Pressure drop, liquid holdup, and flow regime transition in trickle flow

A phenomenological, pore-scale, hydrodynamic model is developed for representation of the uniform, cocurrent, two-phase flow in the low interaction regime in trickle bed reactors. Comparison of model predictions with numerous pressure drop and liquid holdup data reveals that phase interaction terms are negligible which results in a simplified model with no adjustable parameters. This model yields improved pressure drop and liquid holdup estimates for the low interaction regime. In addition, a criterion for the prediction of the trickle to pulsing flow regime transition is developed based on Kapitza's (1945) work on laminar film stability. This criterion compares favorably to data and to some other existing models for prediction of the trickle to pulsing flow regime transition.