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Development of educational software for undergraduate Chemical Engineering

courses: DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE

Article in Computer Applications in Engineering Education · April 2016

DOI: 10.1002/cae.21733

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Development of Educational
Software for Undergraduate
Chemical Engineering Courses
ZOHEIR DABAGHIAN, KAMYAR MOVAGHARNEJAD, MAEDEH MOHAMMADI
Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Babol Noushirvani University of Technology, Babol, Iran

Received 13 November 2015; accepted 6 March 2016

ABSTRACT: An instructive software was developed and programmed as an educational aid for design of
distillation tower and tray hydraulics using visual basic language. This user-friendly software can be used as an
educational aid for undergraduate Chemical Engineering courses. This tool allows students to study the behavior
of the distillation tower and explore the different mass transfer and unit operation features. The students will be
able to perform many simulation exercises including the tower overall and interior design and predict the behavior
of undesired phenomena such as weeping and flooding. The software environment facilitates students’ learning by
providing a step-by-step procedure and instructions that are consistent with standard course books. ß 2016 Wiley
Periodicals, Inc. Comput Appl Eng Educ; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/cae; DOI 10.1002/
cae.21733

Keywords: improving classroom teaching; simulations; teaching/learning strategies; intelligent tutoring

systems

INTRODUCTION It is generally accepted that no present technology including

educational software is able to educate students without the
Theoretical concepts have long been lectured in classrooms; co-operation of experienced teachers. Academic instructors
however, most educators believe that mastering these concepts can usually use conventional methods and devices such as video-
only be achieved by reviewing them in practice. Such practices projectors but the ability of these devices is somehow limited and
may be visiting a patient, painting a landscape, or writing a can only help the instructor to dictate and introduce the course
document; yet, there are certain theoretical cases which are very concepts. Use of computer may help to improve the education
hard to be practiced by conventional methods. In engineering of different branches of science and engineering for a number of
courses, we often face this situation. For example, consider the reasons such as shorter learning time, better understanding of
need to practice the design of distillation towers or shell and tube complex phenomena, and higher efficiency of learning procedure.
heat exchangers after a theoretical lecture. There is almost no Powerful and relatively cheap personal computers are now
chance for an undergraduate engineering student to experience the available for every undergraduate engineering student even in
real design procedure of these complex structures. Therefore, developing countries. Recent developments in information and
university educators often limit their undergraduate courses to computer technologies have facilitated the application of
some general and approximate computing procedures without the educational software and new learning policies [1].
risk of confusing the inexperienced students with real practical Many scientific publications have indicated the importance
details and complexities. Many of the engineering computations of engineering educational software [2–4]. Computer assisted
even at the level of undergraduate courses are very complicated software are the main sources which give us the possibility to use
and time consuming, so “learn by doing” procedure cannot be computers in education. These packages are also of high value for
practiced in an ordinary class. Educational software widely the learner centered approach in education. They are of great value
introduced in recent years may be used as educational aid to for educating undergraduate students and also provide a medium
achieve this usually ignored but very effective practice. for “learn by doing” training [5,6]. University professors and
instructors have to be prepared to take the advantage of these new
technologies. They are expected to take part in new activities such
as modeling, problem solving, and computer programming. These
new activities might be considered as a vital part of academic
Correspondence to K. Movagharnejad (movagharnejad@ education in future.
yahoo.com; k-movaghar@nit.ac.ir).
In this paper, we aim to present a user-friendly computer
© 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. program which can be used as an educational aid for

