A Direct Numerical Simulation Estimation of Viscous Energy Dissipation Rate in Taylor Vortex Reactor

Abstract

This work presents a study of the direct numerical simulation (DNS) model in a Taylor-Vortex reactor (TVR) to estimate viscous energy dissipation rate (VEDR) after validating with an experimental 2D particle image velocimetry (PIV) study conducted with a 16 M pixel camera. The VEDR was separated into its mean flow kinetic energy (MFKE) and turbulent kinetic energy components (TKE). The structure of the mean and fluctuating radial and tangential velocity components was mostly well predicted and the VEDR of mean flow kinetic energy was estimated well by the DNS model in comparison with the PIV estimations.The three secondorder radial gradients accounted for more than 70 % of the VEDR throughout the reactor, clearly indicating the necessity of highly refined radial mesh. KEY WORDS 3-Dimensional modelling, mathematical modelling, viscous energy dissipation rate.