CHAPTER 3:

Principles of Momentum Transfer and Applications

3.1 Flow Past Immersed Objects and Packed and Fluidized Beds

3.1A Definitions of Drag Coefficient for Flow Past Immersed Objects

1. Introduction:
In ch2, momentum transfer and the frictional losses for flow of fluids inside conduits and
pipes were discussed.
In ch3, the flow of fluids around solid immersed objects will be discussed.
The flow of fluids outside immersed bodies occurs in many chemical applications such as:
flow past spheres in settling, flow through packed beds in drying and filtration, flow past tubes
in heat exchangers and so on.
In ch2, the transfer of momentum perpendicular to the surface resulted in a tangential shear
stress or drag on the smooth surface parallel to the direction of the flow. The force exerted by
the fluid on the solid in the direction of the flow is called skin or wall drag.
For any surface in contact with a flowing fluid, skin friction will exist.
In addition to skin drag, if the fluid has to change its direction to pass around a solid body
such as sphere, significant additional frictional losses will occur and this is called form drag or
pressure drag.
For a fluid flowing parallel to a solid plate, the force dF on an element of the area dA of the
plate is the wall shear stress times the area dA:

dF = w dA
total force = F =w dA

v0

dA
 :Droge Df = dA
-

Dp = p dA

+ Po = P

In many cases, the immersed body is a blunt-shaped solid with various angles.
In approaching the body, v0 is uniform.
Lines called streamlines represent the path of the fluid elements around the body.

Po

The velocity at the stagnation point is zero, and the boundary layer start to grow at this
point.
The thin boundary layer is adjacent to the solid surface. The velocity at the edge of the
boundary layer is the same as the bulk velocity adjacent to it.
The tangential stress on the body because of the velocity gradient in the boundary layer is
the skin friction.

outside the boundary layer, the fluid change direction to pass around the body accelerating
near the front then decelerating.
Thus, an additional force is exerted by the fluid on the body. This is the form drag.
Separation of the boundary layer occurs and a wake covering the entire rear of the body
occurs where large eddies are present and contribute to the form drag.
 Form drag for bodies can be minimized by streamlining the body which forces the separation
point toward the rear of the body, reducing the size of the wake. (See Fig 3.1c).

2. Drag Coefficient

The geometry of the immersed solid is a main factor in determining the amount of total drag
force exerted on the body.
Similar to the f-NRe correlations for flow inside conduits, correlations for the drag coefficient-
NRe for flow past an immersed body can be obtained.

FD / A p
CD Where, FD is the total drag force, and Ap is the area obtained by projecting the
v02 / 2
body on a plane perpendicular to the line of flow.

D 2
For sphere, A p and for cylinder (axis perpendicular to the flow), Ap = LD
4

The total drag force is:

v002
FD C D A p
2
The Reynolds no. for a given solid immersed in a flowing liquid is:

D p v0
N Re

3.1B Flow Past Sphere, Long Cylinder, and Disk

Correlations of drag coefficient vs. Reynolds no. depends mainly on the shape of the immersed
body. These correlations are shown in Figure 3.1-2 for spheres, long cylinders and disks. Note
that the face of the disc and the axis of the cylinder are perpendicular to the direction of flow.
These curves are determined experimentally.
At laminar flow (NRe1.0), the total drag force can be obtained from Stokes' law equation as
follows:

FD =3Dpv0
v002
combining with: FD C D Ap , the drag coefficient for laminar flow can be obtained
2

as:
 24
CD
N Re

Example 3.1-1
Example 3.1-2

3.1C Flow in Packed Beds

1. Introduction:
The packed bed (or packed column) is found in a number of
chemical processes including a fixed bed catalytic reactor,
filter bed, absorption and adsorption.

2. Laminar flow in packed beds

the void fraction, , in a packed bed is defined as:
= volume of voids in bed / total volume of bed
the specific surface of a particle is:

where, Sp is the surface area of a particle and vp is the volume of the particle.

