Gas Dispersion in Rheologically‐Evolving Model Fluids by Hybrid Dual Mixing Systems

Gas dispersion experiments (0.18 ≤ Fr ≤ 0.71, 0.02 ≤ F1 ≤ 0.09) were carried out using a hybrid dual mixing system, which included a helical ribbon impeller and either a Smith or a Rushton turbine. Newtonian and non‐Newtonian model fluids were used as rheologically‐evolving fluids to evaluate changes in gas dispersion performance. A motionless helical ribbon agitator was used as a baffle in low‐viscosity Newtonian fluids. Both Smith and Rushton turbines produced a vortex, which was eliminated by the motionless helical ribbon impeller. Gas dispersion in low‐viscosity fluids was enhanced when the helical ribbon agitator and turbine of the dual hybrid mixing system was kept at a rotational speed ratio of 10 (N_T/N_HR = 10), which allowed dispersion at a lower Fr than the turbine alone. For moderate‐viscosity Newtonian fluids, gas dispersion was achieved at Fr ≤ 0.71 and F1 ≤ 0.05. Flow properties of non‐Newtonian fluids played an important role in gas dispersion; transition from dispersing to flooding stages was observed for the fluids that were more shear‐thinning (n ≤ 0.38).     

搅拌槽中高粘度液体温度分布均匀性研究

本文提出用无因次量描述搅拌槽中高粘度液体温度场的不均匀性.对螺带桨搅拌液体作层流时的无因次微分方程进行分析得到(?)=f(Pe、Ec/Re).用实测的牛顿流体及假塑性流体槽液温度回归获得螺带-锚及螺带-螺旋轴-锚等五种组合桨(?)的关联式.内外螺带-锚(Ⅰ)桨是五种桨中最优良的桨型.     

The prediction of transport parameters in filamentous fermentation broths based on results obtained in pseudoplastic polymer solutions

Transport phenomena studies on single phase “model” fluids are of limited value in biochemical engineering if they cannot be translated to the heterogeneous systems encountered in real fermentation processes. In this paper we discuss the utility of polymer solutions as models of filamentous fermentation broths for evaluation of: pipeline friction factors and impeller power numbers (turbine and helical ribbon). To a first approximation, polymer solutions can serve as suitable models for the prediction of laminar flow pressure drop in pipelines and turbulent power consumption in stirred tanks. However, results obtained on polymer solutions do not directly apply to filamentous fermentation broths for predictions of laminar flow impeller power consumption and the transition point for turbulent flow in stirred tanks. These discrepancies are believed to result from the existence of a time dependent yield stress in filamentous fermentation broths.     

Non-Isothermal mixing of rheologically complex fluids with close-clearance impellers: Effect of natural convection

Transient heat transfer in a mechanically agitated vessel is studied in the case of an anchor and an helical ribbon impeller using Newtonian and shear thinning fluids. Temperature stratification is found more pronounced with the anchor, making this impeller clearly inadequate for heat transfer. The impact of natural convection is evaluated first using the classical Gr/Re² ratio. It is shown that the use of this criterion in viscous mixing is somewhat misleading. A new Grashof number is then proposed to assess the significance of the viscous and buoyancy effects in non-isothermal, non-Newtonian mixing applications. It is shown that the interpretation of this new number is strongly related to the concept of process viscosity.     

BR生产中首釜桨型选择问题的探讨

根据合成高聚物的桨型选择的基本原则,以首釜液体不属于高粘液体为前提,提出了BR生产中首釜聚合工艺对混合的三要素。通过小试用框式桨和螺带桨的混合状态及混合时间的测定,生产装置操作数据与产品性能的分析,指出首釜由框式桨改为螺带桨是有效的。并提出了开发大尺寸轴向流较之螺带式桨相当或稍逊,而微尺寸混合较强的新桨型的建议。     

Mixing in the transition flow regime with helical ribbon agitators

The effects of the non-Newtonian properties on the effective deformation rate, mixing and circulation times and flow behaviour have been investigated in the transition flow regime of mixing systems. Based on the equivalent Couette flow, three models are proposed and are shown to predict similar and drastic increases of the effective deformation rate with the impeller rotational speed in the transition regime. The predictions are shown to fit very well data obtained for various non-Newtonian fluids mixed with helical ribbon agitators, and with literature data for anchor, blade turbine and flat disc agitators. The elasticity along with shear-thinning properties appear to have slight effects on the dimensionless mixing and circulation times in the transition regime, whereas their effects in the laminar regime are quite drastic, as reported by others.     

