Chemical engineering
Process equipment is where CFDWAYS has its deepest academic foundation — with international publications on bubble columns, hydrocracking and reforming.
Common problems
- Poor mixing inside the reactor — part of the reaction volume takes almost no part in the process and conversion falls below design
- Poor gas phase distribution — bubbles channeling instead of dispersing evenly, reducing contact area
- Local hot spots — with exothermic reactions, overheated zones damage the catalyst and create by-products
- Uneven drying — under-dried and overheated particles in the same batch
- Erosion and fouling — unplanned shutdowns for cleaning
Why simulation is needed
Process equipment is usually closed, pressurized and running hot — sampling inside it is very limited. Inlet and outlet measurements give the overall efficiency, but not the reason it is low.
Simulation shows the velocity field, phase distribution and concentration at every position, so it points at what needs fixing instead of replacing the whole vessel.
Equipment & processes we simulate
Reactors
Bubble columns, fixed beds, catalytic reactors, stirred tank reactors.
Separation & mixing equipment
Distillation, absorption, cyclones, phase separators, impellers and mixing tanks.
Drying & cooling
Spray drying towers, fluidized-bed dryers, coolers and heat exchangers.
Fluid machinery
Industrial pumps and fans — characteristics and losses under real operating conditions.
Simulation methods
- Euler–Euler multiphase for bubble columns and fluidized beds
- Lagrangian particle and droplet tracking for spray drying and catalyst injection
- Homogeneous and heterogeneous chemical reactions coupled with heat transfer
- Porous media for packed beds and fixed catalyst layers
- Residence-time distribution (RTD) analysis to quantify dead zones and short-circuiting
What you receive
- Velocity, phase distribution and concentration fields at the key sections
- RTD curves with the percentage of volume taking no part in the reaction
- A quantitative comparison between the current state and each retrofit option
- Specific recommendations on dimensions, inlet positions and impeller configuration
How we work
Collect the data
Equipment drawings, operating conditions, fluid properties.
Build & calibrate
Checked against field measurements before the results are used.
Test the options
Retrofit options run in parallel and compared quantitatively.
Hand over
Report, recommendations and model files you can reuse.
Academic foundation
Scientific publications
Molten-metal bubble columns, hydrocracking, reforming — the foundation of the models used in projects.
See the publications →Spray drying case study
Optimizing a spray-drying chamber: temperature distribution and droplet trajectories.
See the case study →Separation & mixing capabilities
The full list of equipment and methods CFDWAYS can handle.
See the capabilities →Is your reactor falling short of its design performance?
Send the drawings and operating data — CFDWAYS will assess whether the problem lies in mixing, reaction or heat transfer.
Other industries: Environmental engineering · Energy, oil & gas · HVAC & building design