4 CHEMINEER, INC. TURBINE AGITATOR SELECTION R.W. Hicks. L.E. Gates Chemineer, Inc., Dayton, Ohio Reprinted from: PAINT AND VARNISH PRODUCTIONTurbine Agitator Selection Here are important details to help you size turbine agitators for application in modern coatings production. Srostercase changes in paint manu- sizes in order to increase output per sizes, the modern paint plant uses tur ‘TURE bine agitators to fill a much broader Propeller_mixers and high speed dlispersers fill. specific needs, but inadequacies inherent with this equip- tment limit their use in higher viscosity, non-Newtonian applications and larger BY R.W. HICKS AND L.E. GATES batch sizes. Many paint manufacturers CHEMINEER, INC. OAYTON, OHIO fe finding that by proper application, turbiae agitators are the optimum fiid mixing device in such applications as thin and tint tanks, feed and produc: tion holding tanks, dry solids make- down and holding tanks, and various solvent storage applications ‘The typical high speed. disperser (Figure 1) uses an impeller that is usually of saw blade design, This type of impeller generates high shear and tow flow and, therefore, must operate 1 high rpm and horsepower to main- tain good bateh uniformity. For larger batch sizes in the 1,000- salion range, power investment can be 4 high a8 100 to 125 horsepower at 1,000 to. 1.500 rpm. Commonly the high speed disperser is used in piginent dispersion, dry solids makedown, oF in applications requiring pacticle size contro For higher flow requirements in such applications as thinning, tinting, blenging, storage, ete. the. propeller type anitator (Figure 3) it effectively ted. The typical propeller agitator has 8 low shear rate compared with high speed dispersers, and is not a desirable cchoice for higher shear applications Propeller agitators are not often applied in the paint industry in batch sizes above 1,000 gallons because of the cost and’ weight of the marine propeller castings in the sizes required, Capabilities ‘The turbine agitator (Figure 3) offers an effective balance between the high speed disperser and propeller agi- tator. Table I provides a listing of the comparative capabilities of each fluid agitation. system, ‘The fluid handling capabilities of the turbine agitator cover a large spec- trum of paint production agitation requirements. Specific advantages are mixing capabilities in any batch size and excellent flow in non-Newtonian fluids applications, which comprise 90 per cent of the materials processed in the modern paint plant. Non-Newtonian fluids are charac terized by viscosities that change With rate of shear or time of application of shear. The majority of non-Newtonian fluids in paint production can be clas sified as pseudoplastic (apparent vise ceosity decreases with increase in rate fof shear) or thixotropic (apparent vis- cosity decreases with time of applica: tion of shear) Figure 4 shows a plot of apparent paint viscosity as a function of shear rate. Notice that the fluid charac- teristics of paints are roughly charac- terized by their end use, For instance, 4M is im generat true that trade sales paints used by the building trades and applied by brushes and rollers are Roprinted trom PAINT AND VARNISH PRODUCTION, MAY 1974tance from the impeller in non-News tonian fluids In thin and tint applications it is vitally important that rapid and complete control of the batch be ac- complished. Inadequate turbine agi tator selections will increase color de- velopment times with corresponding decreases in production capacity. The turbine agitator sizes recommended in Tables IIT and IV are nominal selec- tions Many paint producers buy some What less or somewhat more operating performance, depending on their plant design criteria. Because successive generations of coatings seem to be more dense and more viscous, some paint manufacturers purchase’ larger agitators for hanéling anticipated fu ture needs. With careful consideration Of the agitator design. this can be 2c- complished very economically. Frequently, thin and tint tank agi- {ators are needed to pecform a storage function at the completion of the in- tial thinsing and tinting; this function requires considerably less power. Ho- mogeneity can be maintained after the completion of the thin and tint func- tion by operating the agitator at half lis original design speed. Generally, wospeed variable sorque electrical motors are satisfactory for performing this duty. Feed and Holding Applications The broad classification of feed and holding applications cefers to a variety of duties, such as sand mill feed, resin storage, production holding, ete, where the process function is to prevent stratification