A comparative analysis concerning the influence of different factors on momentum transfer in mechanically agitated systems was carried out on the basis of experimental results for solid-liquid, gas-liquid and gas-solid-liquid systems. The effects of the impeller - baffles system geometry, scale of the agitated vessel, type and number of impellers and their off-bottom clearance, as well as physical properties of the multiphase systems on the critical impeller speeds needed to produce suspension or dispersion, power consumption and gas hold-up were analysed and evaluated.
The quantitative description of an airlift bioreactor, in which aerobic biodegradation limited by carbonaceous substrate and oxygen dissolved in a liquid takes place, is presented. This process is described by the double-substrate kinetics. Mathematical models based on the assumption of plug flow and dispersion flow of liquid through the riser and the downcomer in the reactor were proposed. Calculations were performed for two representative hydrodynamic regimes of reactor operation, i.e. with the presence of gas bubbles only within the riser and for complete gas circulation. The analysis aimed at how the choice of a mathematical model of the process would enable detecting the theoretical occurrence of oxygen deficiency in the airlift reactor. It was demonstrated that the simplification of numerical calculations by assuming the “plug flow” model instead of dispersion with high Péclet numbers posed a risk of improper evaluation of the presence of oxygen deficiency zones. Conclusions related to apparatusmodelling and process design were drawn on the basis of the results obtained. The paper is a continuation of an earlier publication (Grzywacz, 2012a) where an analysis of single-substrate models of the airlift reactor was presented.
The paper presents the effect of deformation temperature on the mechanical stability of retained austenite in a multiphase TRIP steel. Series of static tensile tests were carried out in the temperature range –20 to 140°C in order to simulate the temperatures occurring during stamping process of automotive steel sheets and conditions of their exploitation. Samples deformed at 20°C and 60°C showed the best combination of strength and ductility. It was related to the gradual transformation of retained austenite into martensite. Obtained results revealed that the intensity of TRIP effect is significantly related to the deformation temperature. The amount of retained austenite, which transformed into martensite during plastic deformation decreases as the deformation temperature increases. It was also found that the stability of retained austenite depends on its morphology. The obtained results showed the relationship between deformation temperature and the stability of retained austenite. The chemical composition and microstructure of multiphase steels dedicated to the automotive industry should be designed for providing the maximum TRIP effect at the specific deformation temperatures.
Every change in the bottle geometry aswell as every change of physical and rheological properties poses a risk of excessive gas entrainment during a filling process. To maintain satisfactory filling efficiency there is a need to optimise this process with respect to all adverse phenomena which affect the fluid flow, such as spluttering on the bottom, air caverns formation and air entrainment with incoming liquid. This paper comprises numerical simulations of two filling methods. The first method involves dosing with a pipe placed over the free liquid surface of a fully filled bottle. The second method covers filling with a pipe located near the bottom. Moreover, the influence of rheological properties and surface tension values is considered. The comprehensive analysis of amount of entrained air represented by air volume fraction in dispensed liquid let the authors define the influence of filling speed on the mechanism and amount of entrapped air.