Prediction of hydrodynamic characteristics of a venturi scrubber by using CFD simulation

Abstract

The filtered containment venting system (FCVS) is a safety relevant system, which consists of venturi scrubber and a mesh filter. FCVS needs to be further assessed to improve the existing performance of the venturi scrubber. Therefore, hydrodynamics is an important counter-component needs to be investigated to improve the design of the venturi scrubber. In the present research, Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) has been used to predict the hydrodynamic behaviour of a newly designed venturi scrubber. Mesh was developed by gambit 2.4.6 and ansys fluent 15 has been used to predict the pressure drop profile inside the venturi scrubber under various flow conditions. The Reynolds Renormalization Group (RNG) k-ε turbulence model and the volume of the fluid (VOF) were employed for this simulation. The effect of throat gas velocity, liquid mass flow rate, and liquid loading on pressure drop was studied. Maximum pressure drop 2064.34 pa was achieved at the throat gas velocity of 60 m/s and liquid flow rate of 0.033 kg/s and minimum pressure drop 373.51 pa was achieved at the throat gas velocity of 24 m/s and liquid flow rate of 0.016 kg/s. The results of the present study will assist for proper functioning of venturi scrubber.