Modeling and simulation of flow processes and complex transport processes

In the field of environmental technologies and water treatment, many processes and plants are characterized by multiphase, non-laminar flow processes and complex transport processes. Metrological detection is often only possible at certain points, which makes characterization and thus also scale conversions considerably more difficult. Therefore, numerical methods in the Department of Circulation Technologies and Water of Fraunhofer IKTS are indispensable tools in the design, evaluation and optimization of processes and plants. Here, we draw on many years of know-how in application-oriented computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and finite element methods (FEM) with Ansys Fluent & CFX, OpenFOAM, COMSOL, FloEFD, FlexPDE and other solutions.

 

Application examples

 

• Thermal and fluidic design of filtration modules and reactors for liquid and gas filtration as well as membrane distillation
• Simulation of multiphase and non-Newtonian fluid behavior in biogas digesters under stirrer influence
• Modeling of gas bubble dynamics and cavitation effects in sonochemical processes and bubble column reactors

 

Services offered

 

• Simulation-supported design of processes, modules and reactor concepts in the field of water treatment and environmental technologies
• Modeling and accompanying characterization of flow, mixing and stirring processes as well as pervaporation and heat transport processes
• Simulative support of development projects

 

Project examples

 

• I. Voigt, H. Richter, M. Stahn, M. Weyd, P. Puhlfürß, V. Prehn, C. Günther, "Scale-up of ceramic nanofiltration membranes to meet large scale applications", Separation and Purification Technology 215 (2019) 229-234
• KerWas: Thin-walled, ceramic membranes of adapted wettability and high volume-specific membrane area for nanofiltration and membrane distillation for sustainable treatment of saline water (BMBF, 03XP0096)
• FlexPump: Development and demonstration of a pump-based mixing concept for the flexibilized, efficiency-optimized and multifeedstock operation of biogas plants (BMWK, 03KB152)