A comparison of power and flow characteristics between batch and in-line rotor-stator mixers

Thomas John; Claudio Pereira Da Fonte; A. Kowalski; Thomas Rodgers

doi:10.1016/j.ces.2019.03.015

A comparison of power and flow characteristics between batch and in-line rotor-stator mixers

Thomas John, Claudio Pereira Da Fonte, A. Kowalski, Thomas Rodgers

CE - Academic & Research

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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Abstract

Rotor-stator mixers are used in many industries to perform emulsification and de-agglomeration processes. Despite previous research, different modes of operation have not been compared in terms of flow and power characteristics. The aim of this study was to use CFD to investigate power and flow characteristics of a Silverson L5M mixer operating in batch and in-line mode. MRF was used along with the standard k-∊ turbulence model for the simulations. Results suggest that batch mixers can be characterised in the same was as in-line mixers, and for a given mixing head design, the characterisation is independent of the mode of operation. A new way of the calculating flow number is proposed, which explains some discrepant results from previous studies. Overall, this work enhances our understanding of rotor-stator mixers and allows for better design choices of mixer.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	481-490
Number of pages	10
Journal	Chemical Engineering Science
Volume	202
Early online date	19 Mar 2019
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ces.2019.03.015
Publication status	Published - 20 Jul 2019

Keywords

Rotor-stator
Mixing
Power number
Flow number
CFD

Research Beacons, Institutes and Platforms

Dalton Nuclear Institute

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10.1016/j.ces.2019.03.015

RevisedManuscriptAccepted author manuscript, 743 KB

Cite this

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title = "A comparison of power and flow characteristics between batch and in-line rotor-stator mixers",

abstract = "Rotor-stator mixers are used in many industries to perform emulsification and de-agglomeration processes. Despite previous research, different modes of operation have not been compared in terms of flow and power characteristics. The aim of this study was to use CFD to investigate power and flow characteristics of a Silverson L5M mixer operating in batch and in-line mode. MRF was used along with the standard k-∊ turbulence model for the simulations. Results suggest that batch mixers can be characterised in the same was as in-line mixers, and for a given mixing head design, the characterisation is independent of the mode of operation. A new way of the calculating flow number is proposed, which explains some discrepant results from previous studies. Overall, this work enhances our understanding of rotor-stator mixers and allows for better design choices of mixer.",

keywords = "Rotor-stator, Mixing, Power number, Flow number, CFD",

author = "Thomas John and {Pereira Da Fonte}, Claudio and A. Kowalski and Thomas Rodgers",

note = "Funding Information: The authors would like to express their gratitude to the EPSRC industrial case awards and Unilever for funding the first authors PhD studies and EPSRC project The Centre in Advanced Fluid Engineering for Digital Manufacturing (EP/R00482X/1) for funding the other authors. The authors would also like to thank the workshop staff of The University of Manchesters School of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Science for their help with the modifications and maintenance of the equipment. Appendix A Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2019 Elsevier Ltd",

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doi = "10.1016/j.ces.2019.03.015",

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TY - JOUR

T1 - A comparison of power and flow characteristics between batch and in-line rotor-stator mixers

AU - John, Thomas

AU - Pereira Da Fonte, Claudio

AU - Kowalski, A.

AU - Rodgers, Thomas

N1 - Funding Information: The authors would like to express their gratitude to the EPSRC industrial case awards and Unilever for funding the first authors PhD studies and EPSRC project The Centre in Advanced Fluid Engineering for Digital Manufacturing (EP/R00482X/1) for funding the other authors. The authors would also like to thank the workshop staff of The University of Manchesters School of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Science for their help with the modifications and maintenance of the equipment. Appendix A Publisher Copyright: © 2019 Elsevier Ltd

PY - 2019/7/20

Y1 - 2019/7/20

N2 - Rotor-stator mixers are used in many industries to perform emulsification and de-agglomeration processes. Despite previous research, different modes of operation have not been compared in terms of flow and power characteristics. The aim of this study was to use CFD to investigate power and flow characteristics of a Silverson L5M mixer operating in batch and in-line mode. MRF was used along with the standard k-∊ turbulence model for the simulations. Results suggest that batch mixers can be characterised in the same was as in-line mixers, and for a given mixing head design, the characterisation is independent of the mode of operation. A new way of the calculating flow number is proposed, which explains some discrepant results from previous studies. Overall, this work enhances our understanding of rotor-stator mixers and allows for better design choices of mixer.

AB - Rotor-stator mixers are used in many industries to perform emulsification and de-agglomeration processes. Despite previous research, different modes of operation have not been compared in terms of flow and power characteristics. The aim of this study was to use CFD to investigate power and flow characteristics of a Silverson L5M mixer operating in batch and in-line mode. MRF was used along with the standard k-∊ turbulence model for the simulations. Results suggest that batch mixers can be characterised in the same was as in-line mixers, and for a given mixing head design, the characterisation is independent of the mode of operation. A new way of the calculating flow number is proposed, which explains some discrepant results from previous studies. Overall, this work enhances our understanding of rotor-stator mixers and allows for better design choices of mixer.

KW - Rotor-stator

KW - Mixing

KW - Power number

KW - Flow number

KW - CFD

U2 - 10.1016/j.ces.2019.03.015

DO - 10.1016/j.ces.2019.03.015

M3 - Article

SN - 0009-2509

VL - 202

SP - 481

EP - 490

JO - Chemical Engineering Science

JF - Chemical Engineering Science

ER -

A comparison of power and flow characteristics between batch and in-line rotor-stator mixers

Abstract

Keywords

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