1
2 DABAGHIAN, MOVAGHARNEJAD, AND MOHAMMADI

understanding and mastering the design and simulation of The first section of the software comprises of several steps:
distillation tower and tray hydraulics which is usually an essential (Step 1): Selection of the case to be simulated, thus allowing
component of unit operation course in undergraduate Chemical testing of different types of distillation towers.
Engineering studies. (Step 2): Inputting some required parameters such as
equilibrium factor by the student and then calculation of unknown
parameters based on mass and phase equilibrium for overall
THEORY system and each component by the software.
(Step 3): Calculation of final design parameters such as the
Distillation is among the prime and most common gas–liquid mass number of trays, location of streams, and flow rate of each stream
transfer operations used for refining in industrial plants [7]. of distillation column, and finally, drawing the scheme of the
Among different configurations of distillation column, tray types designed distillation tower.
are the most commonly selected ones for intimate phase Table 1 shows the design of a double feed distillation tower in
contact [8]. The conceptual design of distillation tower and tray which all of the three steps, as mentioned above, are categorized.
hydraulics is a fundamental principle taught in mass transfer and
unit operation courses in Chemical Engineering.
Distillation towers are made up of several major components Tray Hydraulics Design
whose proper selection requires a deep understanding of the Choice and design of tray hydraulics is the next and main purpose
separation purpose, the required range of vapor and liquid flow, of the developed educational software. Tower diameter, size and
and the physical properties of vapor and liquid throughout the arrangement of holes, tray spacing, and internal appurtenance are
tower. A tray tower is used to fulfill two main tasks: (1) trays allow the main and important factors which must be determined in this
gas to pass through the pores, where the tiny bubbles are dispersed section. The procedure for interior tower design after determina-
in the liquid phase and thus the contact between the liquid and gas tion of the design principles is explained below.
phases is promoted and (2) trays divide the tower into several
stages, wherein, gas and liquid are brought to intimate contact;
(1) Determination of the flow rates of liquid and vapor in the
mass transfer between phases occurs and eventually the phases are
tower for calculation of required parameters such as
separated and leave the tray in equilibrium. Thus, the overall
turndown ratio.
performance of the tower is highly dependent on the trays which
represent cascade of equilibrium stages [9–11]. For instance, the student needs to know the vapor
flow rates for calculation of turndown ratio (maximum
and minimum of vapor flow rate).
Tower which is designed for a certain capacity might
METHODOLOGY have to be operated at a higher or lower capacity to meet
the requirements of the production unit. Therefore, the
Educational Software tower must be flexible enough to work in a wide range of
This software was designed and programmed using visual basic capacities. This flexibility is expressed in terms of
language to serve as dual purpose educational aid in design and turndown ratio that is defined as:
simulation of distillation towers. First, the software runs the
Design vapor flow rate
McCabe method which solves material balances combined with Turndown ratio ¼ ð1Þ
equilibrium relations to obtain the first results of fundamental Minimum vapor flow rate
calculations including number of equilibrium stages, location of
the feed tray, and limiting operation conditions (minimum value of For sieve tray towers, the value of turndown ratio is
reflux ratio). Second, the software is run exclusively for tray around 2 which means the vapor flow rate of tray can
hydraulics design. Figure 1 illustrates the software environment reduce to approximately 50% of the design flow rate
including the design of distillation tower and its tray hydraulics. while the tower still works as normal.
All of the required equations, figures, tables, limitations, and (2) Collection or calculation of required physical properties
recommended data for tower design employed in this educational of the system.
software were adopted from the literature [9]. (3) Selection of the initial guess for distance between trays.
In this step, it is needed to have an initial guess for
distance between trays for calculation of tower diameter.
Distillation Tower Design The software introduces three default options to the
In the first section of the software, the student must select the student such as 18, 24, and 30 inch as initial guesses using
distillation tower type, for example single feed, double feed, combo text menu according to the recommended values
side stream or open steam tower. As shown in Figure 1a, the in the literature [9]. The student finds out suitable range
label of “Degree of Freedom” employed below the first stage for initial guess using this option. This combo text menu
of calculation is to inform the student from the required input is shown in Figure 3. As exhibited at the top of this
data. screenshot, there are three options as methods used for
The software calculates the unknown parameters for calculation of flooding rate.
each type of distillation tower depending on the input data
(known parameter) and considering the degree of freedom. (4) Tower diameter calculation according to the overflow
Figure 2 exhibits the schematic representation of the consideration.
algorithm and designed structure of the first section for The required diameter of tray tower for certain
distillation tower. quantities of gas and liquid flow rates is determined
 DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE 3

