Multilevel modelling of dispersed multiphase flows

Dispersed multiphase flows are frequently encountered in a variety of industrially important processes in the petroleum, chemical, metallurgical and energy industries. Scale-up of equipment involving dispersed multiphase flows is quite difficult which is mainly due to the inherent complexity of the prevailing flow phenomena (formation of bubbles and clusters in gas-particle flows). Especially during the last decade significant research efforts have been made in both academic and industrial research laboratories to study dispersed multiphase flows using detailed microbalance models (1 to 3). Despite current limitations it has become clear that this approach offers a powerful complementary strategy parallel to careful experimentation and it is therefore anticipated that the role of modelling based on detailed microbalance models for design and operation of multiphase chemical reactors will significantly expand in the near future. In this paper the concept of multilevel modelling will be highlighted with which