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Numerical and Experimental Investigation of the Effect of Geometrical Parameters on the Performance of a Contraction-Expansion Helical Mixer

  • Liang Dong and Zhang Shufen EMAIL logo
Published/Copyright: July 15, 2014
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International Journal of Chemical Reactor Engineering
From the journal International Journal of Chemical Reactor Engineering Volume 12 Issue 1

Abstract

In this study, the mixing efficiency of a passive contraction-expansion helical mixer, which combines several features, such as helical pipes for induction of secondary flows and sudden expansion and contraction array for expansion vortices, was numerically and experimentally studied. We employed the method of Box–Behnken to select the appropriate design points. Then, various configurations were investigated via computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. The extent of mixing was evaluated by monitoring the residence time distribution (RTD) and observing the shape of the RTD curves. A fast competitive-consecutive diazo coupling reaction is carried out to validate the RTD results. The influences of radius of curvature of the helical mixer, ratio of the length of the contraction part to expansion part, pitch of helical mixer, and the Reynolds number (Re) on mixing efficiency, and pressure drop were also investigated. As expected, the radius of curvature of the helical mixer, ratio of the length of the contraction part to expansion part, and the Reynolds number affected significantly the mixing efficiency, while the pitch of helical mixer had little influence on mixing efficiency. Quadratic models for mixing efficiency and pressure drop were then proposed and could be used for designing the optimal contraction-expansion helical mixer for the required pumping power.

Keywords: computational fluid dynamics; contraction-expansion; helical pipe; laminar flow; mixing; residence time distribution

Nomenclature

b [m]

pitch of helical mixer

C(t) [s−1]

tracer concentration as a function of time

dc [m]

inner diameter of the contraction part

de [m]

inner diameter of the expansion part

E(t) [s−1]

RTD function

E(θ) [–]

normalized RTD function

Ep [–]

peak value of the normalized RTD function

k [mol m−3 s−1]

reaction rate constants,

Lc [m]

length of the contraction part

Le [m]

length of the expansion part

o–R [–]

2-[(4-sulfophenyl)azo]-1-naphthol

p–R [–]

4-[(4-sulfophenyl]azo]-1-naphthol

R [m]

radius of curvature

Re [–]

Reynolds number

S [–]

2,4-bis[(4-sulfophenyl)azo]-1-naphthol

t [s]

mixing time

tm [s]

mean residence time

ΔP [kg m−1 s−2]

pressure drop along the conduit

XS

product distribution

Y

response function

Greek letters

aj, βj [–]

coefficients of the quadratic model

θ [–]

dimensionless time

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the financial supports of the National Key Technology R&D Program (2011BAE07B01) and Major Program of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (20836001).

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Published Online: 2014-7-15
Published in Print: 2014-1-1

