END OF SEMESTER EXAMINATION

Faculty of Engineering

COURSE CODE : CHEM 3010

LEVEL / SEMESTER : 3/2
COURSE TITLE : Process Modelling and Dynamics
ACADEMIC YEAR : 2010-2011
DATE : Thursday, 16 June 2011
TIME : 9:00 am
DURATION : 3 Hours
MAXIMUM MARK : 100
COURSE COORDINATOR : Abdelbaki Benamor

STUDENT NAME
GROUP NO
STUDENT ID

INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES

 This question paper consists of 4 pages.

 Answer ALL questions as required.
 Write your ID, NAME and GROUP NUMBER clearly on all
of your answer books.
 Follow all examination rules.
 Do not bring books or other related materials into the
examination room.
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Question 1: [15 marks]

a) What are the principal classes of constitutive equations in the mathematical modelling of process
systems?
[3 Marks]

b) What is the difference between white, black- and grey-box models?

[3 Marks]

c) Outline the systematic approach to model building. What are the key steps and their
characteristics?
[3 Marks]

d) Discuss some general approaches to model validation.

[2 Marks]

e) Describe the difference between open, closed and isolated systems. What are process engineering
examples of these systems?
[2 Marks]

f) What are the principal geometries used in the development of distributed parameter models?
Give a process engineering example of each approach describing how it arises
[2 Marks]

Question 2: [15 marks]

Surge drums are often used as intermediate storage capacity for gas streams that are transferred between
chemical process units. Consider a drum depicted in Figure Q2, where qi is the inlet molar flow rate and
q is the outlet molar flow rate. Develop a mathematical model that describes how the pressure in the
tank varies with time.
[15 Marks]

Figure Q2: Gas surge drum

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Question 3: [25 marks]

Consider a simple double-pipe heat exchanger where a liquid stream is being heated by condensing
saturated steam at a temperature, Ts, as shown in Figure Q3. Fluid enters at temperature TL(0, t) and
leaves (z = L) at TL(L, t). Heat transfer takes place between the steam (Ts) and the wall (Tw) and then to
the fluid (TL(z, 0)). The spatial variation is related to the fluid temperature whilst the steam temperature
is a "lumped" variable, Ts.

a) Develop a mathematical model to determine the dynamics of wall temperature T w as function of

time. [12.5 Marks]

b) Develop a mathematical model to determine the dynamics of Liquid temperature TL

[12.5 Marks]

Figure Q3: Double-pipe heat exchanger.

Question 4: [20 marks]

Consider the process of blending two streams of liquid in a tank where all streams can vary in flow rate
as shown in Figure Q4. The main stream (1) contains two components (A and B) whilst the second
stream (2) contains only component B. Both streams are at different temperatures. The goal is to add
stream 2 in order to maintain a fixed concentration of B in the outlet from the blending tank. The outlet
from the tank is pumped under level control.
a) Define the problem. [5 Marks]
b) State all yo
c)
d) ur modeling assumptions and justify them. [5 Marks]
e) Clearly indicate your balance boundaries. [5 Marks]
f) Develop a mathematical model that describes the concentration(s) at the exit of the reactor.
Clearly state the development steps. [5 Marks]

Figure Q4: Liquid blending system

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Question 5: [25 marks]

A closed stirred tank reactor with two compartments is shown in Figure Q5. The basic idea is to feed the
reactants continuously into the first compartment where they will be preheated by energy liberated in the
exhotermic rection, which is anticipated to occur primarily in the second compartemnt. The wall
separating the two compartemnts is quite thin, thus allowing heat transfer; the outside of the reactor is
well insulated; and a cooling coil is built into the second compartemnt to remove excess energy liberated
in the reaction.
Tests are to be conducted initially with a single component feed (i.e. no reaction) to evaluate the
reactor’s thermal characteristics.
(i). Develop a dynamic model for this process under the conditions of no reaction.
[12.5 Marks]
(ii). Make a degree of freedom analysis for your model, identiffying all parameters, outputs and
inputs that must be known fuctions of time in order to obtain a solution.
[12.5 Marks]
Notes:
Ut, At: overall heat transfer andsurface area between compartments.
Uc, Ac: overall heat transfer coefficient and surface area of cooling tube.

Figure Q5: Process schematic diagram