特型螺带桨叶在高粘弹性和非弹性流体中的搅拌功率

本文研究了层流区域有较大叶片截面积的特型双螺带──锚桨叶在高粘弹性和非弹性流体中的搅拌功率，测定了Ｋ_ｐ和Ｋ_ｓ，采用广义二阶流体本构方程导出搅拌功率计算式参数ｆ_ｓ和Ｆ_（１ａｃ）由实验数据确定。该式适用于牛顿型流体、假塑性和粘弹性流体的功率消耗计算。     

Determination of Mixing Times with Helical Ribbon Impeller for Non‐Newtonian Viscous Fluids Using an Advanced Imaging Method

New results on mixing times for viscous Newtonian and non‐Newtonian fluids being homogenized with a helical ribbon impeller are presented. In particular, a recently developed technique to determine the macromixing kinetics of an impeller in a transparent vessel was applied to investigate the effects of rheological properties on mixing times. Significant differences were observed in the mixing times for viscous Newtonian and non‐Newtonian fluids. Based on the new data obtained in this work, a correlation incorporating the elastic effects is proposed in terms of a Weissenberg number for predicting the mixing time as a function of the Reynolds number and the system geometry.     

螺带桨搅拌槽内给热系数和所需功率的研究

本文详细研讨了螺带桨搅拌槽内给热系数及其与所需功率的关系.研究中使用了4个不同几何尺寸的螺带装以及8种不同稠度的假塑性非牛顿流体和高粘度牛顿流体.结果表明:在雷诺数小于0.1时,试验流体在槽内的给热系数与浆叶几何尺寸有关.通过回归分析法得到了4个对应于各螺带桨的给热系数关联式;雷诺数大于10时,给热系数和搅拌浆几何尺寸无关,从而得出一个适用于不同螺带浆的共同关联式.实验还研究了给热系数和所需搅拌功率的关系,并用多项式回归法得到了整个实验雷诺数范围的传热-搅拌功率关联式.     

黏度变化范围大的组合桨的数值模拟与应用

利用计算流体力学的方法研究了ZBK+BKS组合桨和螺带桨(LD)的流场和混合性质。对比研究了组合桨的流型、功率消耗、混合时间及混合能。结果表明:ZBK+BKS组合桨在过渡流区域,BKS起主要的流体混合作用,形成很好的整体轴向混合,而在层流区ZBK与BKS同等重要并且ZBK加强了轴向混合。ZBK+BKS组合桨的混合时间在过渡流区域要小于螺带桨,而层流区相差很小,并且二者的混合能相差较小。所以ZBK+BKS组合桨能够适用于黏度变化较大的混合过程。     

内外单螺带式搅拌器的Metzner常数

对１１种不同向何尺寸的内外单累带搅拌器（ＩＯ－ＨＲ），在６６中不同流动行为指数（ｎ＝０．３７－１）的幂律流体中的剪切特性进行了实验研究。发现内外单螺带 的Ｍｅｔｚｎｅｒ常数，Ｋｓ与流动行为指数ｎ、桨的几何尺寸均相关。提出改进的数据处理方法来求算Ｋｓ，并详细分析了桨的几何尺寸和流体剪切稀化特性对Ｋｓ的影响。最后的对包括经典的Ｍｅｔｚｎｅｒ方法在内的不同求解Ｋｓ的方法做了分析比较。     

Steady‐state viscoelastic flow simulation of polymer melts in a rotational‐type rheometer

