Effect of aspect ratio of elliptical stirred vessel on mixing time and flow field characteristics in the absence of baffles

Elliptical tanks were used as an alternative to circular tanks in order to improve mixing efficiency and reduce mixing time in unbaffled stirred tanks(USTs). Five different aspect ratios of elliptical vessels were designed to compare their mixing time and flow field. Computational fluid dynamics(CFD) simulations were performed using the k–ε model to calculate the mixing time and simulate turbulent flow field features, such as streamline shape, velocity distribution, vortex core region distribution, and turbulent kinetic energy(TKE) transfer. Visualization was also carried out to track the tinctorial evolution of the liquid phase. Results reveal that elliptical stirred tanks can significantly improve mixing performance in USTs. Specifically, the mixing time at an aspect ratio of 2.00 is only 45.3% of the one of a circular stirred tank. Furthermore, the secondary flow is strengthened and the vortex core region increases with the increase of aspect ratio. The axial velocity is more sensitive to the aspect ratio than the circumferential and radial velocity. Additionally, the TKE transfer in elliptical vessels is altered. These findings suggest that elliptical vessels offer a promising alternative to circular vessels for enhancing mixing performance in USTs.

CFD Simulation of Local and Global Mixing Time in an Agitated Tank

The Issue of mixing efficiency in agitated tanks has drawn serious concern in many industrial processes. The turbulence model is very critical to predicting mixing process in agitated tanks. On the basis of computational fluid dynamics（CFD） software package Fluent 6.2, the mixing characteristics in a tank agitated by dual six-blade-Rushton-turbines（6-DT） are predicted using the detached eddy simulation（DES） method. A sliding mesh（SM） approach is adopted to solve the rotation of the impeller. The simulated flow patterns and liquid velocities in the agitated tank are verified by experimental data in the literature. The simulation results indicate that the DES method can obtain more flow details than Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes（RANS） model. Local and global mixing time in the agitated tank is predicted by solving a tracer concentration scalar transport equation. The simulated results show that feeding points have great influence on mixing process and mixing time. Mixing efficiency is the highest for the feeding point at location of midway of the two impellers. Two methods are used to determine global mixing time and get close result. Dimensionless global mixing time remains unchanged with increasing of impeller speed. Parallel, merging and diverging flow pattern form in the agitated tank, respectively, by changing the impeller spacing and clearance of lower impeller from the bottom of the tank. The global mixing time is the shortest for the merging flow, followed by diverging flow, and the longest for parallel flow. The research presents helpful references for design, optimization and scale-up of agitated tanks with multi-impeller.

Numerical Simulation of Macroscopic Mixing in a Rushton Impeller Stirred Tank

The macroscopic mixing in a stirred tank with different tracer injection locations, impeller speeds and impeller positions is simulated numerically by solving the transport equation of the tracer based on the whole flow field in the baffled tank with a Rushton disk turbine numerically resolved using the improved inner-outer iterative procedure. Predicted mixing time is compared well with the literature correlations. The predicted residence time distribution of the stirred tank is very close to the present experimental results. The effect of the installation of a draft tube on the mixing time and residence time distributions is addressed.

Computational Fluid Dynamics Approach to the Effect of Mixing and Draft Tube on the Precipitation of Barium Sulfate in a Continuous Stirred Tank

The effect of mixing on the precipitation of barium sulfate in a continuous stirred tank is simulated nu- merically with different feeding location, feed concentration, impeller speed and residence time through solving the standard momentum and mass transport equations in combination with the moment equations for crystal population balance. The numerical method was validated with the literature data. The simulation results including the distribu- tion of the local supersaturation ratio distribution in the precipitator, mean crystal size and coefficient of variation under different operating conditions compared well with experimental data in the literature. The effect of the pres- ence of a draft tube on precipitation were also investigated, and it is suggested that the installation of a draft tube increased the mean crystal size, in general agreement with experimental work in the literature.

Isolated mixing regions and mixing enhancement in a high-viscosity laminar stirred tank

Laminar mixing in the stirred tank is widely encountered in chemical and biological industries.Isolated mixing regions(IMRs)usually exist when the fluid medium has high viscosity,which are not conducive to mixing.In this work,the researches on IMRs,enhancement of laminar mixing and the phenomenon of particle clustering within IMRs are reviewed.For most studies,the aim is to destroy IMRs and improve the chaotic mixing.To this end,the mechanism of chaotic mixing and the structure of IMRs were well investigated.The methods developed to destroy IMRs include off-centered agitation,dynamic mixing protocol,special designs of impellers,baffles,etc.In addition,the methods to characterize the shape and size of IMRs as well as mixing effect by experiments and simulations are summarized.However,IMRs are not always nuisance,and it may be necessary in some situations.Finally,the present engineering applications are summarized,and the prospect of the future application is predicted.For example,particle clustering will form in the co-existing system of chaotic mixing and IMRs,which can be used for solid–liquid separation and recovery of particles from high viscosity fluid.

