Numerical prediction of a nusselt number equation for stirred tanks with helical coils

A methodology to obtain a Nusselt correlation for stirred tank reactors is presented. The novelty of the approach is the use of a validated computational model to obtain the heat‐transfer coefficients. The advantages of this new approach are many, including the possibility of testing different heat‐transfer configurations to obtain their Nusselt correlation without performing experimental runs. Physical phenomena involved was represented both qualitatively and quantitatively. The classical experimental work of (Oldshue and Gretton, Chem Eng Prog. 1954;50(12):615–621) illustrates the procedure. A sufficient number of virtual points in the whole range of the Reynolds number should be obtained. Results strongly depend on mesh refinement in the boundary layer, so a procedure is suggested to guarantee heat‐transfer coefficients are accurately estimated. The final Nusselt correlation was compared against all the 107 experimental points of the work by (Oldshue and Gretton, Chem Eng Prog. 1954;50(12):615–621), and an average deviation on the results of 10.7%. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 63: 3912–3924, 2017