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Flow uniformity data on 3D printed flow distributors
Mariana Garcia Mendonça Lopes1, Harrson Silva Santana1, Vinícius Felix Andolphato1
1University of Campinas, School of Chemical Engineering, 13083-852 Campinas, SP, Brazil.
Data in Brief
|August 3, 2019
Summary
3D printing enables rapid development of flow distributors for micro-chemical plants. Tested distributors showed improved flow uniformity at higher flow rates, validating designs for microfluidic applications like biodiesel synthesis.
Area of Science:
- Chemical Engineering
- Microfluidics
- Process Intensification
Background:
- Micro-chemical plants utilize microdevices for enhanced chemical processes.
- Effective flow distribution is critical for micro-chemical plant performance.
- Traditional flow distributor design is time-consuming and costly.
Purpose of the Study:
- To apply 3D printing for rapid prototyping of flow distributors.
- To experimentally evaluate the flow uniformity of different 3D-printed distributor designs.
- To provide data for validating computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations.
Main Methods:
- 3D printing of rectangular (RD) and conical (CDO, CD) flow distributors.
- Experimental testing of flow distributors using water at varying flow rates.
- Measurement of flow non-uniformity using the non-uniformity flow coefficient (Ф).
Main Results:
- Flow maldistribution was observed at low flow rates, attributed to air bubbles.
- The non-uniformity flow coefficient (Ф) decreased significantly at higher flow rates.
- Ф values reduced to below 1% for high flow rates, indicating improved uniformity.
Conclusions:
- 3D printing is a viable method for developing and testing flow distributors.
- Conical distributors with obstacles (CDO) and without obstacles (CD) show promise for uniform flow distribution.
- The experimental data supports the use of CFD for optimizing flow distributors in microfluidic systems.
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