Modeling cavitation in a high intensity agitation cell

• Author / Creator

  Jose, July

• The presence of hydrodynamically generated air bubbles has been observed to enhance fine particle flotation in a high intensity agitation (HIA) flotation cell. In this study, the cavitation in an HIA cell, used in our laboratory, is studied by hydrodynamic computational fluid dynamics. Different types of impellers are studied to obtain flow characteristics such as velocity and pressure distributions and turbulent dissipation rate in a two-baffled HIA cell. A cavitation model in conjunction with a multiphase mixture model is used to predict the vapor generation in the HIA cell. Cavitating flow is simulated as a function of revolution speed (RPM) and dissolved gas concentration to understand the dependency of hydrodynamic cavitation on these operating parameters. For comparison, cavitation in a pressure driven flow through a constriction is also modeled. A population balance model is used to obtain bubble size distributions of the generated cavities in a flow through constriction.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Flotation
  • Population balance
  • Hydrodynamic cavitation
  • Turbulence dissipation
  • Computational fluid dynamics
  • High intensity agitation

• Graduation date

  Spring 2011

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Science

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3Z66W

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.