Modeling and Control of a Continuous Stirred Tank Reactor Based on a Mixed Logical Dynamical Model

A novel control strategy for a continuous stirred tank reactor(CSTR)system,which has the typical characteristic of strongly pronounced nonlinearity,multiple operating points,and a wide operating range,is initiated from the point of hybrid systems.The proposed scheme makes full use of the modeling power of mixed logical dy- namical(MLD)systems to describe the highly nonlinear dynamics and multiple operating points in a unified framework as a hybrid system,and takes advantage of the good control quality of model predictive control(MPC) to design a controller.Thus,this approach avoids oscillation during switching between sub-systems,helps to relieve shaking in transition,and augments the stability robustness of the whole system,and finally achieves optimal(i.e. fast and smooth)transition between operating points.The simulation results demonstrate that the presented ap- proach has a satisfactory performance.

Effect of an Inclined Slots on the Power Consumption and Vortices Size in a Rushton Turbine Agitated Tank

Mechanical agitation in baffled vessels with turbines plays a vital role in achieving homogeneous fluid mixing and promoting various transfer operations.Therefore,designing vessels with optimal energy efficiency and flow dynamics is essential to enhance operational performance and eliminate flow perturbations.Hence,the present research focuses on a numerical investigation of the impact of inclined slots with different angles installed at the side-wall of a cylindrical vessel equipped with a Rushton turbine.This study explores power consumption and vortex size while considering various rotation directions of the impeller with different rotation speeds.The numerical simulations are conducted for Reynolds numbers ranging from 104 to 105,using the RANS k-εturbulence model to govern the flow inside the stirred vessel,accounting for mass and momentum balances.The results have shown that the installation of slots reduces power consumption and vortex size compared to conventional vessel configu-rations.Moreover,increasing the slot angle from 0 to 32.5°further reduces energy consumption and vortex size,especially with negative rotation speeds.On the other hand,increasing the Reynolds numbers leads to a decrease in power consumption and an increase in vortex size.The present research therefore proposes a design for con-structing Rushton-turbine stirred vessels offering optimal operation,characterized by reduced energy consumption and minimized vortex size.

四种助剂对防治褐飞虱的植物源农药1%印楝素水分散粒剂毒力的影响

【目的】本研究旨在探究橙皮精油(orange peel essential oil,OPEO)、γ-氨基丁酸(γ-aminobutyric acid,GABA)、卵磷脂及马来酸二乙酯(diethyl maleate,DEM)4种助剂对植物源农药1%印楝素水分散粒剂(water dispersible granule,WG)毒力的影响,筛选出有增效作用的助剂,将其作为1%印楝素WG防治褐飞虱Nilaparvata lugens的桶混助剂。【方法】利用稻苗浸渍法和连续浸液法评价印楝素及添加助剂OPEO、GABA、卵磷脂或DEM后对褐飞虱3龄若虫的毒力;测定印楝素(20 mg a.i./L)及添加助剂处理后,褐飞虱3龄若虫体内谷胱甘肽S-转移酶(glutathione S-transferase,GST)、羧酸酯酶(carboxylesterase,CarE)及乙酰胆碱酯酶(acetylcholinesterase,AChE)3种酶活性;测定添加助剂后对印楝素药液(40 mg a.i./L)与水稻叶片接触角的影响。【结果】稻苗浸渍法处理后96 h,添加DEM使印楝素对褐飞虱3龄若虫胃毒性毒力显著增强,增效比为1.512;连续浸液法处理后72 h,添加OPEO或DEM使印楝素对褐飞虱3龄若虫内吸性毒力显著增强,其增效比分别为1.486及1.560;添加OPEO或DEM分别使褐飞虱3龄若虫体内GST活性比印楝素单剂处理分别降低69.4%和65.5%;添加DEM使CarE活性比印楝素单剂处理降低88.2%;添加OPEO或DEM后,印楝素药液液滴与水稻正面叶片的初始接触角从110°分别降至64.5°或67.9°。【结论】添加OPEO或DEM能明显提高印楝素对褐飞虱的毒力,提高印楝素药液在水稻叶片上的润湿性。因此,将OPEO或DEM作为1%印楝素WG防治褐飞虱的桶混助剂有一定的应用价值。