Figure 1 The environment of educational software representing (a) distillation tower and (b) tray design. [Color figure
can be viewed in the online issue, which is available at wileyonlinelibrary.com.]

regarding the flooding considerations. The gas student should select the ratio of weir width to tower
velocity which causes flooding in the tower is diameter as a default value; this option is shown in
considered as the upper limit of gas velocity in the Figure 4.
tower. Therefore, it is necessary to select gas velocity
in flooding state before proceeding to the calculation (5) Selection of the flow pattern on the tray.
of tower diameter. Considering the intensity of the liquid flow and the
In this software, the Fair method [9] as depicted in tower diameter, this software uses different flow patterns
Figure 3 is used for calculation of flooding velocity. The such as single pass cross flow or double pass.
4 DABAGHIAN, MOVAGHARNEJAD, AND MOHAMMADI

Figure 2 Schematic representation of initial calculation based on McCabe method and drawing of the designed tower.
[Color figure can be viewed in the online issue, which is available at wileyonlinelibrary.com.]

The software identifies the liquid flow pattern on the create more holes at certain tower diameter which lead
tray based on design considerations and finally shows the to the increment of gas–liquid contact surface area.
output to the student. However, both the triangular and square configura-
(6) Initial estimation and calculation of tray geometric tions are visually seen in the software, as depicted in
parameters including downcomer surface, weir width, Figure 5, for easy access of the student to different
size and number of holes, and etc. options.
In this step, the number and size of holes,
arrangement of holes on the tray, downcomer surface, The following suggestions, raised by Stichlmair and
weir width, and the ratio of downcomer surface area to Fair [9,12], have also been considered in the software
the tower cross-sectional area are determined. There design about the downcomer. (1) The liquid velocity in
are two common configurations for holes arrangement the downcomer region should not be more than 0.1 m/s.
including triangular and square arrangements. Trian- (2) The residence time of the liquid in the downcomer
gular configuration is preferred to square configura- should not be lower than 5 s. (3) The downcomer backup
tion for holes arrangement because it is possible to should not be greater than half of tray spacing. (4) The

Table 1 Simulation Results for Design of Distillation Column

Input Output

Step Parameter Value Parameter Value

(1) Selection of the case to be simulated Tower type Doublefeed

(2) Inputting some required parameters Equilibrium factor a ¼ 2.5 F1 80
Da 200 F2 320
xD 0.98 Rminb 1.39
Bc 200
xB 0.10
xF1 0.70
xF2 0.50
(3) Calculation of final design parameters Reflux factor 2.25 Liquid rate at the top of tower 1000
Vapor rate at the top of tower 1040
Liquid rate in the middle of tower 1040
Vapor rate in the middle of tower 1200
Liquid rate at the bottom of tower 1160
Vapor rate at the bottom of tower 840
Number of trays at the top 3
Number of trays in the middle 2
Number of trays at the bottom 2
a
Minimum reflux ratio.
b
Distillate section.
c
Bottom section.
 DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE 5

Figure 3 Selection of tray spacing for subsequent calculation of tray diameter. [Color figure can be viewed in the online
issue, which is available at wileyonlinelibrary.com.]

surface area of the downcomer should be 10–12% of result part of liquid begins to leak through the pores;
cross-sectional area of the tower. this phenomenon is called weeping [9,13].
(7) Investigation of the weeping phenomenon. The student can simulate the occurrence or non-
The design of tray hydraulics is a key part in the occurrence of weeping status in the software. The
design of distillation tower. The performance of the required input data for evaluating weeping status are
tray depends on the relative vapor and liquid illustrated in Figure 6. At the top of the screenshot,
throughputs. Undesirable phenomena such as flooding, there is a combo menu for height of weir which provides
weeping, dumping, and coning will occur in the tower the recommended values by the software. Thickness of
by increment or decrement of the flow rates which holes is also needed to determine the pressure drop of the
significantly reduce the tray efficiency. With decrement gas passing through the holes of dry tray. Actually the
of gas flow rate, the pressure exerted by the gas is not thickness of holes is equal to the thickness of metal plate
sufficient enough to hold the liquid on the tray, as a from which, the tray is made. As observed in Figure 6,

