Mixing impellers Flow patterns

Mixing Vessels, Flow Patterns, and Impellers. Flow motion is dependent upon the shape and fitting of the container, the shape and position of the rotating impeller, and the physical properties of the fluid, The best mixing is usually one which produces lateral and vertical flow currents, and these currents must penetrate to all portions of the fluid ... 

FIG. 6-39 Typical stirred tank configurations, showing time-averaged flow patterns for axial flow and radial flow impellers. From Oldshue, Fluid Mixing Technology, McGraw-Hill, New Yo7 k, 1983.)... 

There are three types of mixing flow patterns that are markedly different. The so-called axial-flow turbines (Fig. 18-3) actually give a flow coming off the impeller of approximately 45°, and therefore have a recirculation pattern coming back into the impeller at the hub region of the blades. This flow pattern exists to an approximate Reynolds number of 200 to 600 and then becomes radial as the Reynolds number decreases. Both the RlOO and A200 impellers normally require four baffles for an effective flow pattern. These baffles typically are V12 of the tank diameter and width. 

Axial-flow turbines are often used in blendiug pseudoplastic materials, and they are often used at relatively large D/T ratios, from 0.5 to 0.7, to adequately provide shear rate in the majority of the batch particularly in pseudoplastic material. These impellers develop a flow pattern which may or may not encompass an entire tank, and these areas of motion are sometimes referred to as caverns. Several papers describe the size of these caverns relative to various types of mixing phenomena. An effec tive procedure for the blending of pseudoplastic fluids is given in Oldshue (op. cit.). 

When the flow pattern in a mixed tank is primarily tangential, the fluid discharge from the impeller to the surroundings and its entrainment into the impeller are small. Also, fluid transfer in the vertical direction is at a minimum. The mixing effect is lowest when the rotational velocity of the liquid approaches that of the mixer. 

This is the reaetion system used by Bourne et ai. [3] and Middleton et ai. [4]. The first reaetion is mueh faster than the seeond reaetion Kj = 7,300 m moie see versus Kj = 3.5 m moie see The experimental data published by Middleton et ai. [4] were used to determine tlie model eonstant Two reaetors were studied, a 30-i reaetor equipped with a D/T = 1/2 D-6 impeller and a 600-i reaetor with a D/T = 1/3 D-6 impeller. A small volume of reaetant B was instantaneously added just below the liquid surfaee in a tank otherwise eontaining reaetant A. A and B were added on an equimolar basis. The transport, mixing, and reaetion of the ehemieai speeies were then eaieuiated based on the flow pattern in Figure 10-3. Experimental data were used as impeller boundary eonditions. The produet distribution Xg is then eaieuiated as ... 

All styles and designs of mixing impellers produce either an axial-flow or a radial-flow of the fluid during the impeller rotation. There are, of course, degrees of variation of each of these patterns, v. hich then become a pan of the selection and specifying process to achieve tire mixing objective. 

The application of draft tubes as related to various mixing operations is showm in Figures 5-231 and 5-24A-5-241. The draft tubes are basically a tube or shell around the shaft of the mixer including the usual axial impeller, which allows a special or top-to-bottom fixed flow pattern to be set up in the fluid system. The size and location of the tube are related to both the mechanical and mixing performance characteristics as well as peculiar problems of the system. Usually they are used to ensure a mixing flow pattern that cannot or w ill not develop in the system. Weber gives the followdng points for draft tubes [23] ... 

For a turbine the preferred location for w ithdrawal of mixed fluid is at the side opposite the turbine impeller. y study of the flow pattern of the system should be made to... 

External jackets, 326-328 Helical coils, 312, 326, 327 Vertical coils, 326, 327 Mixing impellers, 290-297 Anchor, 290-329 Blending, 324, 326 Characteristic curves, 306 Chart to examine turbine applications, 296 Efficiency of propellers, 299 Flow of propellers. 298, 299 Flow patterns, 309-312 Gas-Liquid contacting, 324, 326 General list impellers, 291 Helical, 290, 329 Liquid-liquid dispersion, 326 Multiple, 297... 

A qualitative picture of the flow field created by an impeller in a mixing vessel in a single-phase liquid is useful in establishing whether there are stagnant or dead regions in the vessel, and whether or not particles are likely to be suspended. In addition, the efficiency of mixing equipment, as well as product quality, are influenced by the flow patterns prevailing in the vessel. 

Clearly, the flow pattern established in a mixing vessel depends critically upon the vessel/impeller configuration and on the physical properties of the liquid (particularly viscosity). In selecting the appropriate combination of equipment, it must be ensured that the resulting flow pattern is suitable for the required application. 

Bubble columns rely on nozzles, mixing plates, and impellers within the reactor to control the bubble size, which determines the interfacial area between gas and liquid phases. Clearly, the interfacial area can be varied over a wide range by suitable design of the mixer and flow pattern. 

A rotating impeller in a fluid imparts flow and shear to it, the shear resulting from the flow of one portion of the fluid past another. Limiting cases of flow are in the axial or radial directions so that impellers are classified conveniently according to which of these flows is dominant. By reason of reflections from vessel surfaces and obstruction by baffles and other internals, however, flow patterns in most cases are mixed. When a close approach to axial flow is particularly desirable, as for suspension of the solids of a slurry, the impeller may be housed in a draft tube and when radial flow is needed, a shrouded turbine consisting of a rotor and a stator may be employed. 

An impeller in a tank functions as a pump that delivers a certain volumetric rate at each rotational speed and corresponding power input. The power input is influenced also by the geometry of the equipment and the properties of the fluid. The flow pattern and the degree of turbulence are key aspects of the quality of mixing. Basic impeller actions are either axial or radial, but, as Figure 10.4 shows, radial action results in some axial movement by reason of deflection from the vessel walls and baffles. Baffles contribute to turbulence by preventing swirl of the contents as a whole and elimination of vortexes offset location of the impeller has similar effects but on a reduced scale. 

Both large scale (mass flow ) motion and small scale (turbulent motion are ordinarily required to bring about rapid mixing. The discharge stream from an impeller initiates the large scale flow pattern. Turbulence is generated mostly hy the velocity discontinuities adjacent to the stream of... 

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