‘Smart’ transonic atomization and heating of a pulsating non-Newtonian liquid sheet

• Published in: Chemical engineering science Vol. 281; p. 119094
• Main Authors: Wilson, D.M., Strasser, W., Prichard, R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 05.11.2023
• Subjects: Atomization; CFD; Multiphase; PID; Viscosity; CFD; Viscosity; AI; PID; Atomization; Multiphase
• ISSN: 0009-2509; 1873-4405
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ces.2023.119094

[Display omitted] •Dual control system maintains consistent, reliable heating and atomization.•Hot steam/cold slurry instabilities necessitate continuous controller adjustments.•Controllers operate simultaneously and independently but are linked by process physics.•Slurry pressure and droplet size kept constant during 100x slurry viscosity increase. We introduce proportional integral derivative (PID) controls into transonic pulsatile steam-assisted non-Newtonian slurry heating and disintegration. The purpose is to ensure consistent, reliable atomization during generic process upset scenarios, while this implementation involves a sudden pronounced slurry property shift. The uniquely interrelated physical responses of phase interfacial atomizer instabilities require continuously coupled PID controllers, the first of which automates slurry flow based on slurry pressure drop. The second compensates for the variable phase momentum ratio and sets a new heating steam flow based on the targeted droplet size. Three tests with increasing rigor were conducted to demonstrate successful coupled controller adaptability. During controller compensations, slurry and steam flows were significantly altered and drastically changed atomization characteristics. For a 100-fold increase in slurry viscosity, however, the controllers successfully maintained consistent droplet size and slurry flow resistance. The control methodology was shown to be mesh-independent and to operate across multiple atomization regimes.