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Germany has some of the biggest chemical and materials processing companies in the world. Some of the most complicated processing operations known to engineers, involving mixing, polymers with complex rheology, multiphase mixtures of liquids, solids, and gases, and chemically reacting flow are commonly found in these two sectors of German industry. Difficult chemical process operations such as these constitute some of the most challenging applications that CFD can solve. To meet the vast needs of these applications, many companies make use of more than one CFD product from Fluent Deutschland.

For the chemical processing industry, CFD has yielded detailed information about unit operations previously considered to be "black boxes." Time and again, it has helped improve process efficiencies, saving large sums in operating costs. Mixing simulations, for example, can be used to optimize impeller locations and shaft speed so that existing equipment can be used for new processes. CFD is unarguably recognized as the most reliable way to reduce scaleup risks and troubleshoot equipment problems at minimal cost. In addition, it is increasingly being coupled with 1D process simulation packages, such as flow sheet software, to better analyze chemical process plants and equipment.

Temperature contours on the mid-plane of a steam reformer
Courtesy of HuR ChemPharm

Cooling air flow during glass pressing process of a cathode ray tube (CRT)
Courtesy of Schott Glas

In the materials processing sectors of plastics, glass, food, metals, textiles, and consumer products, CFD has become an enabling technology. It has been used to evaluate innovative new ideas, leading to shorter product development times. For example, measurements are difficult or impossible to make in processes involving molten glass, polymers, or metal, and CFD predictions provide the best way for plant engineers and managers to visualize the fluid behavior and how it will change as modifications to the equipment are considered.

Dr. rer. nat. Jochen Schütze of the Darmstadt office is the Product Manager for MixSim, Fluent's design tool for mixing applications. MixSim 2, due for release this year, combines an easy-to-use interface with the GAMBIT preprocessor and the FLUENT 6 solver. Any shape of impeller can be created automatically in a fully unstructured meshing environment. This flexibility allows for multiple impellers and shafts and a variety of other tank internals, such as baffles, heat exchangers, and dip tubes. Dr. Schütze joined Fluent Deutschland in 1999 after completing a PhD in Biotechnology, simulating multiphase flows with mass transfer using CFD. He brings to his role a wealth of user-defined functions (UDF) programming skills and mass transfer related technical experience.

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