Anchor Mixers

The mixing time for viscous liquids was examined by Hoogendoorn and Den Hartog (1967). The types of mixers examined in this study are illustrated in Fig. 23. The mixing time was measured by a decoloration and a thermal response technique (see Section IX). In truly viscous flow, the mixing time was inversely proportional to the stirrer speed. The performance of the various mixers were compared using the two dimensionless correlations 02P/(dfp) and pdf/(fid). The turbine and anchor mixers were found to be unsatisfactory for viscous mixing. 

Anchor Mixers Anchor mixers are the simplest and one of the more common types of high-viscosity mixers (Fig. 18-42). The diameter of the anchor D is typically 90 to 95 percent of the tank diameter T. The result is a small clearance C between the rotating impeller and the tank wall. Within this gap the fluid is sheared by the relative motion between the rotating blade and the stationary tank wall. The shear near the wall typically reduces the buildup of stagnant material and promotes heat transfer. To reduce buildups further, flexible or spring-loaded scrapers, typically made of polymeric material, can be mounted on the rotating blades to move material physically away from the wall. 

The benefits of an anchor mixer are limited by the fact that the vertical blades provide very little fluid motion between the top and bottom of the tank. Ingredient additions at the surface of the fluid may make many rotations before gradually being spread and circulated to the bottom of the tank. To promote top-to-bottom fluid motion, angled blades on the anchor or helical ribbon blades, described in the next subsection, make better mixers for uniform blending. Significant viscosity differences between fluids may extend mixing times to unacceptable limits with the basic anchor. 

Anchor mixers may be used in combination with other types of mixers, such as turbine mixers, high-shear mixers, or rotor-stator mixers, which were described in the previous subsection. Such mixers can be placed on a vertical shaft midway between the anchor shaft and blade. A secondary mixer can promote top-to-bottom motion and also limit bulk rotation of the fluid. A stationary baffle is sometimes placed between the anchor shaft and rotating blade to limit fluid rotation and enhance shear. 

Unfortunately, the power number only provides a relationship between impeller size, rotational speed, and fluid properties. The power number does not tell whether a mixer will work for an application. Successful operating characteristics for an anchor mixer usually depend on experience with a similar process or experimentation in a pilot plant. Scale-up of pilot-plant experience is most often done for a geometrically similar impeller and equal tip (peripheral) speed. 

Helical Ribbon Mixers Helical ribbon mixers (Fig. 18-44), or simply helix mixers, have major advantages over the anchor mixer, because they force strong top-to-bottom motion even with viscous... 

Anchor mixer for very viscous mixtures Helicoidal mixer for very viscous mixtures FIGURE 7-33 Anchor and helicoidal mixers are used for partieularly viseous mixtures. 

Figure 16-8 Anchor mixer. A video clip of mixing with the anchor mixer is provided on the Visual Mixing CD affixed to the back cover of the book.

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