Experimental study of power consumption,local characteristics distributions and homogenization energy in gas–liquid stirred tank reactors

In this paper, the power consumption, the vertical local void fraction and the local gas–liquid interfacial area are investigated in the aerated stirred tank reactors(STRs) equipped with a rigid-flexible impeller. Meanwhile, the regressive correlation based on power consumption and interfacial area is proposed. Then a novel homogenization energy(HE = RSDPtm) expression based on power consumption and local interfacial area is redefined and used to indicate the mixing efficiency. The optimal operating mode is selected based on the change of the HE value. This paper can provide research ideas for structural optimization of stirred reactors.     

Specific features of power characteristics of in-line rotor–stator mixers

Methodthat can be used to predict agitation power of in-line rotor–stator mixers are considered in this paper. Results of experimental investigations of power draw are presented and interpreted by using proposed phenomenological models and CFD predictions for the Silverson rotor–stator 150/250 MS device and its modifications. Results of theoretical analysis lead to extended version of previously used correlation for the agitation power. Based on new correlation and the multifractal model of turbulence the problems of energetic efficiency and scale-up of drop breakage in the rotor–stator devices are presented and discussed.     

Pressure drop of pseudo-plastic fluids in static mixers

1 INTRODUCTIONUse of static mixers to process non-Newtonian fluids is quite commn.Data on thepressure drop of non-Newtonian fluids in Kenics static mixers are very useful in thedesign and engineering application of such mixers.However,only a few studies con-cerned with the pressure drop of non-Newtonian fluid flow in static ndxers can befound in literature.Wilkinson and Cliff presented pressure drop data for aqueousglycerine solutions(Newtonian fluids)and aqueous 1% polyacrylamide solution showingviscoelastic behavior.They found no difference between the friction factors of Newtonian     

Dispersion of oil droplets in rotor–stator mixers: Experimental investigations and modeling

Forming emulsions by mixing of immiscible liquids, water and silicone oils was carried out by applying the in-line high-shear rotor–stator mixers. In experimental part investigations were carried out using experimental rig consisting of two tanks and an in-line Silverson rotor-stator (150/250) MS; the system was operated in a multiple pass (MP) mode, which can be compared with a single pass (SP) mode experiments. Emulsification of 1 wt.% silicone oils (Dow Corning 200 fluid) with viscosities of 9.4, 48 and 339 mPa s was investigated. Emulsions were stabilized by adding 0.5 wt.% of sodium laureth sulphate. Effects of rotor speed, number of passes and the drop viscosity on the drop size were investigated.Numerical simulations were carried out using the k–ɛ model of turbulence and the multiple reference frame method (MRF) linked to the population balance equation. The population balance was expressed and solved using the quadrature method of moments (QMOM). The breakage kernel for drops whose diameter falls within the inertial subrange of turbulence was defined based on the multifractal model of intermittent turbulence.     

Experimental study on nozzle’s characteristics in secondary cooling zone of slab continuous casting

连铸钢坯的质量直接受到二次冷却的影响,二冷段喷嘴的冷却效果受喷嘴的种类、喷水压力、水流密度等因素的影响。本文设计了测试连铸二冷喷嘴性能的实验方案。实验测定了不同喷水条件下喷嘴的压力和水流量的关系、喷水密度的分布、不同喷嘴对喷水效果的影响,分析了不同喷嘴的性能曲线,实验结果为合理布置二冷段喷嘴、优化二冷制度提供一定的依据。     

Experimental investigation on explosion characteristics of nano-aluminum powder—air mixtures

Explosion characteristics of nano-aluminum powders with particle sizes of 35, 75, and 100 nm are investigated in a 20-liters spherical explosion chamber. Results show that the maximum explosion pressure and the maximum rate of pressure rise mainly depend on the dust concentration. For dust concentrations below 1000 g/m³, the maximum explosion pressure increases gradually to a maximum value with increasing dust concentration. After the dust concentration increases above 1250 g/m³, the maximum explosion pressure starts to decrease. The trends of the maximum rate of pressure rise follow the same pattern with increasing dust concentration. The lower explosion concentration limits of nano-aluminum powders with sizes of 35, 75, and 100 nm are found to be 5, 10, and 10 g/m³, respectively, while the lower explosion concentration limit of ordinary aluminum powders is about 50 g/m³.     

