Power demand and mixing performance of coaxial mixers in a stirred tank with CMC solution

Simulation Analysis of Power Consumption and Mixing Time of Pseudoplastic Non-Newtonian Fluids with a Propeller Agitator

In order to study the effect of a high twist rate propeller on the flow field characteristics of pseudoplastic non-Newtonian fluids, the numerical simulation method was used to analyze the mixing flow field of pseudoplastic non-Newtonian fluids at different concentrations in this paper. By changing the rotational speed and the blade installation height, the vorticity, turbulent energy, mixing power consumption, mixing time and mixing energy of the flow field were analyzed. By analyzing and comparing the research results, it was found that increasing the mixing propeller speed can effectively improve the mixing effect. Single-layer arrangement of mixing propeller is not suitable to be placed close to the bottom of the tank, and the mixing of the upper flow field is weaker. Under the same conditions, when the viscosity of pseudoplastic non-Newtonian fluid is increased, the high vorticity and high turbulence energy area is reduced to the mixing propeller area, and the time required for mixing 1.25% CMC solution is 246 times longer than that for mixing 0.62% CMC solution and the required mixing energy also increases sharply. The accuracy of the numerical simulation was verified by experiments. Considering the mixing effect and the mixing power consumption, the single-layer arrangement propeller is more suitable for mixing pseudoplastic non-Newtonian fluids with mass fraction of 0.62% CMC or below. This study can provide a reference for the practical application of propeller mixers to mix pseudoplastic non-Newtonian fluids.

Mixing of Shear Thinning Fluids in Cylindrical Tanks: Effect of the Impeller Blade Design and Operating Conditions

The 3D flow fields and power consumption within a cylindrical vessel stirred by a rotating turbine are numerically studied. Simulations are performed to determine the impact of changes in operating parameters on the mixing characteristics. Investigations are focused on effects of the impeller blade curvature, shaft speed and impeller rotational direction. The fluid simulated has a shear thinning behavior. Designing the blade in retreat shape seems very promising in term of power consumption since a reduction of Np is obtained with increasing blade curvature. In the positive rotational direction, the retreat bladed impeller yields highly radial flows with less power consumption than the straight bladed impeller. The 45° retreat blade gave an increase in the radial velocity by 39 %, compared with the straight blade. But, a better axial circulation is obtained with the straight blade. The comparison between the positive rotational direction (+w) and the negative rotational direction (–w) cases revealed that, a reduced mixing time can be obtained with a retreat bladed impeller operating in the negative rotational direction (–w), but with further power consumption.