©2014 by De Gruyter

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Research Articles
  3. Simulation of CO Preferential Oxidation (COPrOx) Monolithic Reactors
  4. Simulation of a New Chemical-Looping Combustion Process without Sulfur Evolution Based on Ca-Based Oxygen Carrier
  5. Syngas Production from Reforming of Methane with CO2 and O2 over LaNi1–xCoxO3 Perovskites
  6. Investigation of the Effect of Outlet Structures on the Jet Flow Characteristics in the Circulating Jet Tank
  7. Transesterification of Sunflower Oil in Microreactors
  8. Influence of the Photoreactor Configuration and of Different Light Sources in the Photocatalytic Treatment of Highly Polluted Wastewater
  9. Stability and Emissions of a Lean Pre-Mixed Combustor with Rich Catalytic/Lean-burn Pilot
  10. Carica Papaya Seed as a Biosorbent for Removal of Cr (VI) and Ni (II) Ions from Aqueous Solution: Thermodynamics and Kinetic Analysis of Experimental Data
  11. Chemical Equilibrium Model and Prediction for Coal Hydrogasification
  12. Use of Experimental Designs to Establish a Kinetic Law for a Gas Phase Photocatalytic Process
  13. Application of Support Vector Machine Modeling on Phase Distribution in the Riser of an LSCFB Reactor
  14. Characteristics of the Bending Moment Acting on an Overhung Shaft in a Stirred Vessel
  15. Conversion of Glycerol into Value-Added Products Over Cu–Ni Catalyst Supported on γ-Al2O3 and Activated Carbon
  16. Analysis of Equilibrium Shifting by Inter-Stage Reactant Feeding in a Series of Isothermal Reactors
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  19. Genetic Optimization of Energy Consumption of Pellet Shaft Furnace Combustor Based on Support Vector Machine (SVM)
  20. Effect of CuO on the Thermal Stability of Polyaniline Nanofibers
  21. Kinetics and Mechanism of Formaldehyde-Free Phenol-Glucose Novolac Resin Cured with an Epoxy
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  28. Studies on Performance Analysis and Computer Aided Design of Inverse Fluidized Bed Bioreactors with Nanosupport Particles
  29. Modeling the Industrial Propylene–Ethylene Copolymerization FBR at Emergency Accidents
  30. Modelling of the Membrane Permeability Effect on the H2 Production Using CFD Method
  31. SBA-15 Supported Bimetallic Catalysts for Enhancement Isomers Production During n-Heptane Decomposition
  32. Effects of Microwave and Ultrasonic-Assisted Aging on the Synthesis of H-ZSM-5 Nanozeolite and Its Catalytic Performance in Methanol Dehydration
  33. Oxydehydrogenation of Ethylbenzene to Styrene: Membrane Reactor Analysis and Design
  34. Methanol Electrooxidation Study on Mesoporous Silica Supported Pt–Co Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Anode
  35. An Experimental Study of the Synthesis of Ultrafine Titania Powder in Plasmachemical Flow-Type Reactor
  36. Tesla Valves in Micromixers
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  38. Overall Effectiveness Factor for Slab Geometry in a Three-Phase Reaction System
  39. Effect of Surface Chemistry and Structure of Sludge Particles on Their Co-slurrying Ability with Petroleum Coke
  40. CFD-DEM Modeling of CO2 Capture using Alkali Metal-Based Sorbents in a Bubbling Fluidized Bed
  41. Reaction Kinetics of Catalytic Esterification of Nonanoic Acid with Ethanol over Amberlyst 15
  42. Numerical and Experimental Investigation of the Effect of Geometrical Parameters on the Performance of a Contraction-Expansion Helical Mixer
  43. Comparative Study of Removal of Cadmium (II) and Chromium (III) Ions from Aqueous Solution Using Low-Cost Biosorbent
  44. Ethylation of Ethylbenzene with Ethanol over Mordenite-Based Catalysts: Effects of Acidity, Desilication and Kinetics Analysis
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  48. Experiment on Simultaneous Absorption of NO and SO2 from Sintering Flue Gas by Oxidizing Agents of KMnO4/NaClO
  49. Analysis of the Simultaneous Gas–Liquid CO2 Absorption and Liquid–Gas NH3 Desorption in a Hydrometallurgical Waelz Oxides Purification Process
  50. Investigation on Fluidized Bed Bioreactor Treating Ice Cream Wastewater Using Response Surface Methodology and Artificial Neural Network
  51. Rapid Determination of the Residence Time Distribution (RTD) Function in an Oscillatory Baffled Reactor (OBR) Using a Design of Experiments (DoE) Approach
  52. α-Amylase Aspergillus oryzae Immobilized on Modified Expanded Perlite
  53. Diffusion and Equilibrium Adsorption Coefficients of Aromatic Hydrocarbon Species in Capillary Columns
  54. Design and Optimization of the Preparation of Calcium Carbonate from Calcium Sulfate and Ammonium Bicarbonate
  55. Short Communications
  56. Effect of Different Silicate Supports on the Catalytic Performance of MoVTeO Mixed Oxides in Partial Oxidation of Isobutane
  57. Liquid Flow and Mixing in Bottom Regions of Baffled and Unbaffled Vessels Agitated by Turbine-Type Impeller
  58. Review
  59. Progress in Reactors for High-Temperature Fischer–Tropsch Process: Determination Place of Intensifier Reactor Perspective
  60. Errata
  61. Erratum to Two-Dimensional Modeling of an Externally Irradiated Slurry Photoreactor
  62. Erratum to Photocatalytic Purification of Wastewater Polluted by Odorant Sulfur Compounds Using Titanium Oxide in a Continuous Photoreactor
https://doi.org/10.1515/ijcre-2014-0026
Keywords for this article
computational fluid dynamics; contraction-expansion; helical pipe; laminar flow; mixing; residence time distribution