Figure 4 Default options for weir width and gas velocity. [Color figure can be viewed in the online issue, which is
available at wileyonlinelibrary.com.]
6 DABAGHIAN, MOVAGHARNEJAD, AND MOHAMMADI

Figure 5 Different configurations for holes arrangement. [Color figure can be viewed in the online issue, which is
available at wileyonlinelibrary.com.]

there are some recommendations for suitable range of increment of the liquid flow rate; (3) increment of
tray thickness. It is worthwhile to note that the minimum downcomer backup; (4) decrement of surface tension; (5)
tray thickness is 0.075 and 0.134 inch for alloy steel and decrement of sheet tray thickness; and (6) decrement
carbon steel, respectively. The range for the ratio of tray of the distance between holes (holes become closer
thickness to holes diameter is about 0.1–0.3 for alloy together). The software allows the student to use and
steel and 0.25–0.3 for carbon steel. control the key parameters and thus manage the weeping
status. While the weeping rate is more than the expected
There are some factors which increase the tendency value, a return to step 6 is required.
to weeping phenomenon which have been considered (8) Calculation of the tray pressure drop.
in the software during design. These considerations The overall pressure drop of each tray comprises of
include: (1) increment of fractional hole area; (2) two terms; the pressure drop of the gas passing dry tray

Figure 6 Environment of the software for weeping status. [Color figure can be viewed in the online issue, which is
available at wileyonlinelibrary.com.]
 DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE 7

and the pressure drop of the gas passing through liquid summarizes the calculated parameters for design of tray
that the former is determined from the previous section. hydraulics based on equations applied in the software [9];
While the pressure drop is more than the recommended Figure 7 confirms the results given in this table.
value, the software returns to step 6.
(9) Calculation of the liquid head and investigation of the
flooding phenomenon. HIGHLIGHTS OF THE EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE
The software needs liquid head, also called
“downcomer backup,” to identify flooding state. The The Chemical Engineering students must know and learn
downcomer backup (hdb) is obtained by the following the procedure for design of distillation tower. This software
equation: provides user-friendly procedure for distillation tower design.
The features of this educational software make the students
hdb ¼ hc þ ht þ had ð2Þ
enjoy during working with the software. Some of these
where hc is the liquid gradient across the tray (calculated highlighted features are explained as follows. In the learning
in previous section), ht is the total pressure drop across procedure, especially complex calculations, students like to see
the tray (calculated in previous section) and had is the classified steps in problem-solving process for better decision
head loss due to liquid flow under downcomer apron. making. This educational software enables the students to know
This software predicts the occurrence of the in which situation of calculation they are at the moment. Alarm
flooding based on the value of the downcomer backup and guide lights have been employed in this software to give
and corresponding equations [9]. Briefly, when the value this possibility to the students. In the distillation problem, the
of downcomer backup is less than half of the trays students face various interrelated parameters at different steps.
distance, flooding does not occur. After making sure In this software, the background light color of each parameter or
about the absence of flooding, the software calculates the step changes from blue to green once these parameters are
liquid velocity and residence time in the downcomer known. Another highlighted feature of this software is the
channel. degree of freedom status. This status bar informs students
(10) Finalizing the design process. using color, message, and beep about the status of the parameter
According to the results of previous steps, the which is required for the start of calculation. When the students
values intended for tray specifications as well as design the tower using this software, they can finally see their
the flooding and weeping states are reported by the designed tower graphically in terms of type of tower, tray, and
software in the data sheet page. Figure 7 shows the data feeds or side stream location. Tray hydraulics calculations
sheet page of the designed tower before and after have complexities and there are numerous trials and errors in
convergence of the design equations. As observed in the calculations. This software shows all parameters related to trial
left screenshot, some of the values are labeled in yellow and error relations using yellow label and the label changes to
color because these data are provided based on trial and green once the parameter is converged. This software finally
error and after convergence, the labels change to green as reports all of the data relating to the designed tower and tray
shown in the right screenshot of Figure 7. Table 2 hydraulics as data sheet in a page and the student can see them

