Investigations of mixing in mechanically stirred tanks

Abstract

Mixing in mechanically stirred tanks is simulated using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The main focus of this study is to investigate the division of the tank into two or more compartments based on values of the dissipation rate of the kinetic energy of turbulence, &egr;. The multiple reference frames (MRF) model is used to model the impeller. This is a more up-to-date technique compared to the rotating frame (RF) method that was used by many previous researchers. In this study, the RF is used for a very limited number of cases. The results obtained include full field values of pressure, velocity, kinetic energy of turbulence, k, and its dissipation rate, &egr;. The numerical results are validated against the results of Wu and Patterson (1989) and a good agreement is obtained. The numerical results are also compared with other published CFD results and a reasonable agreement is also obtained. The tank is divided into compartments based on a value of the dissipation rate of the kinetic energy of turbulence, &egr;cut. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)