For a spherical particle: av = 6/Dp where Sp=Dp2 and vp=Dp3)/6

For a packed bed of nonspherical particles, the effective particle diameter D p is:
Dp = 6/av
the volume fraction of the particles in the bed is (1-) and, thus:
the ratio of the total surface area in the bed to total volume of the bed, a, is:

a = av (1-) = 6(1- )/Dp

Example 3.1-3

The average interstitial velocity (v) in the bed is: v' =v* =/
The hydraulic radius rH for flow is modified to be:
rH = cross-sectional area available for flow/ wetted perimeter
= void volume available for flow/total wetted surface of solids
= (volume of voids/volume of bed)/(wetted surface/volume of bed) = /a
Combining: rH = (/6(1-)) Dp
 The equivalent diameter, as defined before, is: D =4rH. Thus, the Reynolds no. for a packed
Dv 4 D p v
bed is: N Re
6(1 )

Ergun, however, defined NRe without 4/6 for packed bed as:

Dv D p v
N Re
(1 )

For laminar flow, the Hagen-Poiseuille eqn. can be expressed in r H as follows:

32 vL 72 v L(1 ) 2
p
D2 3 D p2
Problems: the true L is because of indirect path. Use of rH predicts too large v'
Experimental data shows that the constant is 150. This gives the Blake-Kozeny eqn. for laminar
flow, void fractions less than 0.5, effective diameter D p and NRe, p<10.

150 v L (1 ) 2
p
D p2 3

3. Turbulent flow in a packed bed

L v 2
Starting with: p 4 f and substituting for D and v, we get:
D 2

L (1 ) 2
p 3 fv 2

Dp 3

For highly turbulent flow, f should approach constant value. Another assumption is that all
packed beds have the same relative roughness. Experimental data shows that: 3f =1.75
Hence, for turbulent flow (NRe, p>1000), the following Burke-Plummer eqn. is used:

L (1 ) 2
p 1.75v 2
Dp 3

Adding Blake-Kozeny eqn (for laminar flow) and Burke-Plummer eqn. (for turbulent flow), Ergun
proposed a general eqn for low, intermediate and high NRe, p as:
 150v L (1 ) 2 2 L (1 )
2
p 1.75v
D p2 3 Dp 3
by dimensional analysis, the general eqn. of Ergun can be rewritten as:

P D p 150
1.75 Where G = v'
G L 1 N Re, p
2

for cases of gases, density is taken at the average of the inlet and outlet pressures.
Example 3.1-4

4. Shape factors and mixtures of particles

Particles in packed beds are often irregular in shape. The shape factor or sphericity, , of a

particle is the ratio of surface area of sphere having the same volume as the particle to the
actual surface area of the particle. For a sphere, the surface area is, Sp = Dp2 and the volume is,
vp =Dp3/6. Hence, for any particle,

= Dp2/ Sp, where Sp is the surface area of the particle. Then,

Sp D p2 / s 6
then av becomes
vp D / 6
3
p s D p
Sp 6
av = and a becomes
vp s D p

a = 6(1-/ Dp )

For sphericity factors of some irregular particles, see Table 3.1-1.

For a mixture of particles of various sizes, a mean specific surface, avm, can be defined as:
avm =xiavi , where vi is the volume fraction.
 Dpm = 6/avm = 6/xi(6/ Dpi ))

where Dpm is the effective mean diameter for the mixture.

Example 3.1-5

3.1D Flow in Fluidized beds

1. Minimum velocity and porosity for fluidization.

At very low velocity , packed bed remains stationary.

Increased velocity
L

Flow
Flow

When fluid velocity is increased, pressure drop increases ( Ergun Eqn. 3.1-20).

At a certain velocity, when the pressure drop force ( i.e. P A) equalizes the gravitational

force on the mass of particle (i.e. m g), the particles begin to move (fluidize).

This velocity is called minimum fluidization velocity, ., based on the superficial velocity.

At the minimum velocity, the porosity is called the minimum porosity of fluidization, .

( See Table 3.1-2 for for some materials). Similarly, the new hight of the bed is
 The relation between bed height and porosity is as follows. The total volume of the solid
particles is constant and is LA(1-). Therefore,

L1 A(1-1) = L2 A((1-2) L1/L2 = (1-1)/(1-2)

2. Pressure drop and minimum fluidizing velocity.

As stated above, at the onset of fluidization, the following is approximately true:

modifying the general eqn. of Ergun, (with Dp is replaced with Dp s to correct for no
spherical particles) to give:

These two eqns. Can be used to calculate the minimum fluidization velocity follows:

Defining the Reynolds number as:

The eqn. becomes:

if ,0 = if ,0 =
If and/or are unknown, the following approximations can be used:

1/14 and 11substituting in the eqn. above gives:

33.7 -
Example 3.1-6

3. Expansion of fluidized beds.

For small particles and , the way of estimating the variation of

porosity and bed height L is to solve Eqn 3.1-36 with term equals zero , to get :

This eqn. can be used for liquids to estimate with