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Prof B V Babu

 

Research

 











































Research Interests
List of Publications
Consultancy Work
Working Computer Knowledge

Software Packages Developed
Project Titles

PhD Abstract

 

 


Research Interests

 

1.  Evolutionary Computation

2. Biomass Gasification

3. Environmental Engineering

4. Biofiltration

5. Modeling Simulation and Optimization

6. Process Intensification

7. Artificial Neural Networks

8. Computational Fluid Dynamics

9. Multiphase Reactors

10. Energy Integration Analysis

11. Fuel Cells

12. Nano Technology

 

Consultancy Work

1. For discussions on a consultancy project on feasibility study of Jalal Group at Bahrain (Middle East), visited Bahrain during February 11-14, 2005.

2. Consultant for Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC), Mumbai and offering Advisory Services in the ‘Study relating to Bagasse Based Co-generation’, 2001-2003.

3. Consultant as Panel Expert, www.chemicalhouse.com, leading portals on chemical trade.  It is the most vibrant and active site for the Chemical Industry on the net which specializes in exchange of Information in a structured way among the chemical world in more than a Hundred Countries and a Million core chemical manufacturers, traders, scientists, etc, May 2004 onwards.

4. Undertaken and completed the Process and Mechanical Design of Alcohol & Water Towers for the separation of Ethanol-Water mixture by Azeotropic Distillation using Benzene as an entrainer for Krishna Engineering Works, Nadiad, 1994-95.

5. Technical Consultant for P.S.Traders, Ahmedabad, for the production of Sweetened Condensed Milk (SCM) under a marketing tie-up with Cadburys India Ltd., Bombay, and processing tie-up with Lactose India Ltd., Baroda, 1993-96.

6. Technical Consultant for P.S.Milk Processors, Ahmedabad, for the Plant Design for the Production of various Milk products, 1993-96.

 

Working Computer Knowledge

1. Languages: FORTRAN, BASIC, PASCAL, C & C++, Visual Studio

2. Word Processing Packages: LaTeX, MS-Word

3. Professional Packages: HYSYS, ASPEN+, FLUENT, MATLAB, IMSL Sub-routines, MS-Office, ORIGIN, NAG Routines

4. Operating Systems: MS-DOS, UNIX, NOS-VE, MS-Windows

5. Main Frame Computer: CDC-CYBER 180/840

6. Super Computer: PARAM-10000

 

Software Packages Developed

1. Menu-driven Software Package for the Design of Piping Systems with huge database for roughness parameters and frictional losses for various fittings, joints, and valves.

2. User-friendly Software Package for the Design of Packed and Tray Absorption Columns with huge database for physical properties and packing factors.

3. Software Package for Heat Exchanger Network Synthesis.

4. Design of Azeotropic Distillation Column incorporating UNIFAC & UNIQUAC Models for estimating VLE data.

5. DataBase for Chemical Engineering Systems.

6. Design of Single- and Multiple-effect Evaporators.

7. Software Package for the Design and Simulation of Agitators.

8. Computer Aided Design of Flares.

9. Expert Systems for Fault Diagnosis.

10. Software Package for Plate-and-Frame Heat Exchangers.

11. Artificial Neural Networks for temperature control in Plate-and-Frame Heat Exchanger.

12. Computer-Aided Energy Integration Analysis.

13. Evolutionary Computation Algorithms (Simulated Annealing, Genetic Algorithms, and Differential Evolution) for optimization of various non-linear chemical processes.

14. Software Package for the Design of Shell-and-Tube Heat Exchangers.

15. Specific Purpose Simulation Package for Adsorption for wastewater treatment.

16. Dynamic Simulation Package for Biomass Gasification.  

17. Software Packages for Tearing Algorithms in Decomposition of Networks.

18. Specific Purpose Simulation Package for Ammonia Synthesis Reactor.

19. Computer Codes in C, C++, and MATLAB for Multi-objective optimization of various engineering problems & test problems using MODE (multi-objective differential evolution).

 

Project Titles

PhD Thesis: Hydrodynamics and Heat Transfer in Single-phase Liquid and Two-phase Gas-Liquid Co-current Downflow through Packed Bed Columns (1989-93).

PhD Seminar: Single- and Two-phase flow Heat Transfer in Packed Beds (1989-90).

MTech Dissertation: Studies on Reduction and Acetylation of p-Nitro and p-Nitroso phenols (1983-85).

BTech Project: Report on the Production of Cobalt Sulfate (1982-83).

 

PhD Abstract (Abstract of the Doctoral Work carried out at IIT, Bombay, India) (1989-93)

The gas-liquid co-current downflow packed bed reactors, often referred to as trickle bed reactors (TBRs), are widely used in petroleum and petro-chemical industries.  Various flow regimes such as trickle, pulse, spray, and dispersed bubble flow are encountered in a TBR depending upon the flow rates and physical properties of the fluids and the packing geometry.  Heat transfer phenomena in TBR is not well understood. The heat transfer parameters (ker, the effective bed thermal conductivity, and hw, the wall-to-bed heat transfer co-efficient) depend upon the hydrodynamic properties such as liquid holdup in all the flow regimes and pulse properties (viz., pulse frequency, pulse holdup, and base holdup) in pulse flow regime.

An experimental set-up is designed and fabricated for studying the total liquid holdup, pulse properties, and heat transfer characteristics in single-phase liquid and two-phase gas-liquid co-current downflow through packed bed columns.  Radial temperature profile is measured for estimating the heat transfer parameters from pseudo-homogeneous two-parameter model.  Total liquid holdup is obtained from the RTD measurements using 3% NaCl solution as tracer. Pulse properties are measured by means of electrical conductivity technique. A PC-based (AT-286) data acquisition system is used for acquiring the data on RTD and pulse properties.   Air-water for two-phase flow, and water for single-phase liquid flow are the systems studied in a 50 mm I.D. column using ceramic spheres (2.59 mm), glass spheres (4.05 and 6.75 mm), and ceramic raschig rings (4 and 6.75 mm) as packing materials.  The experiments are carried out over a wide range of flow rates of water (3.16-71.13 kg/m2s) and air (0.01-0.898 kg/m2s) covering trickle, pulse, and dispersed bubble flow regimes.  Heat transfer studies are also carried out with air under wet-bed conditions.

The importance of total liquid holdup is brought out, and the drawbacks of estimating this parameter from static liquid holdup (measured at no flow conditions) and dynamic liquid holdup are highlighted.  The present experimental data on liquid holdup is compared with the literature correlations to check their validity.

The results of various pulse properties are analyzed and compared with the available correlations.  New correlations are proposed for pulse frequency, pulse holdup, base holdup, and pulse velocity based on the experimental data of present study along with the data reported in literature.

The reported work on heat transfer characteristics in single-phase and two-phase downflow through packed beds is reviewed. The dependency of heat transfer parameters on total liquid holdup and some of the pulse properties in pulse flow regime is explained, and the results on heat transfer parameters are compared with the literature correlations.  Based on the different trends observed in each of the flow regimes with gas rate, separate correlations are proposed for different flow regimes for both the parameters.  The stagnant bed effective conductivity and the stagnant wall-to-bed heat transfer co-efficient are modeled starting from the basic heat transfer mechanisms, and found to have a good agreement with the experimental values.

Based on the thermal resistance networks, predictive formulas for the heat transfer parameters in two-phase co-current downflow through packed beds are derived.  The individual liquid phase heat transfer parameters are estimated from the present results of heat transfer measurements in single-phase liquid flow, and correlations are proposed for individual liquid-phase heat transfer parameters.  Using individual single-phase heat transfer parameters of solid, gas, and liquid, the heat transfer parameters of two-phase flow are calculated from the Thermal Resistance Model and compared with the experimental data of present study as well as that reported in literature on heat transfer parameters and are found to be in good agreement. 

 

 

 

 


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