Fundamentals of Particle and Fluid Solid Processing

The objective of this course is to familiarize students with various industrial operations involving particulate solids and its handling in various unit operations, where fluid-particle interactions are of paramount importance.This course will describe and explain the fundamentals of fluid-particle mechanics, which are essential for the understandings of numerous industrial fluid-solid processes like packed bed operation, fluidization, sedimentation, filtration, separation of solids from fluids,etc.Along with the fundamentals, industrial applications will also be discussed. Even though this course is primarily intended for the UG students of chemical engineering, the course content can certainly form the foundation of courses related to particle technology for UG students of other disciplines including mechanical, civil, pharmaceutical, metallurgy and minerals engineering.
INTENDED AUDIENCE: Engineering Students/FacultyPREREQUISITES: Fluid MechanicsINDUSTRY SUPPORT: Process industries, e.g., IOCL, HPCL, BPCL, GAIL, ONGC, etc

COURSE LAYOUT

Week 1: Introduction to relevance of fluid-particle mechanics and processing operations in chemical engineering. Solid particle characterization - Size
distribution, determinations of mean particle size, methods of particle size measurementWeek 2: Fluid-particle mechanics: Flow around immersed bodies, concept of drag, boundary layer separationWeek 3: Fluid-particle mechanics: Motion of particles in a fluid, effect of particle shape, influence of boundaries on terminal velocityWeek 4: Fluid flow through granular and packed beds of particles: Ergun equation, Kozeny-Carman equation, Darcy’s law, permeabilityWeek 5: Fluidization: Minimum fluidization velocity, relevant particle properties, types of fluidization, liquid-solid and gas-solid systemsWeek 6: Introduction to separation of solids from fluids. Sedimentation - Free and hindered settling, fine and coarse particles, Richardson-Zaki equationWeek 7: Filtration: Principles of flow through filter cakes and medium, filtration practice, selection of filtration equipmentWeek 8: Centrifugal separations: Gas cyclone and hydrocyclone, efficiency of separation, sedimentation in a centrifugal fieldWeek 9: Particle size reduction: Particle fracture mechanisms, energy requirement for size reduction, types and characteristics of comminution equipment,
selection of appropriate machineWeek 10: Particle size enlargement: Interparticle forces, comparison and interaction between forces, nucleation and growth of particles, granulation
equipmentWeek 11: Transport of fluid-solid systems: Hydraulic and pneumatic transport, flow regimes, rheological models, dilute and dense phaseWeek 12: Colloids and nanoparticles: Introduction, surface forces, suspension rheology, and application.