Winpak is a novel structured packing which has been successfully applied to the industrial production of isobutylene, etc. It is the reformation of corrugated sheet structured packing. There are several flow-guiding cut-out windows on the crests and troughs of the packing sheet which can guide liquid from one side to another. The mechanism of dry pressure drop, one of the most considerable indicators of a packed column, within Winpak is still undiscovered that limits the optimization of the packing. Therefore, CFD simulations were executed to investigate the effect of the packing dimensions. The dry pressure drop was decomposed into two components. The drag term was obtained according to an existing model. The frictional pressure drop was simulated in a new representative elementary unit. Results indicate the great effect of windows on pressure drop. Accordingly, the cutting angle of windows was optimized to reduce dry pressure drop. Correlations for predicting the dry pressure drop were built ultimately and validated by experimental data.<br/>

Dry pressure drop within Winpak-mechanism and optimization

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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