Influence of design on dispersive mixing performance in an axial discharge continuous mixer—LCMAX 40

The axial discharge continuous mixer combines the features of a continuous mixer and a twin screw extruder, expanding the flexibility of this compounding machine. In this work we analyzed the influence of rotor design on the dispersive mixing performance of a LCMAX 40 unit. Specifically we looked at various arrangements for the pushing and counter pushing units in the design of the LCMAX 40. A fluid dynamics analysis package—FIDAP, based on the finite element method, was used to model the flow behavior of a power law model fluid under different pressurization conditions. Dispersive mixing efficiency was quantified in terms of shear stresses and elongational flow components generated in the flow field. We found that the counter-pushing unit generally contributes more in building up high shear stresses. However, the generation of elongational flow components, which is beneficial for dispersive mixing, is not solely dependent upon the pushing–counter pushing configuration but rather on the overall rotor geometry. We found that the maximum number of counter-pushing units in the rotor design of the LCMAX 40 should not exceed two in order to provide adequate material pumping. Rotor designs with alternating arrangements of pushing and counter-pushing units provide overall better dispersive mixing conditions.     

Characterization of mixing in an optimized designed T-T mixer with cylindrical elements

Passive micromixers are preferred over active mixers for many microfluidic applications due to their relative ease in integration into complex systems and operational flexibility. They also incur very low cost of manufacturing. However, the degree of mixing is comparatively low in passive mixers than active mixers due to the absence of disturbance in the flow by external forces and the inherent laminar nature of microchannel flows. Various designs of complex channel structures and three-dimensional geometries have been investigated in the past to obtain an efficient mixing in passive mixers. But the studies on mixing enhancement with simple planar geometries of passive mixers have been few and limited. The present work aims to investigate the possibility of mixing enhancement by employing simple planar type designs, such as T-mixer and T-T mixer with cylindrical elements placed in the mixing channel. The mixing performance has been evaluated in the Reynolds number range of 6 to 700. Numerical results have shown that T-T mixer with cylindrical elements performed significantly well and obtained very good mixing quality over basic T-mixer for the entire range of Reynolds number (6 to 700). The device has also shown better mixing as compared to basic T-T mixer and T-mixer with cylindrical elements. A larger pair of vortices formed in the stagnation area due to the presence of a cylindrical element in the junction. Cylindrical elements downstream caused significant enhancement in mixing due to splitting and recombining action. The size of the cylindrical element in the T-T mixer has been optimized to obtain better mixing performance of the device. Remarkable improvement in mixing quality by T-T mixer with cylindrical elements has been obtained at the expense of small rise in pressure drop as compared to other passive designs considered in this study. Therefore, the current design of T-T mixer with cylindrical elements can act as an effective and simple passive mixing device for various micromixing applications.     

Entwurf und Betrieb eines Rohrreaktors mit enger Verweilzeitverteilung

In process engineering the residence time is an important design parameter, and a narrow residence time distribution is advantageous to avoid possible by-products in complex chemical reactions. A good radial mixing with low axial dispersion provides a narrow residence time distribution in a tube reactor. The axial dispersion of laminar flow in a straight tube is very high and generates a wide residence time distribution. However, secondary flows improve the radial mixing, which are investigated in this paper for curved tube reactors. Design notes for good radial mixing and geometric designs of tube reactors with baffles are presented.     

New Turbine Impellers for Viscous Mixing

New open impellers developed for viscous mixing applications were characterized experimentally in terms of power consumption and mixing times, and their performance was compared to that of standard turbines. Their design is based on a nonsymmetry of revolution principle contrary to standard impellers. A color‐discoloration technique based on a fast acid‐base indicator reaction and image analysis were used to evaluate the mixing efficiency. Experimental results show that the segregated, torus‐shaped regions, always observed above and below standard turbine impellers, can be significantly reduced using the new turbine designs generating a well‐balanced axial‐radial flow field.     

