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Fundamental approach to the design and optimization of static mixers
Author(s) -
Szalai E. S.,
Muzzio F. J.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
aiche journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.958
H-Index - 167
eISSN - 1547-5905
pISSN - 0001-1541
DOI - 10.1002/aic.690491103
Subject(s) - static mixer , reynolds number , mixing (physics) , mechanics , range (aeronautics) , flow (mathematics) , inertia , volumetric flow rate , twist , mechanical engineering , geometry , aspect ratio (aeronautics) , materials science , mathematics , engineering drawing , engineering , physics , classical mechanics , composite material , turbulence , quantum mechanics
Abstract Mixing in the Kenics static mixer is optimized using computational analysis and theoretical concepts. A total of 54 cases were examined to consider the effect of mixer geometry and inertia on flow and mixing performance. The effect of varying the standard geometry is discussed for a broad range of Reynolds numbers. While only the twist angle affects performance at low flow rates (Re≅1), both the element aspect ratio and the twist angle are shown to be important at high flow rates (Re⩽1,000). The energetic mixing efficiency decreases with increasing flow rate. Finally, a quality‐driven design method is developed based on stretching calculations, and is illustrated for the standard mixer design.