Multidimensional machine learning algorithms to learn liquid velocity inside a cylindrical bubble column reactor

Abstract

For understanding the complex behavior of fluids in a multiphase chemical bubble column reactor, a combination of the computational fluid dynamic (CFD) method and the adaptive network-based fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) method is used to predict bubble flow inside a reactor based on the function of column height. In this study, the Euler–Euler model is employed as a CFD method. In the Eulerian method, continuity and momentum governing equations are mathematically computed for each phase, while the equations are connected together by source terms. After calculating the flow pattern and turbulence flow in the reactor, all data sets are used to prepare a fully artificial method for further prediction. This algorithm contains different learning dimensions such as learning in different directions of reactor or large amount of input parameters and data set representing “big data”. The ANFIS method was evaluated in three steps by using one, two, and three inputs in each one to predict the liquid velocity in the x-direction (Ux). The x, y, and z coordinates of the location of the node of the liquid were considered as the inputs. Different percentages of data and various iterations and membership functions were used for training in the ANFIS method. The ANFIS method showed the best prediction using three inputs. This combination also shows the ability of computer science and computational methods in learning physical and chemical phenomena.