Analysis and optimization of low-pressure drop static mixers

Various designs of the so called Low-Pressure Drop (LPD) static mixer are analyzed for their mixing performance using the mapping method. The two types of LPD designs, the RR and RL type, show essentially different mixing patterns. The RL design provides globally chaotic mixing, whereas the RR design always yields unmixed regions separated by KAM boundaries from mixed regions. The crossing angle between the elliptical plates of the LPD is the key design parameter to decide the performance of various designs. Four different crossing angles from 90° to 160° are used for both the RR and RL designs. Mixing performance is computed as a function of the energy to mix, reflected in overall pressure drop for all designs. Optimization using the flux-weighted intensity of segregation versus pressure drop proves the existence of the best mixer with an optimized crossing angle. The optimized angle proves to be indeed the LLPD design used in practice: the RL-120 with θ = 120°, although RL-140 θ = 140° performs as good. Shear thinning shows minor effects on the mixing profiles, and the main optimization conclusions remain unaltered. © 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2009     

筒式搅拌器及其开发

介绍了实用新型专利——筒式搅拌器的结构和设计原理。筒式搅拌器主要有筒体和内弯叶片组成,搅拌时能同时产生强大的径向流和轴向流,具有较大的排液量和循环流量,混合效果极强。筒式搅拌叶轮的各尺寸设计取决于液体性质、混合要求、容器直径和转速等因素。     

偏心射流搅拌强化1,3-二氯-2-丁烯的氯化行为

1,3-二氯-2-丁烯(DCB)的氯化过程同时存在加成反应、取代反应和连续反应,DCB与氯气混合不均匀和反应热移除效果不佳会降低取代氯化的选择性。搅拌槽内流场分布特征与流体的混合效果、化学反应的转化率和选择性等密切相关,调控流场结构有助于强化DCB的氯化行为。文中结合搅拌器专用计算流体动力学软件MixSim 2.0.2,模拟了在偏心射流条件下4 cm二直叶桨式搅拌器、4 cm斜叶圆盘搅拌器和5 cm斜叶圆盘搅拌器槽内的流场分布特征,并进行了DCB氯化实验。研究表明:偏心射流能改变流场分布,控制流场的拟序结构,强化混合效果。在偏心斜射流的条件下,5 cm斜叶圆盘搅拌器的氯化效果较优,能够使DCB氯化的主产物2,3,4-三氯-1-丁烯(TCB)的收率提高到87.9%。     

拉伸流动静态混合器混合性能的实验研究

设计了1种能够增强聚合物混合效果的拉伸流动静态混合器（EFM）,以高密度聚乙烯/聚苯乙烯（PE⁃HD/PS）作为混合体系,根据共混体系扫描电子显微镜（SEM）照片及分散相的平均粒径,研究了不同盘形结构和不同盘棱间隙（δ）（0.125~2.0 mm）下EFM的混合性能。结果表明,EFM的盘形入口结构对其混合性能影响较小,混合能力随盘棱顶端圆角半径的增大而有所提升,随δ的增大出现先降低再升高又降低的变化趋势。     

A SIMULATION OF A MOTIONLESS MIXER

Continuous laminar mixing in segmented twisted-tape motionless mixers is considered. A solution to the steady isothermal creeping flow of a Newtonian fluid in a twisted-tape mixer has been obtained via two-dimensional numerical procedures. The developed flow within a section of the mixer has been solved in a helical coordinate system by an iterative scheme. The resulting solution is rigorously correct in the absence of entrance and exit flows at the junction between sections. An algorithm is presented for the modelling of these junction flows via two-dimensional procedures. Simulated cross-sectional mixing patterns have been generated for comparison with experimental results

The performance of twisted-tape mixers is simulated for various designs, beginning with the particular geometry of the Kcnics Static Mixer, and for different operating conditions Results suggest that the rate of mixing as a function of the total twist per section is optimized with respect to pressure drop when sections contain 80 degrees of twist. The capability for rational improvement in other design and operating parameters is illustrated. The mechanisms of laminar mixing are discussed and quantified; of primary importance is the tendency for interfacial area to assume an orientation within each section which is favorable to mixing in subsequent sections.     

Chaotic mixing in a barrier‐embedded partitioned pipe mixer

Inspired by the partitioned pipe mixer (PPM), a barrier‐embedded partitioned pipe mixer (BPPM) is designed and analyzed using a numerical simulation scheme. The BPPM is a static mixer, composed of orthogonally connected rectangular plates with a pair of barriers, which divide, stretch, and fold fluid elements, leading to chaotic mixing via the baker's transformation. The aspect ratio of the plate (α) and the dimensionless height of the barrier (β) are chosen as design parameters to conduct a parameter study on the mixing performance. The flow characteristics and mixing performance are analyzed using the cross‐sectional velocity vectors, Poincaré section, interface tracking, and the intensity of segregation. The results indicate that several designs of the BPPM significantly enhance the PPM's mixing performance. The best BPPMs are identified with regard to compactness and energy consumption. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 64: 717–729, 2018     

Experimental and numerical study of mixing behavior inside droplets in microchannels

