Knowledge of bubble size distribution (BSD) is critical for controlling mass transfer and reaction in bubble column reactors. Installation of internals further complicates this issue. The effects of internals on BSD were systematically investigated through experiments and computational fluid dynamics-population balance model simulations. The experiments show a bimodal distribution of the volume-based BSD except at low superficial gas velocity of 0.01 m/s. Addition of 20% internals increases the small-bubbles fraction, making the first BSD peak more evident. Correspondingly, the simulation reveals a prominent decrease of turbulent dissipation rate and turbulent kinetic energy. Moreover, while the unresolved turbulent kinetic energy dominates in the empty columns, the resolved portion becomes the major component in the presence of internals. This suggests that internals may redistribute turbulent kinetic energy in each scale, which provides more insights into the complex flow characteristics in the presence of internals and process intensification.

中文翻译：

---

具有垂直管内件的气泡柱中的气泡尺寸分布：实验和 CFD-PBM 模拟

气泡尺寸分布 (BSD) 的知识对于控制气泡塔反应器中的传质和反应至关重要。内部构件的安装使这个问题进一步复杂化。通过实验和计算流体动力学-种群平衡模型模拟系统地研究了内部构件对 BSD 的影响。实验显示了基于体积的 BSD 的双峰分布，除了在 0.01 m/s 的低表观气体速度下。添加 20% 的内部物质会增加小气泡分数，使第一个 BSD 峰更加明显。相应地，模拟显示湍流耗散率和湍流动能显着降低。此外，虽然未解析的湍流动能在空柱中占主导地位，但已解析的部分成为内部构件存在的主要成分。