화학공학소재연구정보센터
Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering, Vol.27, No.5, 993-1000, 2019
CFD study on double- to single-loop flow pattern transition and its influence on macro mixing efficiency in fully baffled tank stirred by a Rushton turbine
For a fully baffled tank stirred by a Rushton turbine (RT), the flow pattern will change from double- to single-loop as the off bottom dearance (C) of the RTdeaeases from one third of the tank diameter. Such a flow pattern transition as well as its influence on the macro mixing efficiency was investigated via CFD simulation. The transient sliding mesh approach coupled with the standard k-s turbulence model could correctly and efficiently reproduce the reported critical C range where the flow pattern changes. Simulation results indicated that such a critical C range varied hardly with the impeller rotation speed but decreased significantly with increasing impeller diameter. Small RTs are preferable to generating the single-loop flow pattern. A mechanism of the flow pattern transition was further proposed to explain these phenomena. The discharge stream from the RT deviates downwards from the horizontal direction for small C values; if it meets the tank wall first, the double-loop will form; if it hits the tank bottom first, the single-loop will form. With the flow pattern transition, the mixing time decreased by about 35% at the same power input (P), indicating that the single-loop flow pattern was more efficient than the double-loop to enhance the macro mixing in the tank. A comparison was further made between the single-loop RT and pitched blade turbine (PBT, 45 degrees) from macro mixing perspective. The single-loop RT was found to be less efficient than the PBT and usually required 60% more time to achieve the same level of macro mixing at the same P. (C) 2018 The Chemical Industry and Engineering Society of China, and Chemical Industry Press Co., Ltd. All rights reserved.