Polymer samples in the jigs begins to protrude when the heat is turned up when we measure the rheological characteristics of polymer melts using rotational‐type rheometers, such as parallel and cone‐and‐plate types. To clarify the effects of this protruding part on the obtained rheological data, we tried to evaluate the rotational‐type rheometer by a non‐isothermal viscoelastic flow simulation using the finite element method. The multiple mode Phan‐Thien Tanner (PTT) model was employed as the constitutive equation. As a result, the shear viscosity in the steady state increases with the size of the protruding part of the polymer melt specimen at the same shear rate in case with a parallel plate and a cone‐and‐plate type rheomters. In contrast, the deviation of the primary normal stress difference between the estimated value from the simulation results and the data from the PTT model is almost independent of the size of the protruding part with the cone‐and‐plate type rheometer. In addition, the deviations of the primary normal stress difference with a parallel plate rheometer increase with the protruding part size. However, these deviations are smaller than those of shear viscosity. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2009. © 2009 Society of Plastics Engineers     

非牛顿流体在搅拌槽内的传热

基于搅拌桨旋转扭矩和搅拌槽内所有壁面的平均扭矩近似相等的关系,引入流况系数,提出了计算非牛顿流体表观粘度的剪切速率模型.并对内蛇管、外蛇管和直管以及不同几何尺寸的MIG、透平、三叶后掠式、板式、锚和半椭圆片桨组成的多种搅拌体系,用该模型关联夹套侧和冷却管侧的给热系数,分别得到了统一不同几何尺寸搅拌桨的给热系数关联式.该模型适用于不同冷却构件.不同类型、不同几何尺寸的搅拌桨、过渡域和湍流域以及夹套侧和冷却管侧的非牛顿流体给热系数关联.另外,对多种剪切速率模型进行了比较和讨论.     

双螺带桨Metzner常数的模拟计算

Using the multiple reference frames （MRF） impeller method, the three-dimensional non-Newtonian flow field generated by a double helical ribbon （DHR） impeller has been simulated. The velocity field calculated by the numerical simulation was similar to the previous studies and the power constant agreed well with the experimental data. Three computational fluid dynamic （CFD） methods, labeled Ⅰ, Ⅱ and Ⅲ, were used to compute the Metzuer constant k5. The results showed that the calculated value from the slop method （method Ⅰ） was consistent with the experimental data. Method Ⅱ, which took the maximal circumference-average shear rate around the impeller as the effective shear rate to compute ks, also showed good agreement with the experiment. However, both methods suffer from the complexity of calculation procedures. A new method （method Ⅲ） was devised in this paper to use the area-weighted average viscosity around the impeller as the effective viscosity for calculating k5. Method Ⅲ showed both good accuracy and ease of use.     

假塑性流体在双螺带桨搅拌釜内停留时间分布

采用电导率法研究了羧甲基纤维素水溶液假塑性流体在双螺带搅拌釜内的停留时间分布(RTD)情况,考察了物料黏度、流量、搅拌转速和转向对停留时间分布的影响.发现假塑性流体在釜内的停留时间分布类似于全混釜,但有一定的拖尾现象.物料黏度对平均停留时间和当量全混釜数影响不大;随着流量增大,平均停留时间减小,而当量全混釜数基本不变;...     

An analytical model for the prediction of power consumption for shear-thinning fluids with helical ribbon and helical screw ribbon impellers

An approximate analytical model has been developed to predict power consumption for the mixing of shear-thinning fluids with helical ribbon and helical screw ribbon impellers in the laminar flow regime. Extensive data on power input measurements embracing a wide range of flow behaviour index, with strong (n<0.4) and weak (0.4<n<1) shear-thinning fluid characteristics, available in the literature have been used to demonstrate the applicability of the present model for a wide range of helical ribbon mixer configurations. The model is able to explain the differences in the data reported in the existing literature and to successfully predict the complex dependence of power consumption on the fluid properties and the system geometry. Finally, the proposed correlation only requires a knowledge of the flow behaviour index of the fluid and of the geometrical parameters of the mixing systems (wall clearance, number of ribbons, pitch and width of the ribbons) and one characteristic parameter K_p of the mixing system which can be obtained from a single measurement of power for Newtonian liquids in the laminar regime.     

