APPROXIMATIONS USED IN MODELLING OF UNSTEADY-STATE PROCESSES

Pseudo-Steady-State Approximation
The general inventory rate equation can be expressed in the form

The molecular and convective fluxes constitute the input and output terms. Among the
terms appearing on the left side of eq. (above), molecular transport is the slowest
process. Therefore, in a given unsteady-state process, the term on the right side of Eq.
may be considered negligible if,

In engineering analysis, the neglect of the unsteady-state term is often referred to as

the pseudo-steady-state (or, quasi-steady-state) approximation. However, it
should be noted that the pseudo-steady-state approximation is only valid if the
constraint given by Eq. (above, right side) is satisfied.
We are testing a 2 cm thick insulating material. The density, thermal conductivity, and
heat capacity of the insulating material are 255 kg/m3, 0.07 W/m. K, and 1300 J/kg. K,
respectively. If our experiments take 10 min, is it possible to assume pseudo-steady-
state behavior?
No Variation of Dependent Variable Within the Phase of Interest:

In engineering analysis it is customary to neglect spatial variations in either temperature

or concentration within the solid. Although this approximation simplifies the
mathematical problem, it is only possible under certain circumstances as will be shown
in the following development. Let us consider the transport of a quantity from the
solid phase to the fluid phase through a solid-fluid interface. Under steady conditions
without generation, the inventory rate equation, Eq. for the interface takes the form
in which Bi designates Biot number
defined by,

Therefore, the Biot numbers for heat

and mass transfer are defined as

It is important to distinguish the difference between the Biot and the Nusselt (or, the
Sherwood) numbers. The transport properties in the Biot numbers, Eqs. (above) are
referred to the solid, whereas the transport properties in the Nusselt and the Sherwood
numbers are referred to the fluid. When the Biot number is small, one can conclude
from eq. (3rd last) that

Therefore, dependent variables may be considered uniform within the solid phase only if
Bi << 1.
CONSERVATION OF CHEMICAL SPECIES

The conservation statement for the mass of the ith chemical species is given by

For a system with a single inlet and a single outlet stream as shown in Figure (below),
Eq. (above) can be expressed as

The interphase mass transfer rate, (i)int,

considered positive when mass is added to
the system and is expressed by
CONSERVATION OF TOTAL MASS
Note that the term is zero since
mass is conserved. On the other hand,
summation of Eq. (in the middle above) over
all species gives the total mole balance as

The generation term in eq. is not zero because moles are not conserved. This term
vanishes only when j= 0 for all values of j .
A sphere of naphthalene, 2cm in diameter, is suspended in air at 90C.
Estimate the time required for the diameter of the sphere to be reduced to
one-half its initial value if the air is stagnant.
CONSERVATION OF MOMENTUM

According to Newtons second law of motion, the conservation statement for linear
momentum is expressed as

We already considered the balance of forces acting on a single spherical particle of

diameter Dp, falling in a stagnant fluid with a constant terminal velocity vt. In the case
of an accelerating sphere an additional force, called fluid inertia force, acts besides the
gravitational, the buoyancy, and the drag forces. This force arises from the fact that the
fluid around the sphere is also accelerated from the rest, resulting in a change in the
momentum of the fluid. The rate of change of fluid momentum shows up as an
additional force acting on the sphere, pointing in the direction opposite to the motion of
the sphere. This additional force has a magnitude equal to one-half the rate of change
of momentum of a sphere of liquid moving at the same velocity as the solid sphere.
Therefore, Eq. (above) is written in the form,
where p and Dp represent the density and diameter of the solid sphere, respectively,
and is the fluid density. Simplification of Eq. (previous page) gives

where Ar is the Archimedes number. Note that when the particle reaches its terminal
velocity, i.e., dRep/dt = 0, Eq. (above) reduces to Eq. (A). Integration of &. (above)
gives
---A

A friction factor - Reynolds number relationship is required to carry out the integration.
Substitution of the Turton-Levenspiel correlation, Eq. (B), into

---B
CONSERVATION OF ENERGY

The conservation statement for total energy under unsteady-state conditions is given by

Note that, contrary to the steady-

state flow system, the boundaries of
this system are not fixed in space.
Therefore, besides shaft and flow
works, work associated with the
expansion or compression of the
system boundaries must be included
in so that it takes the form,
where terms A, B, and C represent, respectively,
work associated with expansion or compression of
the system boundaries, shaft work, and flow work.
Substitution of Eqs. and the use of the definition of
enthalpy, i.e., , gives
which is known as the general energy equation. In terms of molar quantities, Eq. is
written as

When the changes in the kinetic and potential energies between the inlet and outlet of
the system as well as within the system are negligible, Eq. reduces to

The accumulation term in Eq. (above) can be expressed in terms of enthalpy as

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Air at atmospheric pressure and 25 C is flowing at a velocity of 5 m/s over a copper
sphere, 1.5 cm in diameter. The sphere is initially at a temperature of 50C. How long
will it take to cool the sphere to 30C? How much heat is transferred from the sphere to
the air?

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