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Research Articles
  3. Simulation of CO Preferential Oxidation (COPrOx) Monolithic Reactors
  4. Simulation of a New Chemical-Looping Combustion Process without Sulfur Evolution Based on Ca-Based Oxygen Carrier
  5. Syngas Production from Reforming of Methane with CO2 and O2 over LaNi1–xCoxO3 Perovskites
  6. Investigation of the Effect of Outlet Structures on the Jet Flow Characteristics in the Circulating Jet Tank
  7. Transesterification of Sunflower Oil in Microreactors
  8. Influence of the Photoreactor Configuration and of Different Light Sources in the Photocatalytic Treatment of Highly Polluted Wastewater
  9. Stability and Emissions of a Lean Pre-Mixed Combustor with Rich Catalytic/Lean-burn Pilot
  10. Carica Papaya Seed as a Biosorbent for Removal of Cr (VI) and Ni (II) Ions from Aqueous Solution: Thermodynamics and Kinetic Analysis of Experimental Data
  11. Chemical Equilibrium Model and Prediction for Coal Hydrogasification
  12. Use of Experimental Designs to Establish a Kinetic Law for a Gas Phase Photocatalytic Process
  13. Application of Support Vector Machine Modeling on Phase Distribution in the Riser of an LSCFB Reactor
  14. Characteristics of the Bending Moment Acting on an Overhung Shaft in a Stirred Vessel
  15. Conversion of Glycerol into Value-Added Products Over Cu–Ni Catalyst Supported on γ-Al2O3 and Activated Carbon
  16. Analysis of Equilibrium Shifting by Inter-Stage Reactant Feeding in a Series of Isothermal Reactors
  17. Single and Multi-Channel Reactor for Oxidative Coupling of Methane
  18. Effect of Peak Temperature Limitations on the Design of Processes with Cooled Tubular Reactors
  19. Genetic Optimization of Energy Consumption of Pellet Shaft Furnace Combustor Based on Support Vector Machine (SVM)
  20. Effect of CuO on the Thermal Stability of Polyaniline Nanofibers
  21. Kinetics and Mechanism of Formaldehyde-Free Phenol-Glucose Novolac Resin Cured with an Epoxy
  22. Micromixing Characteristics in an Aerated Stirred Tank with Half Elliptical Blade Disk Turbine
  23. Application of Response Surface Methodology and Central Composite Rotatable Design for Modeling and Optimization of Catalyst Compositions in Ethanol Synthesis via CO Hydrogenation
  24. Accurate Measurement of the Photon Flux Received Inside Two Continuous Flow Microphotoreactors by Actinometry
  25. A Non-linear Inverse Problem in Estimating the Reaction Rate Function for an Annular-Bed Reactor
  26. Passive Microextractor with Internal Fluid Recirculation for Two Immiscible Liquids
  27. Oxidative Desulfurization of Dibenzothiophene by Zirconia-Based Catalysts
  28. Studies on Performance Analysis and Computer Aided Design of Inverse Fluidized Bed Bioreactors with Nanosupport Particles
  29. Modeling the Industrial Propylene–Ethylene Copolymerization FBR at Emergency Accidents
  30. Modelling of the Membrane Permeability Effect on the H2 Production Using CFD Method
  31. SBA-15 Supported Bimetallic Catalysts for Enhancement Isomers Production During n-Heptane Decomposition
  32. Effects of Microwave and Ultrasonic-Assisted Aging on the Synthesis of H-ZSM-5 Nanozeolite and Its Catalytic Performance in Methanol Dehydration