Figure 7 Final data sheet page of the designed tower. [Color figure can be viewed in the online issue, which is available
at wileyonlinelibrary.com.]
8 DABAGHIAN, MOVAGHARNEJAD, AND MOHAMMADI

Table 2 Simulation Results for Design of Tray Hydraulics

Input Output

Step Parameter Value Parameter Value

(1) Determination of the flow rates of Liquid rate at the bottom of tower 33731 lb/h
liquid and vapor Vapor rate at the bottom of tower 54013 lb/h
(2) Required physical properties Liquid density 50.4 lb/ft3
Vapor density 0.165 lb/ft3
Surface tension 20.5 dyne/cm
(3) Initial guess for distance between trays Distance between trays S ¼ 18 in
(4) Tower diameter calculation according Method for flooding rate Fair method Flooding velocity Uf ¼ 4.965 ft/s
to the overflow consideration Weir height 0.727 Tower diameter Gas velocity Ug ¼ 3.475 ft/s
Gas velocity 0.7 Flooding velocity Tray diameter D ¼ 6.447 ft
(5) Flow pattern on the tray Pattern state Single pass cross flow
(6) Tray geometric parameters Hole diameter 0.375 in Hole area 2.623 ft2

Hole pitch 3 hole diameter Number of holes 3422
Pitch scale Triangular Active area of tray 20.09 ft2
(7) Investigation of weeping phenomenon Tray material Steel Turn down ratio 1.5
Weir height 2 in Weeping state No weeping
Thickness of tray/ hole diameter 0.5 Minimum gas velocity 23.02 ft/s
in hole for weeping
(8) Calculation of tray pressure drop Tray pressure drop 696.142 Pa
for eachtray
(9) Investigation of flooding phenomenon Flooding state No flooding
(10) Finalizing the design process Tray diameter 6.087 ft
Active area of tray 26.09ft2
Turn down ratio 1.484
Minimum gas velocity 23.29ft/s
in hole for weeping

Figure 8 Some of the user-friendly and highlighted features of the developed educational software. [Color figure can be
viewed in the online issue, which is available at wileyonlinelibrary.com.]
 DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE 9

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BIOGRAPHIES

Zoheir Dabaghian earned his Bachelor Degree Maedeh Mohammadi is an assistant professor
in Chemical Engineering in the field of Design- in faculty of Chemical Engineering at Babol
ing Process of Oil Industries (2012), and Master University of Technology. She is currently
Degree in the field of Separation Process (2015) co-leader in the biotechnology and bioenergy
from Babol University of Technology. His main research lab of BUT, focusing on several
research interest is Membrane Technology for research projects in this area. She received her
Water and Wastewater Treatment. His master BSc degree from Isfahan University of Technol-
thesis was focused on fabrication of novel ogy in 2004, MSc and PhD degrees (with
Forward Osmosis Membrane for Water Desali- hons.) from University of Mazandaran in
nation, and he made calculation software for his 2007 and 2012, all in Chemical Engineering.
project. He enjoys programming and looks at the Designing Software as a Dr. Mohammadi’s research interests include bioenergy and biofuel
hobby. He has also created a number of software applications in which he production, renewable energy, carbon dioxide conversion and utilization,
tried to make a link between Chemical Engineering and Computer and modeling of chemical and biochemical reactions.
Programming.

Kamyar Movagharnejad is currently an asso-

ciate professor in Babol University of Technol-
ogy, Babol, Iran. He has a PhD in Chemical
Engineering from AmirKabir University of
Technology, Tehran, Iran (1999). His main
research interests are modeling, simulation,
applied thermodynamics, drying, and CO2
capture and storage.

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