Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Modelling And Development Of An Automated Ldpe Autoclave Reactor In Cfd For Revealing Ethylene Hot Spots, Eric Turman

Masters Theses

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) was employed to develop a rigorous model of a low-density polyethylene (LDPE) autoclave reactor. Different numerical settings within the solver were evaluated to minimize false diffusion and to reflect the sensitive heat generation taking place during free radical polymerization. The rigorous CFD model employed reaction kinetics, Proportional Integral Derivative (PID) automated thermal management, and a rotating stirrer shaft. Validation was carried out to determine the sensitivity to time-step size, turbulence model, and grid resolution. Data were compared to an industrial scale plant autoclave to guide the development of CFD. Time-step independence was confirmed by comparing the …