Experimental study on particulate emission of a diesel engine fueled with blended ethanol–dodecanol–diesel

Experiments were conducted on a 4-cylinder direct-injection diesel engine which has a compressing ratio of 19, using ultra low sulfur diesel blended with ethanol using 1–1.5% by volume of 1-dodecanol as the solvent to investigate the particulate emissions of the engine under five engine loads and at engine speeds of 1800 and 2400 rev/min. Blended fuels containing 6.1%, 12.2%, 18.2% and 24.2% by volume of ethanol, corresponding to 2%, 4%, 6% and 8% by mass of oxygen in the blended fuel, were used. At both engine speeds, with an increase in ethanol in the fuel, the smoke opacity, the particulate mass concentration and the total number of nano-size particles are all reduced. A diesel oxidation catalyst (Finnkat) was used and found to further reduce particulate emission. The smoke opacity, the particulate mass concentration and the total number concentration at 2400 rev/min are higher than those at 1800 rev/min.     

Calculations on switching characteristics of ferroelectric–paraelectric superlattices

We study the switching characteristics of a superlattice consisting of a periodic ferroelectric and paraelectric layer with interlayer coupling using the Landau–Khalatnikov equation. The inhomogeneity of polarization at the ferroelectric or paraelectric surface is described by the extrapolation length δ. The effects of various parameters such as the viscosity coefficient, layer thickness, interlayer coupling and temperature on the switching characteristics are investigated. Our study shows that the hysteresis loop and switching current versus applied field depend strongly on those parameters. Interlayer coupling increases the ferroelectricity of the superlattice, leading to a strong enhancement in polarization and coercive field.     

A study of capacitance–voltage characteristics of amorphous carbon multilayer nanostructures

Dark and illuminated capacitance–voltage (C–V) characteristics and admittance measurements were carried out on multilayer carbon structures. The latter were produced by depositing ultrathin amorphous carbon layers with different optical band gaps on a monocrystalline boron-doped silicon substrate. The carbon layers were grown either by magnetron sputtering (MS) of a graphite target in argon or by plasma ion beam deposition (IBD) in cyclohexane. The structures were characterised by X-ray reflectivity (XRR). With respect to their electrical properties, it was shown that light strongly affects both the C–V-characteristics and the admittance. The results were interpreted in terms of the energy levels in these amorphous carbon multilayer structures.     

Experimental and numerical study of stratified viscous oil–water flow

Stratified two-phase flows of oil and water are important to the energy industry, and models capable of predicting this type of flow are primordial. Many studies focus on fluids with low viscosity, but a high viscosity oil in the mixture significantly changes its behavior. We gathered experimental data of pressure drop, volumetric fractions, and flow-pattern data of a stratified liquid–liquid flow with high viscosity ratio. In addition, a wire-mesh sensor provided tomographic views of the flow. The data were compared with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models using OpenFOAM and a one-dimensional model. CFD simulations used an interface capturing method, and turbulence damping was introduced to avoid high eddy viscosity at the interface region. Reynolds Average Navier–Stokes and large eddy simulations were used to account for turbulence, and they showed significant differences. The comparisons showed good overall results for pressure drop, volumetric fractions, and phase distributions between CFD and experiments.     

A numerical study of mixing intensification for highly viscous fluids in multistage rotor–stator mixers

How to achieve uniform mixing of highly viscous fluids with low energy consumption is a major industry demand and one of the hot spots of mixing research. A typical multistage rotor-stator mixer (MRSM) equipped with a distributor was investigated to disclose the effects on the mixing performance and power consumption for highly viscous fluids via numerical simulation, considering the influence factors associated with different geometric parameters of both MRSM and the distributor. The mixing index and power consumption are used to evaluate the performance of the mixers. The dimensionless correlations for the mixing index and the power consumption are established considering the factors including the flow rate, rotor speed, the number of mixing units. Adopting the optimized mixer with the distributor (X1-T1), the mixing index increases to 0.85 (obviously higher than 0.46 for the mixer T1 without a distributor), meanwhile the corresponding power consumption is about 1/5 of that of T1 achieving the same mixing effect. It illustrates that the distributor can significantly improve the mixing of highly viscous fluids in the MRSM without the cost of large power consumption. These results would provide a guidance on the design and optimization of multistage rotor-stator mixers in industrial applications.     

