Introduction of simulation in the "Experimentation in Chemical Engineering I" subject

Abstract

This project consists of elaborating a detailed, easy-to-follow, verified, versatile script for the ANSYS® Fluid Flow (Fluent), dedicated for the chemical engineering students enrolled on the “Experimentation in Chemical Engineering I” course, which explains how to obtain a simulation of the heat transfer in the non-steady-state in a sphere body, both in 3D and 2D. The script is based on one of the laboratory practices, “Thermal Conductivity of Solids”. Although, this simulation can be done regardless of whether the students had done the experiment or not. First, the methodology of the whole process is explained, so the efficiency of the script can be assessed. Second, the verification of the ANSYS® values is detailed, comparing them to the analytically obtained ones. It is proved that the software data is trustworthy as the absolute relative error is smaller than 0,2% for the approved simulations. Also, the reasoning of some of the ANSYS® chosen parameters is specified, such as the size of the element of the mesh. In case of 3D simulation, the size of the element is equal to 2·10-3 m, whereas in 2D simulation a smaller element size of 1·10-3 m is assigned. Then, the testing process of the script is described, with the implemented improvements from one session to another annotated. Finally, the definitive version of the script is attached, explaining the creation of the simulation of the sphere (3D and 2D axisymmetric), the comparison of both simulations through the temperature contour graphs as well as the comparison of experimental results with data obtained through ANSYS®