For the practical applications of droplet‐based microfluidics, we have paid special attention to the complex hydrodynamics and mixing performance inside microdroplets and the profound process intensification when forcing the droplets to move in winding channels. In this work, experimental studies using micro laser induced fluorescence (μ‐LIF) technique and three‐dimensional simulation based on a multiphase, multicomponents lattice Boltzmann model approach were adopted. The simulation results clearly revealed that the mixing inside the droplet is due to the convection in symmetric vortices in the two hemispheres of the droplet and the diffusion between them. They also showed the fluids inside the droplet could be reoriented due to the winding effect. Three designs of winding channels were studied, where interesting results showed the similar effect of process intensification by breaking up the flow symmetry. The revealed flow mechanism and the mixing performance inside the droplet in droplet‐based microfluidics should be helpful for microdevice design and optimization. © 2012 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 59: 1801–1813, 2013     

Multiobjective Optimization of a Micromixer with Convergent–Divergent Sinusoidal Walls

A multiobjective optimization of a micromixer with convergent–divergent sinusoidal walls has been conducted using flow and mixing analyses, surrogate modeling, and multiobjective genetic algorithm. The ratios of amplitude to wavelength of the sinusoidal walls, throat width to depth of the convergent–divergent sections, and diameter of the inner circular wall to wavelength were chosen as the design variables for optimization. The full-factorial method was used to discretize the design space. The mixing index and nondimensional pressure loss were selected as objective functions. Radial basis neural network functions were used to train the objective functions. The optimization was carried out at a Reynolds number of 30. A concave Pareto-optimal front representing the trade-off between the two objective functions was obtained. The analysis of representative designs along the Pareto-optimal front showed significant variation in the ratio of throat width to depth of the convergent–divergent sections, whereas the ratio of amplitude to wavelength of the sinusoidal walls maintained a nearly constant value. The concept of mixing effectiveness was used to select the most efficient designs considering both the mixing performance and pressure drop.     

Distributive mixing in a single‐screw extruder—evaluation in the flow direction

This study investigates distributive mixing in the flow direction for a single‐screw extruder. WIth a custom‐designed transparent extruder, an Image Analysis System, and a newly defined parameter, i.e., distribution index, the distribution mechanism is thoroughly examined with respect to various processing conditions or screw designs. Experimental results indicate that the longitudinal distribution can be enhanced with an increasing RPM, a longer metering section, or a decreasing diameter of the die. However, a plateau region occurs when an optimum condition exists for the RPM and the length of the metering section. In addition, an extruder modified with a barrier, pin‐elements, or high helix angle performs better in the longitudinal mixing than the conventional one. Our results further demonstrate that leakage flow significantly enhances mixing in the flow direction.     

A CFD model for predicting the flow patterns of viscous fluids in a bioreactor under various operating conditions

Computational fluid dynamics simulation is becoming an increasingly useful tool in the analysis and design of simultaneous saccharification fermentation (SSF) and saccharification followed by fermentation process (SFF). To understand and improve mixing and mass transfer in a highly viscous non-Newtonian system, it was necessary to simulate the flow behavior in this bench scale bioreactor (BioFlo 3000). This study focused on designing a high concentration medium agitation system for such a process using the commercial computational fluid dynamics package Fluent (V. 6.2.20) and its preprocessor Mixsim (V. 2.1.10). The objective of this study is to compare performance of various designs of a bioreactor and identify the flow pattern and related phenomena in the bench scale tank. The configuration of the physical model for simulating a mixing tank with a Rushton impeller consists of an ellipsoidal cylindrical tank with four equally spaced wall mounted baffles extending the vessel bottom to the free surface, stirred by a centrally located six-blade Rushton turbine impeller. Simulations were performed with the original and a modified design in which the lower bottom shaft mounted a Lightnin A200 impeller. The results suggest that there is a potential for slow or stagnant flow between top impellers and bottom of the tank region, which could result in poor nitrogen and heat transfer for highly viscous fermentations. The results also show that the axial velocity was significantly improved for the modified geometry in the bottom of the tank.     

Numerical investigation of laminar mass transport enhancement in heterogeneous gaseous microreactors

Laminar mass transport enhancement of gaseous mixing and catalytic reaction in a semi T-shaped microreactor was examined via numerical simulations. The mathematical model considers a multi-component species mixture with multi-step heterogeneous reactions and comprises of conservation equations of mass, momentum, species and energy. The mass transport performance is evaluated by modeling the catalytic reaction of a mixture of methane and air. Several innovative channel designs are proposed to improve mixing and reaction kinetics, e.g. innovative circular and rectangular configuration, flow splitting, redirection, recirculation and impingement. The results suggest that the rectangular design yields better conversion rate than the rate obtained with its circular counterpart. Flow splitting and impingement are found to be beneficial to improve mixing and reaction rate; albeit this imposes a greater pressure drop penalty. Effect of pre-mixing is also investigated with regard to the mass transport performance. Finally, advantages and limitations of each design are discussed in the light of the numerical results.     

Flow visualization and numerical analysis of a new mixing equipment with vibratory fins

The mixing performance of a new type of mixing equipment which has several fin oscillators on a pair of shafts with a vibrating motor was investigated. This mixing equipment, which is mainly used for industrial plating processes, was usually operated at a vibrating frequency of about 40 Hz with the amplitude 1 mm. The flow visualization in this equipment showed that the flow in the vessel at laminar flow region was vertically divided into two distinct symmetric regions. The numerical simulation of the flow and the mixing patterns agreed well with the visualization result at laminar flow region.     

搅拌生物反应器的循环时间分布和混合结构模型

利用磁粒子流动跟踪法对搅拌生物反应器的循环时间分布进行测定,并将Rushton径向流桨和两种新型轴向流桨在不同介质粘度和转速下的循环时间分布进行比较和性能评价。建立了单桨搅拌生物反应器的混合结构模型,对循环时间分布数据进行拟合,求得模型参数,进而讨论了不同实验条件下模型参数的变化。结果表明,对于非牛顿、高粘度发酵过程,轴向流桨比Rushton桨具有更好的混合特性。     

Optimization analysis of the staggered herringbone micromixer based on the slip-driven method

In this paper the mixing effect of the staggered herringbone micromixer (SHM) was investigated by using the slip-driven method. This method simplified the 3D flow in the staggered herringbone micromixer into a 2D cavity flow with an axial Poiseuille flow. The solution of the 2D cavity flow was obtained by solving the biharmonic equation. An improved design with a cosine asymmetric factor P(z) was proposed, and its mixing effect was demonstrated by comparing the effect with the original design [Stroock, A.D., Dertinger, S.K.W., Ajdari, A., Mezic, I., Stone, H.A. and Whitesides, G.M., 2002, Chaotic mixer for microchannels, Science, 295: 647–651; Stroock, A.D., Dertinger, S.K.W., Whitesides, G.M. and Ajdari, A., 2002, Patterning flows using grooved surfaces, Anal Chem, 74: 5306–5312]. Four methods evaluating the mixing effect were used: (1) mixing images at different cycles; (2) Poincaré Sections; (3) segregation intensity and (4) stretching computation. Finally, an optimized value of P₀ = 1/6 was obtained, and the mixing effect of the improved design for different P₀ is discussed.     

膨胀床的膨胀特征和流体混合性能

对膨胀床的膨胀特性和流体混合性能进行了研究。考察了流体粘度、温度、流速和沉降床层高度等因素的影响。结果表明,Ｓｔｒｅａｍｌｉｎｅ ＤＥＡＥ在Ｓｔｒｅａｍｌｉｎｅ ２５中的膨胀行为可以用Ｒｉｃｈａｒｄｓｏｎ－Ｚａｋｉ方程来描述。在所研究的范围内,流体粘度、流速和床层高度的增大都会引起轴向混合系数的增大;膨胀床的轴向混合系数很小（＜４ｘ１０~６ｍ~２．ｓ－１）,表明柱内流体以近似平推流流动。     

Axial mixing in a novel pilot scale gas–liquid reciprocating plate column

Axial mixing in a novel pilot scale landau reciprocating plate column (LRPC) has been investigated for counter-current gas–liquid contacting over a wide range of operating conditions. The experimental results obtained using the dynamic response method were analysed using both the dispersion and compartment models under different boundary conditions and using both the method of moments and the direct time domain parameter estimation techniques. Based on the results, it was identified that axial mixing in this column can be best described using the back flow and the dispersion models solved with “closed–closed” boundary conditions. A general correlation describing the effect of operating parameters on the extent of axial mixing was developed with a mean absolute relative residuals of 6.8%. Similar to other RPC designs, axial mixing in LRPC increases with increasing both phase flows and plates oscillatory velocity. Values of axial dispersion coefficient in this work ranged from 10⁻⁴ to over 3 × 10⁻³ m²/s, which are comparable or less than those in other RPC designs under similar phase velocities and oscillatory conditions, but an almost order of magnitude lower than those measured in bubble columns under similar operating flow rates.