Influence of forming conditions on characteristics of alumina–PSZ composites

Abstract

The purpose of the work reported in the present paper was to establish the correlation between the physical, mechanical, and microstructural properties of alumina matrix composites reinforced with (CeO₂, Nd₂ O₃, Y₂O₃ )–PSZ (partially stabilised zirconia) depending on the processing and thermal treatment conditions. The composites obtained from fine powder mixtures were formed by hydraulic pressing, ceramic injection moulding, and hot pressing under various temperature and pressure conditions. The samples were fired at 1550–1770°C in an oxidising atmosphere and in vacuum depending on the forming conditions. Comparative microstructure investigations were made by TEM on sample surfaces. The XRD results were in accordance with the determined properties of the investigated compositions. The results highlighted that the best physical and mechanical properties and homogenous microstructure for the ZTA composites were obtained by firing in vacuum.     

Experimental study of the SnO2–ZrO2 phase diagram

The study of the SnO₂–ZrO₂ phase diagram in the 1230–1750 °C temperature range has shown the existence of an immiscibility gap, leading to two (Zr_1−xSn_x)O₂ and (Sn_1−yZr_y)O₂ limited solid solutions. Four compositions were synthesised for each solid solution, leading to pure phases, which were characterised by room-temperature and high-temperature X-ray diffraction. The unit-cell parameters of tetragonal (Sn_1−yZr_y)O₂, monoclinic (Zr_1−xSn_x)O₂ and tetragonal (Zr_1−xSn_x)O₂ were determined and correlated with the content of the substituted atom. The monoclinic to tetragonal and reverse reactions for the (Zr_1−xSn_x)O₂ series were also characterised (transition temperatures) when varying the tin mole fraction.     

Experimental investigations on grinding characteristics and removal mechanisms of 2D–Cf/C-SiC composites based on reinforced fiber orientations

The effects of fiber orientations on the grinding force and ground surface roughness in grinding 2D–C_f/C–SiC composites were investigated in this work. The characteristics of surface microstructure and the mechanism of the grinding phenomena are also discussed. The results show that the prominent removal mechanism for grinding the 2D-C_f/C-SiC composites is the brittle fracture, and the destruction of the composites is mainly via breaking of interfacial bonds, fiber fracture, and matrix cracking. The grinding force of different grinding surfaces follows the order: Surface B > Surface A > Surface C, and the surface roughness follows: Surface C > Surface A > Surface B. Grinding parameters, such as feeding speed, depth of cut, and wheel speed, have a great influence on the grinding force and surface roughness. This result suggests that this body of work offers a useful guideline for improving the design and processing of 2D–C_f/C–SiC composites.     

Flow characteristics of blade unit of a tridimensional rotational flow sieve tray under concurrent gas–liquid flow

The flow characteristics of the blade unit of a tridimensional rotational flow sieve tray were investigated. First, the flow patterns are defined under different liquid arrangement methods. They are bilateral film flow, continuous perforated flow, and dispersion-mixing flow in overflow distribution, film and jet flow and jet and mixed flow in spray distribution. Second, the time and frequency domain analysis of the differential pressure pulsation signal in the blade unit is carried out, the main frequencies range is 2.0−5.5 Hz. The influence of perforation and mixing intensity on the flow pattern transition is clarified. Third, the rotational flow ratio of the gas–liquid phase is measured, the gas phase rotational flow range is 0.55–0.78, and the liquid phase range is 0.15–0.42. The influence of the operating conditions on the distribution of the rotational and perforated flow is investigated. Finally, a prediction model for the rotational flow ratio is proposed.     

Experimental and simulation study of nylon 6 solid–liquid extraction process

The solid–liquid extraction process of nylon 6 to eliminate small molecules, i.e., caprolactam(CL), cyclic dimers(CD) and cyclic trimers(CT), is investigated in detail by both batch extraction experiments and numerical simulations. In the batch extraction experiments, due to the small molecules attaching to the polymeric surface, the basic physical mechanism shifts from surface diffusion to internal diffusion as the extraction proceeded. The experimental data are well reproduced by a diffusion model consisting of two distinct steps, characterized as surface diffusion and internal diffusion. Furthermore, based on the established mass transfer mechanism and diffusion model of the two distinct steps, the equilibrium constants and internal diffusion coefficients of CL, CD and CT are acquired. An industrial countercurrent extraction tower is further simulated. It is found that the extraction efficiency of CL can be significantly improved by increasing the temperature at the bottom portion of the tower. The elimination of CD, which can be greatly promoted by a high-concentration CL-water solution, is controlled by mass transfer resistance, whereas the removal of CL is mainly affected by the equilibrium.     

Facilitated transport separation of propylene–propane: Experimental and modeling study

Supported liquid membrane, as one type of facilitated transport membranes, was used for the separation of propylene–propane mixtures. The effect of trans-membrane pressure and carrier concentration on membrane separation performance were evaluated in terms of mixed-gas selectivity, propylene and propane permeances and propylene and propane permeation fluxes. A general dimensionless model for the transport of components across the membrane was proposed and solved numerically by orthogonal collocation method. Experimental results showed that for a 70:30 (vol.%) propylene–propane mixture, at pressure 120 kPa and carrier concentration 20 wt.%, a propylene permeation flux of 1.46 × 10⁻⁴ mol/m² s was obtained. Mathematical results are in well agreement with experimental results. The average deviation between experimental and modeling results was found to be 5.3% for propylene permeation flux and 0.03% for propane permeation flux.     

Experimental study of a vane-type pipe separator for oil–water separation

An experimental study of a new vane-type pipe separator (VTPS) was conducted for the possible application in the well-bore for oil–water separation and reinjection. Results by using particle image velocimetry (PIV) reveal a better flow field distribution for oil–water separation, which is formed in VTPS than that in hydrocyclone. The effects of split ratio, the oil content, guide vanes’ installation and number of guide vanes on oil–water separation performance have been investigated experimentally. Compared to a traditional single hydrocyclone, VTPS shows a good separation performance as the water content at the inlet of VTPS reaches 79.9%, the oil content at the water-rich outlet is about 400 ppm while the split is near 0.70. These results are helpful to provide a possibly new design for downhole oil–water separation.     

The effect of scale and interfacial tension on liquid–liquid dispersion in in-line Silverson rotor–stator mixers

The effect of scale, processing conditions, interfacial tension and viscosity of the dispersed phase on power draw and drop size distributions in three in-line Silverson rotor–stator mixers was investigated with the aim to determine the most appropriate scaling up parameter. The largest mixer was a factory scale device, whilst the smallest was a laboratory scale mixer. All the mixers were geometrically similar and were fitted with double rotors and standard double emulsor stators. 1 wt.% silicone oils with viscosities of 9.4 mPa s and 339 mPa s in aqueous solutions of surfactant or ethanol were emulsified in single and multiple pass modes. The effect of rotor speed, flow rate, dispersed phase viscosity, interfacial tension and scale on drop size distributions was investigated.     

Agitation of Herschel–Bulkley fluids with the Scaba–anchor coaxial mixers

The design of the coaxial mixers depends on many interrelated parameters including the geometry and dimensions of the mixing vessel, the location and type of the impellers, speed ratio, impeller diameter, rotation mode, and fluid rheology. No study has been reported in the literature regarding the mixing performance of the coaxial mixers in the agitation of yield-pseudoplastic fluids. Thus, the main objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of a Scaba–anchor coaxial mixer (a novel configuration) in the mixing of xanthan gum solutions (yield-pseudoplastic fluids). The Herschel–Bulkley model was used to describe the rheological behavior of the xanthan gum solutions. To develop new correlations for the generalized Reynolds and power numbers of the coaxial mixers employed in the agitation of this class of non-Newtonian fluids, we utilized numerous experimental and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) data. The new correlations were tested successfully at different operating conditions (e.g. speed ratio, fluid rheology, and operation mode).