挡板构型对含钒页岩浸出槽内多相流行为的影响

搅拌浸出槽是石煤提钒浸出过程中的关键设备,搅拌槽的结构优化对提高固液悬浮性能具有重要意义。本文对不同构型挡板的某厂含钒页岩搅拌槽进行数值模拟,通过比照搅拌槽流场与相分布、死区分布等模拟结果,剖析不同构型挡板对含钒页岩搅拌槽内固液两相流的影响。结果表明:安装挡板对搅拌过程中钒页岩颗粒充分扩散有利。分段挡板条件下整体流速约为0.65m/s,相较于标准挡板更快,增幅约为15.00%。分段挡板与标准挡板对钒页岩颗粒在搅拌槽内的扩散优化效果相似,两种挡板均能缩小钒页岩颗粒的死区区域,其中标准挡板低浓度区域减少约99.14%,分段挡板沉积区域减少约91.21%。此外,分段挡板相较于标准挡板能够节省20.00%的搅拌功率。分段挡板在能获得与标准挡板相同搅拌效果的同时更加节能,具有较高的应用推广价值。

面向池塘圈养模式的气液混合泵的参数优化及增氧试验

为探究气液混合泵能否满足在高密度养殖条件下养殖对象对水体溶氧的需求,基于气液(氧气-水)混合泵搭建溶氧试验平台,在不同水温、不同出水压力和不同气水体积比的条件下,测试气液混合泵溶氧性能,并在池塘圈养桶(直径4 m,高2 m,养殖水体体积20 m^(3))内进行增氧试验。溶氧性能测试结果显示:当出水压力为0.25 MPa、气水体积比为0.01~0.05时,在不同水温(5.6、13.5、30.3)条件下出水溶解氧与水温成反比,溶解氧在47.93~20.60 mg/L变化;氧气吸收效率与气水体积比呈反比,氧气吸收效率在91%~33.7%变化;动力效率与气水体积比成正比,动力效率在22.32~55.12 kg/(kW·h)变化。基于圈养桶的增氧试验结果显示,在有鱼耗氧的条件下(黄颡鱼,单个桶内养殖密度为13.19~16.49 kg/m^(3)),使用功率3 kW的气液混合泵为4个圈养桶增氧时,每个桶内水体溶解氧在光照时间内可达11 mg/L,夜间稳定保持在8 mg/L以上。试验结果表明气液混合泵可应用于高密度的水产养殖,并能有效应对夏季高温供氧难题。

Discrete element simulation of the grain mixing law in brown rice germination device

The discrete element method(DEM)was used in this study to numerically simulate the mixing process and motion law of particles in brown rice germination device.And the reliability of simulation experiments was verified through physical experiments.In the discrete element simulation experiment,there were three mixing stages in the mixing process of the particles.The particle motion conditions at different rotational speeds were rolling,cascading,cataracting and centrifuging.The lower the filling degree,the higher the particle mixing efficiency.The radial trajectory of the particles was approximated as an elliptical helix that continuously shrank towards the axis.The research results indicated that under the same speed and filling conditions,the motion of brown rice particles in both the simulated and physical test environments is rolling and the drop height is the same.

双混合澄清槽混合过程的仿真研究

以水相和有机相为流体介质,运用CFD技术对双混合澄清槽的混合过程进行液液双相流仿真,深入研究了双混合槽的泵吸能力、搅拌力矩和两相混合特性。仿真结果显示,双混合槽结构具有很强的泵吸能力,搅拌桨所受力矩值随迭代计算次数增加逐步趋于稳定。双混合槽内有机相体积分数随迭代计算先快速增加,后缓慢增加,最后逐渐稳定接近于0.5,定性分析和定量分析对仿真结果的解释具有一致性。

压裂液连续混配装置混合罐设计研究

石油天然气压裂用连续混配装置的核心技术是配液,与配液相关的设备主要是混合罐,混合罐设计中主要考虑基液特性、罐体设计和搅拌器设计。基液特性主要考虑流量、黏度、添加剂、成本等;罐体主要考虑材料、形状、挡板位置、舱室容积、基液流向,罐体为延长基液流经时间采用迷宫式设计;搅拌器主要考虑转速、功率、直径、段数、叶片形状等,为达到良好搅拌效果搅拌器采用两段式设计。该设计研究可应用于同类产品设计与计算,是压裂液连续混配装置混合罐的核心技术和重要设计依据。

某柴油机排温异常原因分析及解决措施研究

排气温度作为判断发动机是否正常的一个参数,作为柴油机故障判断依据之一,快速判断排气温度异常的原因并对其进行解决是保证发动机运行的基本要求。本文通过故障树分析法对某柴油机排温异常进行原因分析及解决,从燃油供给系统、冷却水系统、涡轮增压器以及外界环境因素入手,最终确认排温异常是由于试验环境导致进气量少使燃料燃烧不充分造成后燃引起,最终通过增加混气箱,增大柴油机进气量成功消除了排气温度过高的故障,并通过此次问题分析总结,为后续解决柴油机排温高的问题提供了完善系统的排除流程。

