynolds number Re
(spherical particles: A = 160; B = 3,1; = 0,1)

A
B
c t

Re Re

turbulent flow

B
t
Re

A
c
Re

creeping flow

EXAMPLE: Single phase flow in adsorption tower

h=6m

Gas with mean density = 3.35 kgm-3 and viscosity = 310-5 Pas flow in
packed bed of adsorption tower with height h = 6 m. Tower is random packed
with Berl saddle with dimension 25 x 25 mm. Determinate inside diameter of
tower for pressure drop p = 150 kPa.

D=?m

liquid

gas

gas

liquid

Two phase flow in porous bed

COUNTER FLOW

s 1 (flow only liquid)

saturation s

s 0 (flow only gas)

a loading point
b flooding point

PARALLEL FLOW

Determination of flooding velocity and pressure drop for two phase flow
in porous bed
FLOODING

EXAMPLE: Two phase flow in absorption tower

Sulphure dioxide SO2 clean up from compound with air (g = 1.1 kgm-3
and = 1.410-5 Pas). Tower is packed random packed with ceramic Raschig
rings with dimension 25 x 25x 3 mm (packing factor F see table) and with
height h = 5 m. Gas with mass flow rate 4400 kgh-1 is absorbed to counter
flow water. Design inside diameter of tower for their optimal working under
flooding. Determinate pressure drop for gas. Choose mass ratio of spraying
w0l/w0g = 2.
Typ npln
Raschigovy
krouky
keramick

tl. stny
[mm]

tl. stny
0,8 mm
tl. stny
1,6 mm
plast
Krouky
PALL
kovov
Berlova sedla keram.
keram.
Sedla Intalox
plast
Flexiring, plast
Raschigovy
krouky
kovov

9,5

13

Jmenovit rozmr [mm]

16 19 25 32 38

0,8

1,6

2,4

2,4

76

4,8

4,8

9,5

F 1600 1000 580 380 255 155 125

95

65

37

83

57

32

40
28
65
52

25
20
45
40
21
22

F 700
F
F
F
F
F
F
F

2,4

50

89

390 300 170 155 115

410 290 220 137 110
97
70
240
330 200
78

52
48
170 110
145 98
33
45

28

16
16
22
16
18