Experimental and numerical characterization of viscous flow and mixing in an impinging jet contactor

The laminar flow in an impinging jet contactor is examined as a first step toward the development of new technology for fast mixing of viscous fluids. The flow, velocity, and stretching fields in an impinging jet contactor are quantified for low Reynolds number flow using three-dimensional numerical simulations and particle image velocimetry measurements. Computational and experimental velocity fields are in close agreement, as quantified by the velocity probability density functions. Two steady-state flow regimes are found to exist: for jet Reynolds numbers (Re_j) < 10, the jets do not impinge and the velocity field scales linearly with Reynolds number; for Re_j > 10, the jets begin to impinge and recirculation regions form above and below the impingement point. The magnitude of the rate-of-strain tensor is calculated as a function of Re_j. While areas of essentially zero stretching occupy most of the flow domain, very high rates of stretching occur at specific locations in the flow. The maximum and average rates of stretching in the contactor increase roughly linearly as a function of Reynolds number. Mixing simulations show that no mixing occurs for the steady flow in a symmetric-jet contactor. However, mixing is improved substantially by a slight modification of the impinging jet geometry that disrupts geometric symmetry.