The performance of continuous flow contact units relies, among other factors, on the flow pattern inside them, and that the measurement of flow patterns in this type of unit is not an easy task. For this reason, the use of numerical models to obtain flow patterns in contact units has become a good alternative. However, the lack of hydrodynamic data to calibrate the models has been one of the main factors limiting a more extensive use of numerical models for this purpose. This work proposes a new calibration technique for numerical models which is based on the best fitting of measured and simulated flow through curves throughout the unit. The proposed methodology is partially evaluated and the results indicate it to be very promising.
Contact units; numerical modeling; hydrodynamics; model calibration; tracers