(692d) Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) As a Full-Field Validation Technique for Reactive CFD Simulations

Multiscale modeling attracted considerable research interest in reaction engineering within the last years due to its outstanding abilities in analyzing reactor systems. The combination of chemical reactions with high-resolution Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) can give detailed insights into phenomena within catalytic reactors, essential for the optimization of catalytic processes.

Such multiscale simulations, however, are very complex. The employed models and reaction kinetics make proper validation all the more indispensable. So how do we achieve an appropriate validation? By now, integral as well as local methods are state-of-the-art. This includes measurements of gas compositions downstream of the reactor, through a capillary in the catalytic bed or temperature measurements using thermocouples. Apart from being invasive, these methods also do not represent the three-dimensional nature of CFD.

To fill this gap, the usage of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is a promising approach. It gives scientist the possibility to measure 3D fields of velocity, temperature or species concentration within a non-transparent geometry. We already showed the feasibility of cross-validation between three-dimensional, gas-phase Magnetic Resonance Velocimetry (MRV) measurements and CFD simulations in an Open Cell Foam reactor. As a next step, the cross-validation of a reactive setup is aimed. In last years AIChE Annual Meeting, we proposed a new, additively manufactured reactor design to measure both temperature and species concentration in the heterogeneously catalyzed ethylene hydrogenation reaction.

Here, we show first results of the cross-validation of reactive CFD and MRI measurements. To show the general applicability, a simple plate geometry coated with a Pt/Al₂O₃slurry is both measured using MRI as well as simulated using the OpenFOAM add-on DUO. These results shall be used to assess the opportunities of the combination of CFD and MRI to gain deeper insights into processes within catalytic reactors, the basis for further optimizations of reactor setups.