透水混凝土在工人体育场项目中的全过程质量控制

为满足海绵城市建设应用对透水混凝土高强度性能的要求,本文针对透水混凝土工作性能差、罐车运输困难等问题,对透水混凝土配合比设计及原材料选择展开优化研究。实践结果表明:通过选用水泥、骨料及特殊的BMB-JYG型增效剂,成功制备出性能良好,出机坍落度170 mm,抗压强度38.4 MPa,透水系数1.27 mm/s的C30强度等级透水混凝土,并应用在工人体育场项目中,解决了传统搅拌站生产和罐车运输透水混凝土时面临的难题以及施工现场搅拌过程中因混合料均匀性差异大、质量不稳定而带来的问题,为透水混凝土的进一步推广应用提供了参考。

Study on macro-instability in stirred tank

Macro-instability(MI)is an important natural phenomenon affecting the mixing performance in stirred tank significantly,which results from movement and evolution of large eddies.Factors associated with MI frequency in mixing operation and energy dissipation related to MI were reviewed.Flow pattern in turbulent regime contains many coherent structures,which have much energy vortices and may result in flow field MI.Adjustment of coherent structure and controlling MI may contribute to energy saving and good mixing performance.Controlling methods for MI was prospected.

Numerical optimization for blades of Intermig impeller in solid-liquid stirred tank

The multiphase flow in the solid-liquid tank stirred with a new structure of Intermig impeller was analyzed by computational fluid dynamics(CFD).The Eulerian multiphase model and standard k-ε turbulence model were adopted to simulate the fluid flow,turbulent kinetic energy distribution,mixing performance and power consumption in a stirred tank.The simulation results were also verified by the water model experiments,and good agreement was achieved.The solid-liquid mixing performances of Intermig impeller with different blade structures were compared in detail.The results show that the improved Intermig impeller not only enhances the solid mixing and suspension,but also saves more than 20% power compared with the standard one.The inner blades have relatively little influence on power and the best angle of inner blades is 45°,while the outer blades affect greatly the power consumption and the optimized value is 45°.

Effect of Agitator’s Types on the Hydrodynamic Flow in an Agitated Tank

The aim of this paper is to study the effect of agitator’s types on the turbulent flows in stirred tanks without and with baffles.The hydrodynamics behavior induced by four different agitator’s types:a Rushton turbine(RT),a circular blade turbine(CBT),a diverging triangular blade turbine(DTBT)and converging triangular blade turbine(CTBT)are numerically predicted by solving the Navier-Stokes equations and RNGκ–εturbulent model.The simulations are carried out using the Multi Reference Frame(MRF)approach.The numerical results showed good agreement with experiment.We find that the agitator CTBT gives an important profit on the power consumption per report/ratio the others and DTBT give a good reduction of the vortex size of the impeller angles.

CFD modeling of turbulent reacting flow in a semi-batch stirred-tank reactor

For the mixing-sensitive reactions, both chemical kinetics and mixing conditions of the reactants determine the distributions of products. The direct quadrature method of moments combining with the interaction by exchange with the mean micro-mixing model(DQMOM-IEM) has been validated for the chemical reacting flows in microreactors. Quite encouraging simulation results offer great promise, but the applicability of this method is needed to be explored furthermore, such as in stirred reactors. In this work, the two-environment DQMOM-IEM model was created with C language and used to customize Fluent through the user-defined functions. The mixing effects on the course of parallel competing chemical reactions carried out in a semi-batch single-phase stirred reactor were predicted. The simulation results show that the rising feed velocity enlarges the volume of reaction zone and maximize the yield of the by-product, which also indicates that the feed stream is more difficultly dispersed into the main stream and the zone surrounding feedpipe exit with high turbulent kinetic dissipation rate cannot be efficiently used.

Cost Optimal Selection of Storage Tanks in LPG Vaporization Station

Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is an important urban gas source in China. Before supplied to customers by pipeline supply systems, LPG is stored in tanks in LPG vaporization stations. Designers usually decide the number and the size of storage tanks by their experience during constructions of vaporization stations. These decisions are usually not best and most economical. To solve the problem, a compact mixed integer nonlinear programming model has been developed in this paper. The objective is to minimize annual storage cost of the vaporization station. The model has been transformed into a general nonlinear programming model by transforming integer variables and 0-1 variables into continuous variables. One LPG vaporization station was taken as an example to illustrate the usage of the model. The results show that the optimal storage scheme can be determined accurately and quickly by the model and about 15% of storage cost can be saved every year after optimization.