Application of the QMOM in Research on the Behavior of Solid-liquid Suspensions

M. Lemanowicz, M. H. Al-Rashed, A. T. Gierczycki and J. Kocurek

Abstract
The population balance equation (PBE) is a continuity statement written in terms of the number density function. It describes, among others, the aggregation-breakage, nucleation and particle growth phenomena in solid-liquid suspensions. Fast and computationally inexpensive methods for solving the PBE are very much in demand today for computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations, industrial plants designs or scientific research. The Class Method (CM), Monte Carlo method (MC), method of moments (MOM) and its derivatives are the most popular solutions. In this work application of the Mathcad software for the quadrature method of moments (QMOM) is shown. The Mathcad allows one to create a simple and clear algorithm which can be easily changed according to the user needs, e.g. in modification of an aggregation kernel mathematical formula. The program written can be readily run on a standard PC computer. To verify a correctness of calculations the appropriate measurements were made and an efficiency of the program created was compared with another one written in the Turbo Pascal language.

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Keywords
Aggregation, breakage, population balance equation (PBE), particle size distribution (PSD), quadrature method of moments (QMOM), Mathcad