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Practical 7

This document outlines a practical exercise focused on heat and momentum transport in a chemical reactor cooling system using COMSOL Multiphysics. The objective is to model fluid flow and heat transfer in a cylindrical batch reactor with a cooling jacket, analyzing velocity profiles and temperature distributions. Steps include setting up the workspace, creating geometry, assigning material properties, defining boundary conditions, running simulations, and exporting results.

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Theodore Rogers
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17 views

Practical 7

This document outlines a practical exercise focused on heat and momentum transport in a chemical reactor cooling system using COMSOL Multiphysics. The objective is to model fluid flow and heat transfer in a cylindrical batch reactor with a cooling jacket, analyzing velocity profiles and temperature distributions. Steps include setting up the workspace, creating geometry, assigning material properties, defining boundary conditions, running simulations, and exporting results.

Uploaded by

Theodore Rogers
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Course: Unit Operations I (Transport Phenomena)

Practical 7: Heat and Momentum Transport in a Chemical Reactor Cooling System

Objective

This exercise introduces you to simultaneous heat and momentum transport in a chemical reactor
cooling system. You will:

• Model fluid flow (momentum transport) inside a reactor cooling jacket.

• Model heat transfer from the reactor wall to the cooling fluid.

• Analyze velocity profiles, temperature distributions, and heat flux variations.

Problem Statement

A cylindrical batch reactor is surrounded by a cooling jacket, through which water flows to remove
excess heat. The reactor operates at 400 K, and the cooling water enters at 300 K with a given velocity.
The goal is to determine:

1. How velocity develops inside the cooling jacket.

2. How heat is removed from the reactor wall.

3. The effectiveness of the cooling system based on temperature and heat flux analysis.

Step 1: Setting Up Your COMSOL Workspace

1. Open COMSOL Multiphysics.

2. In the Model Wizard:


o Select 3D as the space dimension.

o Under Physics, add:

▪ Laminar Flow (spf) (Momentum transport for fluid flow).

▪ Heat Transfer in Fluids (ht) (Heat conduction and convection in the coolant).

o Click Study and select Stationary (Steady-state simulation).

o Click Done to create your workspace.

Step 2: Creating the Geometry

1. Navigate to the Geometry node.

2. Create a cylindrical cooling jacket (annular region):

o Reactor wall = 0.1 m.

o Cooling jacket outer boundary = 0.2 m.

o Height of the reactor = 1 m.

3. Click Build All to generate the geometry.

Step 3: Assigning Material Properties

1. Navigate to the Materials node.

2. For the reactor wall, select Steel and assign:

o Thermal Conductivity, k= 50 W/m·K.

o Density, ρ = 7850 kg/m³.

o Specific Heat Capacity, Cp= 500 J/kg·K.

3. For the coolant (water), select Water, Liquid from the Material Library.

o Gamma = 1

Step 4: Defining Boundary Conditions

4.1 Momentum Transport (Fluid Flow in Cooling Jacket)

1. Inlet (Cooling Water Entry):

o Select the bottom edge of the cooling jacket.

o Apply a Velocity Inlet condition:


Velocity = 0.1 m/s

2. Outlet (Cooling Water Exit):

o Select the top edge of the cooling jacket.

o Apply a Pressure Outlet condition (P = 0 Pa).

3. Walls (Reactor and Outer Jacket Walls):

o No-slip condition (Velocity = 0).

4.2 Heat Transfer

1. Reactor Wall:

o Select the inner reactor wall (r = 0.1 m).

o Set Fixed Temperature = 400 K.

2. Cooling Jacket Outer Boundary:

o Select the outer wall (r = 0.2 m).

o Assume convective heat loss to the environment:

h = 10 W/m²·K (Natural convection)

T∞ = 300 K (Ambient temperature)

3. Temperature of Inlet Water


o T= 300 K

Step 5: Setting Up the Mesh

1. Navigate to the Mesh node.

2. Choose Physics-Controlled Mesh and select Finer.

3. Click Build All to generate the mesh.

Step 6: Running the Simulation

1. Navigate to the Study node.

2. Click Compute to run the simulation.

Step 7: Visualizing Results

7.1 Velocity Profile (Momentum Transport Analysis)


7.2 Temperature Distribution (Heat Transfer Analysis)

7.3 Heat Flux on Reactor Wall

1. Compute total heat removed by the coolant.

Step 8: Determine the Effect of Coolant Flow Rate on Heat Removal

o Inlet Velocity: 0.05, 0.1, 0.2 m/s

Step 9: Exporting Results

1. Save your work as a COMSOL file.

2. Export the temperature and velocity distributions as images:

o Go to Results > Export and select Image.

o Save the image with your preferred resolution.

3. Export temperature data along the coolant flow path as a CSV file:

o Go to Results > Export and select Data.

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