Novel areas and future trends of computational fluid dynamics software applications in chemical engineering

The paper presents a brief overview of advanced novel applications and future trends of Computational Fluid Dynamics software in Chemical Engineering. Among the cases of major importance, single phase turbulent flow, as well as multiphase flow models are reviewed. Referring to single phase flows, the LES and RANS approaches are described and illustrated. The RANS approach is revealed as the most popular and inexpensive method for the analysis and solving of technical tasks. The paper reports on two recent modeling applications, namely, the CFD facilitated design of a new mixing impeller and the CFD characterization of impeller mixing efficiency. Multiphase models of increased sophistication describing solid, liquid and gas flows with simultaneous mass transfer between the phases are summarized with emphasis on their applications to describe evaporation, condensation, as well as chemical reactions in process equipment such as distillation columns and fluidized beds. The future trends and directions in Computer Aided methods for the analysis of Chemical Engineering processes incorporate developments, such as the integration of various pieces of software including flow sheet modeling CFD modeling and complex reaction and thermodynamic models. U radu se analiziraju neka nova polja i buduci pravci primene kompjuterizovane dinamike fluida (CFD) u hemijskom inzenjerstvu. Analiziraju se neke najvaznije primene ovog softvera: turbulentnog strujanje fluida i strujanje kod visefaznih sistema. U prvom slucaju su detaljnije opisane i prikazane primene LES i RANS programa. Takodje se prikazuje mogucnost primene CFD programa za projektovanje i odredjivanje optimalnog tipa mesalice. U drugom slucaju se analizira tok cvrste faze, tecnog i gasovitog fluida uz istovremen prenos mase izmedju faza kod operacija isparavanja, kristalizacije ili hemijske reakcije (destilacione kolone, reaktori sa fluidizovanim slojem cvrste faze). Ukazano je da razvoj primene CFD u visefaznim sistemima mora da bude pracen razvojem drugih programa i modela koji se mogu povezati sa osnovnim CFD modelom (razvoj tehnoloske seme, razvoj kompleksnih modela koji ukljucuju analizu karakteristicne hemijske reakcije i termodinamike tj. stanja fluida).