Computational fluid dynamics is a valuable tool for characterizing and better understanding the flow regimes in bioreactors at various scales for mammalian cell cultivation. Knowledge of bioreactor characteristics at different scales generated by CFD will aid in developing efficient process scale up and transfer strategies. Boehringer Ingelheim has put tremendous effort in fully characterizing our multiple bioreactors at different scales across multiple sites. This presentation will focus on the equipment in our Fremont facility. In the current work, the first study included single phase CFD simulations to generate power numbers and compare against vendor data for bioreactors at various scales to investigate power input. The power number stability was demonstrated with different agitation/Reynolds number curves. Single phase mixing simulations were also performed for these scales to evaluate mixing time in the bioreactors. Furthermore, efforts toward achieving multiphase simulations to evaluate kLa (for O2 and CO2) for different scales of bioreactors would provide even greater value for supporting the scale-up of our bioreactor systems. All the data generated based on the CFD simulations is being further utilized to build appropriate scale-up criteria at various scales to ensure successful process transfers.

Utilization of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to guide scale up of cell culture bioreactors

255th National Meeting (2018)

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