Power consumption and mass transfer in agitated gas-liquid columns: A comparative study

Power consumption, gas holdup and oxygen mass transfer in agitated gas-liquid columns have been studied for an air-water system. Measurements have been carried out in a reciprocating plate reactor using five different types of perforated plates and in a stirred tank reactor with one, two and three Rushton turbines, a helical ribbon impeller with and without surface baffles. Each mixing vessel had an identical geometry with a working volume of 17 L. For reciprocating plate stacks, the gas holdup is a complex function of the perforation diameter, the frequency of agitation and the gas superficial velocity. For radial-type mixing devices, the gas holdup increases more rapidly with the speed of rotation for the helical ribbon. The power imparted to the fluid by the mixing device is independent of the gas superficial velocity for the plate stacks and the helical ribbon impeller for a given frequency or speed of agitation whereas it decreases for Rushton turbines. The correlation of the power consumption obtained for all mixing devices plotted against the reciprocating frequency or speed of rotation to the third power shows a linear fit. K_La values were correlated very well with the power input per unit volume and superficial gas velocity for all mixing devices. At lower power input per unit volume, K_La is a function of only the gas superficial velocity. At higher input power per unit volume, K_La increases rapidly with an increase in the intensity of agitation. Reciprocating plates with larger diameter perforations led to higher K_La values whereas the lowest K_La were obtained with the helical ribbon impeller. Correlations for one and three Rushton impeller assemblies were almost identical whereas measured K_La were much higher for the two-impeller assembly due to the presence of a highly mixed zone in the vicinity of the dissolved oxygen probe.     

Assessment of Mixing Performance and Power Consumption of a Novel Polymerization Reactor System

A melt‐phase polymerization reactor with the novel geometry of two helical solid‐tube impellers rotating within a tank, consisting of two intersecting cylinders, was designed and constructed. In order to evaluate the performance of the system, mixing times and power consumption were measured using a viscous Newtonian model fluid (glucose syrup) in place of the polymer melt. The mixing regime was laminar in all runs. The mixing time at various impeller speeds was estimated by injection of a tracer dye (crystal violet), followed by fluid sampling and visible spectrophotometric analysis. A dimensionless mixing time of k_m = 104 ± 36 was obtained. The power draw required to move each impeller through the fluid at various impeller speeds was measured, and a power constant of k_p = 1156 ± 70 was obtained. The system appeared to outperform the conventional single helical ribbon impeller in terms of mixing time, but was less energy‐efficient, as indicated by the larger power constant. The power constant value lies between values previously reported in the literature for conventional helical impellers and values reported for other types of polymerization reactors with different geometries.     

Gas-liauid mass transfer in non-newtonian fluids in a tank stirred with a helical ribbon screw impeller

Oxygen transfer in aqueous solutions of CMC, xanthan gum, and polyacrylamide in a vessel equipped with a helical ribbon screw impeller and a multi-orifice ring sparger was studied. The K_La values obtained were comparable to those reported for radial flow impellers, but they are more representative of the oxygen transfer in the bulk of the liquid because of a more homogeneous mixing and absence of dead zones. Dimensionless correlations including the effect of the physical properties of the fluids, and those of operating conditions were developed. A dimensionless correlation for each fluid is proposed.     

Effect of impeller type on continuous‐flow mixing of non‐Newtonian fluids in stirred vessels through dynamic tests

Mixing of non‐Newtonian fluids with axial and radial flow impellers is prone to a significant extent of nonideal flows (e.g., dead zones and channelling) within the stirred reactors. To enhance the performance of the continuous‐flow mixing of pseudoplastic fluids with yield stress, close‐clearance impellers were utilised in this study. We explored the effects of various parameters such as the type of close‐clearance impeller (i.e., the double helical ribbon (DHR) and anchor impellers), impeller speed (25–500 rpm), impeller pumping direction, fluid rheology (0.5–1.5% xanthan gum solution), fluid flow rate (3.20–14.17 L min^?1) and the locations of outlet (configurations: top inlet–top outlet, top inlet–bottom outlet) on the dynamic performance of the mixing vessel. The performance of the DHR impeller was then compared to the performance of various types of impellers such as axial‐flow (Lightnin A320) and radial‐flow (Scaba 6SRGT) impellers. The dynamic tests showed that the DHR impeller was the most efficient impeller for reducing the extent of nonideal flows in the continuous‐flow mixer among the impellers employed in this study. In addition, the mixing quality was further improved by optimising the power input, increasing the mean residence time, decreasing the fluid yield stress, using the up‐pumping impeller mode and using the top inlet–bottom outlet configuration. © 2011 Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering