Experimental study of flow regimes in three‐dimensional confined impinging jets reactor

Abstract

Dynamic behaviors in a three‐dimensional confined impinging jets reactor (CIJR) were experimentally studied by a flow visualization technique at 100 ≤ Re ≤ 2000 and 2 ≤ D/d ≤ 12 (where D is the reactor diameter and d is the nozzle diameter). The effects of inlet Reynolds numbers (Re) and geometry configurations of the CIJR on the flow regimes have been investigated by a particle image velocimetry and a high‐speed camera. Results show that with the increasing Re, a segregated flow regime, a radial deflective oscillation, an axial oscillation and a vortex shedding regime emerge in turns in CIJR. A map of parameter space formed by the inlet Reynolds number (Re) and the normalized reactor diameter (D/d) has been presented. The effects of jet instability and confined boundary of the chamber on the flow regimes and their transition are also investigated and discussed. © 2014 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 60: 3033–3045, 2014