  33. Oxydehydrogenation of Ethylbenzene to Styrene: Membrane Reactor Analysis and Design
  34. Methanol Electrooxidation Study on Mesoporous Silica Supported Pt–Co Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Anode
  35. An Experimental Study of the Synthesis of Ultrafine Titania Powder in Plasmachemical Flow-Type Reactor
  36. Tesla Valves in Micromixers
  37. Kinetic Modelling of Photoconversion of Phenol by a Photo-Fenton Reagent and UV
  38. Overall Effectiveness Factor for Slab Geometry in a Three-Phase Reaction System
  39. Effect of Surface Chemistry and Structure of Sludge Particles on Their Co-slurrying Ability with Petroleum Coke
  40. CFD-DEM Modeling of CO2 Capture using Alkali Metal-Based Sorbents in a Bubbling Fluidized Bed
  41. Reaction Kinetics of Catalytic Esterification of Nonanoic Acid with Ethanol over Amberlyst 15
  42. Numerical and Experimental Investigation of the Effect of Geometrical Parameters on the Performance of a Contraction-Expansion Helical Mixer
  43. Comparative Study of Removal of Cadmium (II) and Chromium (III) Ions from Aqueous Solution Using Low-Cost Biosorbent
  44. Ethylation of Ethylbenzene with Ethanol over Mordenite-Based Catalysts: Effects of Acidity, Desilication and Kinetics Analysis
  45. A Two-Phase CFD Modeling Approach to Investigate the Flow Characteristics in Radial Flow Moving-Bed Reactors
  46. Esterification of Free Fatty Acids in Crude Palm Oil Using Sulfated Cobalt–Tin Mixed Oxide Catalysts
  47. Numerical Simulation of Chemical Stripping Process in Resid Fluid Catalytic Cracking Stripper
  48. Experiment on Simultaneous Absorption of NO and SO2 from Sintering Flue Gas by Oxidizing Agents of KMnO4/NaClO
  49. Analysis of the Simultaneous Gas–Liquid CO2 Absorption and Liquid–Gas NH3 Desorption in a Hydrometallurgical Waelz Oxides Purification Process
  50. Investigation on Fluidized Bed Bioreactor Treating Ice Cream Wastewater Using Response Surface Methodology and Artificial Neural Network
  51. Rapid Determination of the Residence Time Distribution (RTD) Function in an Oscillatory Baffled Reactor (OBR) Using a Design of Experiments (DoE) Approach
  52. α-Amylase Aspergillus oryzae Immobilized on Modified Expanded Perlite
  53. Diffusion and Equilibrium Adsorption Coefficients of Aromatic Hydrocarbon Species in Capillary Columns
  54. Design and Optimization of the Preparation of Calcium Carbonate from Calcium Sulfate and Ammonium Bicarbonate
  55. Short Communications
  56. Effect of Different Silicate Supports on the Catalytic Performance of MoVTeO Mixed Oxides in Partial Oxidation of Isobutane
  57. Liquid Flow and Mixing in Bottom Regions of Baffled and Unbaffled Vessels Agitated by Turbine-Type Impeller
  58. Review
  59. Progress in Reactors for High-Temperature Fischer–Tropsch Process: Determination Place of Intensifier Reactor Perspective
  60. Errata
  61. Erratum to Two-Dimensional Modeling of an Externally Irradiated Slurry Photoreactor
  62. Erratum to Photocatalytic Purification of Wastewater Polluted by Odorant Sulfur Compounds Using Titanium Oxide in a Continuous Photoreactor
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