COMPUTATIONAL PREDICTION OF MIXING PROCESSES IN AGITATED VESSELS

MIXING OF LIQUIDS THROUGH MECHANICAL AGITATION IS USED THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS INDUSTRY. INADEQUATE UNDERSTANDING OF THE FUNDAMENTALS OF THE MIXING PROCESSES RESULTS IN FREQUENT AND EXPENSIVE PROCESSING DIFFICULTIES. COMPUTATIONAL ANALYSIS OF TRANSPORT PHENOMENA IS USED IN A VARIETY OF ENGINEERING APPLICATIONS. HOWEVER, ITS UTILITY IN STUDYING MIXING OPERATIONS HAS BEEN LIMITED BECAUSE SUITABLE COMPUTATIONAL TECHNIQUES HAVE NOT BEEN DEVELOPED FOR THE UNSTEADY FLOW RESULTING FROM THE INTERACTION OF THE MOVING IMPELLER AND THE STATIONARY BAFFLES ON THE VESSEL WALLS. THE RESEARCH IS DEVELOPING A COMPUTATIONAL METHOD THAT ADDRESSES THE MOTION OF THE IMPELLER IN A FUNDAMENTAL MANNER BASED ON A TWO-DOMAIN SLIDING-MESH APPROACH. IT INCORPORATES ADVANCED TURBULENCE MODELS, TWO-PHASE FLOW CAPABILITY, COMPLEX CHEMICAL REACTIONS, AND NON-NEWTONIAN FLUID BEHAVIOR. MULTIGRID METHODS ARE USED TO ENABLE EFFICIENT SOLUTION OF THE DISCRETIZATION EQUATIONS. A SOFTWARE TOOL BASED ON THIS METHODOLOGY IS CAPABLE OF ANALYZING A LARGE NUMBER OF MIXING OPERATIONS. IT HELPS PROCESS ENGINEERS GAIN INSIGHTS INTO THE MIXING PROCESSES, OPTIMIZE OPERATING CONDITIONS, AND ACHIEVE SUCCESSFUL SCALE-UP WITH REDUCED TRIAL AND ERROR. IT CAN ALSO HELP EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURERS TO OPTIMIZE THE DESIGN OF MIXING VESSELS AND IMPELLERS.