Simulation of mass transfer
Processes related to mass transfer and mass exchange are diffusion and convection, adsorption and separation and mass transition and mass transfer (for example through porous media).
The huge number of possible combinations of these processes gives an idea of the variety of applications.
Applications of CFD-simulations of ASD which include mass transfer are for example:
| processes of washing out substances in systems or devices with flow through it (recovery tests in clean rooms, smoke spreading or smoke removal in buildings) |
| mass transfer in multiphase systems including chemical/biological reactions (in a fermenter) |
| mass transfer in coated walls and packed beds (in an adsorber) |
| selection and filtration of substances (in a dust filter, gas separator) |
| mass exchange through selective membranes (in a dialyser and oxygenator) |
| separation due to rotation (in a blood cell separator) |
| medium supply in cell culturing systems (in a bioreactor) |
The combined analysis of the flow and the mass transfer system by numerical simulations allows to recognize correlations in detail, to differentiate and analyse the influence parameters and to visualise the processes impressively.
Especially, in biomedicine and in medical technology there are various processes of transport and transfer of different agents and substances. This is true in natural organs or organ systems and as well in devices which replace the organ function like a dialyser for example. In theses systems it is usually difficult to visualise the internal, three dimensional distribution of the interesting substances or the related processes. Virtual methods, like computational fluid dynamics, offer the only possibility for understanding the internal processes and correlations. Because of this they are the ideal starting point for an effective optimisation of for example artificial organs.
