Structure of packed bed probed by Micro-Computed tomography, and
Collision Guided Packing
Abstract
The internal structure of packed beds formed by different arrangements
of packings has been a subject of study for the past several decades. In
this study, we have attempted to investigate the structure formed in
laboratory-scale packed beds through experimentation and modeling,
employing different ways of packing the bed. The structure has been
measured using Micro-Computed Tomography (Micro-CT) and characterized
through appropriate metrics. The “filling of the bed” has been modeled
using a technique called Collision Guided Packing (CGP). Thus, this
contribution combines both high resolution measurements as well as
detailed particle-based models, bringing out a head-to-head comparison
of the bed filling process and also how the final bed is configured (its
structure). The work stands as an independent piece, but also provides
the basis for a rigorous understanding of the impact of bed filling on
deep hydroprocessing, wherein the bed structure is known to have a
dramatic effect.