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The effect of valve design on the pressure losses in a high-pressure homogenizer : An improved pressure drop correlation for estimating gap height

Håkansson, Andreas LU (2024) In Chemical Engineering Research and Design 201. p.341-352
Abstract

Understanding how the design of high-pressure homogenizer valves influence pressure losses in the device is of general interest for performance optimizing, and of special importance for developing correlations for predicting gap heights and gap velocities. The traditionally used correlation is from 1975 and based on a limited experimental dataset on gaps that are longer and often of lower capacity than contemporary ones. This study uses well-validated best-practice CFD to develop an improved correlation for how homogenizing pressure depends on valve designs, extending previous investigations to also include the effect of seat and forcer incline angles. The suggested correlation differs substantially from the traditional ones, shows a... (More)

Understanding how the design of high-pressure homogenizer valves influence pressure losses in the device is of general interest for performance optimizing, and of special importance for developing correlations for predicting gap heights and gap velocities. The traditionally used correlation is from 1975 and based on a limited experimental dataset on gaps that are longer and often of lower capacity than contemporary ones. This study uses well-validated best-practice CFD to develop an improved correlation for how homogenizing pressure depends on valve designs, extending previous investigations to also include the effect of seat and forcer incline angles. The suggested correlation differs substantially from the traditional ones, shows a marked effect on inlet and exit loss coefficients of Reynolds number and of inlet seat incline angle. For cases with Reynolds number comparable to pilot- and production-scale homogenizers, the gap height can be predicted to within 10% of the set value, using the suggested correlation.

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Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Device design, Emulsification, High-pressure homogenizer, Pressure losses
in
Chemical Engineering Research and Design
volume
201
pages
12 pages
publisher
Institution of Chemical Engineers
external identifiers
  • scopus:85179480894
ISSN
0263-8762
DOI
10.1016/j.cherd.2023.11.066
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
f7db07b1-c40a-40f7-ac23-54b3715f8387
date added to LUP
2023-12-19 06:46:18
date last changed
2023-12-19 12:56:37
@article{f7db07b1-c40a-40f7-ac23-54b3715f8387,
  abstract     = {{<p>Understanding how the design of high-pressure homogenizer valves influence pressure losses in the device is of general interest for performance optimizing, and of special importance for developing correlations for predicting gap heights and gap velocities. The traditionally used correlation is from 1975 and based on a limited experimental dataset on gaps that are longer and often of lower capacity than contemporary ones. This study uses well-validated best-practice CFD to develop an improved correlation for how homogenizing pressure depends on valve designs, extending previous investigations to also include the effect of seat and forcer incline angles. The suggested correlation differs substantially from the traditional ones, shows a marked effect on inlet and exit loss coefficients of Reynolds number and of inlet seat incline angle. For cases with Reynolds number comparable to pilot- and production-scale homogenizers, the gap height can be predicted to within 10% of the set value, using the suggested correlation.</p>}},
  author       = {{Håkansson, Andreas}},
  issn         = {{0263-8762}},
  keywords     = {{Device design; Emulsification; High-pressure homogenizer; Pressure losses}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{341--352}},
  publisher    = {{Institution of Chemical Engineers}},
  series       = {{Chemical Engineering Research and Design}},
  title        = {{The effect of valve design on the pressure losses in a high-pressure homogenizer : An improved pressure drop correlation for estimating gap height}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cherd.2023.11.066}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.cherd.2023.11.066}},
  volume       = {{201}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}