SprayCalc
Project name:
Development of a semi-analytical calculation tool for the characterization of the thermodynamic and reaction behaviour of fluids injected through nozzles – SprayCalc
Research associate:
Duration:
02/2019-09/2021
Cooperation partner:
Karlsruher Institut für Technologie, Institut für Technische Chemie (KIT-ITC)
Brief description:
With the help of sprays and droplet clusters, essential components of the process value chain are realized. However, conventional CFD simulations or experimental investigations for the design of such processes are expensive and, in general, comprehensive parameter studies cannot be carried out because the effort is disproportionately high, especially for SMEs. This is where the planned "Spraycalc" program comes in, a novel design tool that calculates the spatially resolved release of spray components and, if necessary, chemical reaction products on the basis of IT resource-efficient semi-analytical calculation algorithms. On the basis of this simplified approach, a CPU currently achieves computing times of less than 1 second and yet very meaningful results. The basic hypothesis of the currently available model is that a spray can be described by a multitude of scalable single drop trajectory curves, whose interaction can be considered by effective drag coefficients and swarm effects.
The model includes the four main components local discretization, the arrangement of the drop trajectories, the evaporation behavior and, if required, the chemical conversion. A large number of input parameters are included. As a result, the user is provided with an easy-to-use and fast calculating tool, which can be applied to a variety of applications and takes a wide range of input parameters into account. It is therefore predestined for extensive parameter variations and the optimization of control processes. For SMEs, this results in a considerable savings potential for external services in connection with know-how protection or corresponding time savings in the specialist department as well as a higher design quality, since considerably more scenarios can be considered.