A CFD based automatic method for compartment model development

• Published in: Computers & chemical engineering Vol. 123; pp. 236 - 245
• Main Authors: Tajsoleiman, Tannaz, Spann, Robert, Bach, Christian, Gernaey, Krist V., Huusom, Jakob Kjøbsted, Krühne, Ulrich
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 06.04.2019
• Subjects: Automated compartmentalization; CFD based compartment model; Fluid dynamics; Mixing; Mixing; Fluid dynamics; CFD based compartment model; Automated compartmentalization
• ISSN: 0098-1354; 1873-4375
• DOI: 10.1016/j.compchemeng.2018.12.015

•A new compartmentalization method is introduced with a focus on cylindrical-shaped systems.•The automated platform for characterizing compartments is presented.•The method was evaluated through a case study of a 700 L stirred tank bioreactor.•The influence of the operating condition on the compartments’ characteristics is studied. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is a powerful tool for quantitative prediction of fluid dependent properties in a finite volume. However, the complexity of solving the momentum balances and the continuity equations at each element of the discretized geometry can easily lead to an expensive computational task. Compartment modelling is a potential alternative to speed up the calculation, which is however reached at the expense of the level of accuracy. The most important factor in optimizing a compartment model (CM) concerning the accuracy and the computational time is the quality of the chosen compartments to represent the critical gradients. This work presents a new automated compartmentalization method to characterize an improved network of compartments derived from initial detailed CFD results, with a focus on cylindrical-shaped systems. This method was evaluated with a case study of a 700 L stirred tank bioreactor by estimating the mixing performance and demonstrating its high efficiency.