C. Yuan’s research while affiliated with Iowa State University and other places

Population balance equations (PBE) for a number density function (NDF) arise in many applications of aerosol technology. Thus, there has been considerable interest in the development of numerical methods to find solutions to PBE, especially in the context of spatially inhomogeneous systems where moment realizability becomes a significant issue. Quadrature-based moment methods (QBMM) are an important class of methods for which the accuracy of the solution can be improved in a controlled manner by increasing the number of quadrature nodes. However, when a large number of nodes is required to achieve the desired accuracy, the moment-inversion problem can become ill-conditioned. Moreover, oftentimes pointwise values of the NDF are required, but are unavailable with existing QBMM. In this work, a new generation of QBMM is introduced that provides an explicit form for the NDF. This extended quadrature method of moments (EQMOM) approximates the NDF by a sum of non-negative weight functions, which allows unclosed source terms to be computed with great accuracy by increasing the number of quadrature nodes independent of the number of transported moments. Here, we use EQMOM to solve a spatially homogeneous PBE with aggregation, breakage, condensation, and evaporation terms, and compare the results with analytical solutions whenever possible. However, by employing realizable finite-volume methods, the extension of EQMOM to spatially inhomogeneous systems is straightforward.

Kinetic equations arise in a wide variety of physical systems and efficient numerical methods are needed for their solution. Moment methods are an important class of approximate models derived from kinetic equations, but require closure to truncate the moment set. In quadrature-based moment methods (QBMM), closure is achieved by inverting a finite set of moments to reconstruct a point distribution from which all unclosed moments (e.g. spatial fluxes) can be related to the finite moment set. In this work, a novel moment-inversion algorithm, based on 1-D adaptive quadrature of conditional velocity moments, is introduced and shown to always yield realizable distribution functions (i.e. non-negative quadrature weights). This conditional quadrature method of moments (CQMOM) can be used to compute exact N-point quadratures for multi-valued solutions (also known as the multi-variate truncated moment problem), and provides optimal approximations of continuous distributions. In order to control numerical errors arising in volume averaging and spatial transport, an adaptive 1-D quadrature algorithm is formulated for use with CQMOM. The use of adaptive CQMOM in the context of QBMM for the solution of kinetic equations is illustrated by applying it to problems involving particle trajectory crossing (i.e. collision-less systems), elastic and inelastic particle–particle collisions, and external forces (i.e. fluid drag).

Bubble-column reactors are frequently employed in the biological, chemical and petrochemical industries. This paper presents a novel approach to model bubble-column flows using quadrature-based moment methods (QBMM). A fully two-way coupled flow solver is developed that solves the incompressible Navier-Stokes equation for the liquid phase and moment transport equations for the dispersed bubble phase. The moment transport equations for the dispersed bubble phase are solved using a kinetic theory approach. Contributions from the liquid-phase pressure gradient, vorticity, drag, virtual mass and gravity are accounted for in the bubble-phase force balance. The solution algorithm and coupling procedure are described in detail, and results are presented for a 2-D bubble column with two different gas flow rates (1.6 and 8.0l/min).