aod provide ho- mogencity of the blend. Overall mo- tion of the fuid or slurry must be maintained ensure uniformity of similar batches ‘The turbine agitator selections listed. in Table V are nominal sizes that will provide homogeneity of batches in Sorage applications. In general, these applications are characterized by min imum batch retention times of one to two hours, but extend up to eight, ten or 12 hours, or even ane day. The tur bine agitator sizes listed will provide uniformity of batches with specific gravity differences as large a5 0.6 oF viscasity ratios between miscible Phases as great as 10.000. Table Vi tists typicat selections for thin and tint applications and feed and hold tanks for §.000-gallon batch sizes. Note that the torque required for thin and tint applications is generally five Goren ase 1.000 Power eauired tor Batch nemegeneity low Ability produce tid marion fee (5) Low scout Seo Visco (9) 00 1200 aan @ as wom 21500 oH @ 84 3M, 5000 SOHP@ 125 80m 19,200 75me@ 125508 25000 1S0HP @ Iss mem 0,500 2004» @ too nem, eon te 500 120 VonP @ exarm 20 HP 88 am 2.0 | NSH @ 84 2500 20H assem 5.000 SD he @ aanem 100 Soup @ essen Vocotny (cpl $00 Dhp@ i908 TOHP@ 1008rm to six times that required just t© main- tain uniformity in feed and hold applications. ‘As discussed previously and tint tanks can be used as hold tanks by using a 1wo-speed motor 10 the thin Table | — Comparative Capabilities of Fluid Agitation Systems Table It — Typical Rheological Properties of Paints Vice Speate in Oe? Grevity " Frese end implement enorme 0 9 a Univeral enmel 1089 veo 70 ‘tot wall plat 3000 138 a 2400 ras a 120.000 reo 25 Table Ill — Nominal Thin and Tint Turbine Agitator Selection for Trade Sales Paint (Hors Table IV — Thin and Tint Selection for Industrial Paint (Horsepower @ pm) Table V — Miscellaneous Foed and Hold Turbine Agitator S¢ (Horsepower @ pm) Tine igh Speed Oispen Good Not efectve Good Poor ywer @epm) Vetume (Galons) 09, 3.000 5.000 50@ 125 150@ 138 200@ 100 75@ 12 130@ 155 200@ 100 25@ 125 200@ 100 S00@ 100 Wo@as — J00@ 100 Ow 108 202@ 10 Wo@ee = A@E s00@ 0 snow es T0@ OF Volume (Gallon) 1000 000.000 22@i0 so@u 75@s8 jo@e «s@ee —wa@ae 20@e «o@e sow os 50@ 2s a@ ss 0.2 100 so@e — s0@es — 200@ 100 0@ ss 0.0@ 100 250(@ a4 3000 5000 Ms@e a9@ a w@s a0@eu lo@s: = Sagan io@e: wages ice the agitator speed. This speed reduction still provides slightly: mere orque than that required for feed and hold seleetions, thus enabling the use of the thin and tint tanks as hold oF remporary storage tankses Figures 1 to 3 — Shown trom left to right are typical high speed disperser, = propeller type agitator and a turbine agitator, more viscous and more non-News tonian than paints used by industria! manufacturers as equipment coatings tnd applied as sprays. This is caused by the degree of addition of fillers, thickeners, et.. £0 produce the appli- cation characteristics required by the different end users ‘Table IL lists some typical trade sales and industrial paints and their theological properties in order of in- creasing rheological complexity. The symbol n” represents the degree to Which the fluid exhibits non-New- tonian characteristics, with 1.0 being a perfectly Newtonian fluid and smaller values demonstrating progressively more not-Newtonian characteristics Turbine Agitator Sizing In this article various turbine age tator selection tables will be discussed under individual paint applications, The size of turbine agitator will be specified in terms of movor horsepow: fe and output shaft speed of the gear reducer. “The ratio of horsepower to shaft speed is proportional to the gear reducer torque and is roughly indica- tive of the overall size of the turbine ‘agitator when making comparative equipment evaluations. In other words, the torque of a turbine agitator foperuting at a given speed is doubled by doubling the horsepower oF by halving the speed. It Is important to note that torque level is indicative of the machine size land that the proper horsepower speed combination is very critical, particu- larly in the non-Newtonian types of fluids encountered ia the paint in- slustry. Since shear cate in the batch is a direct function of the impeller specé the more non-Newtonian the fluid the ‘more eritical proper impeller speei selection becomes, Tris the intent of this article to give general design guidance in such ares fs thin and tint tanks, feed and holding tanks, and dry solids slurry applicn: tions, Optimum final design should te ‘based on a specific review of the matt rials to be mixed and their physical properties by an agitator supplier Thoroughly versed in the nuances of mixing non-Newtonian fluids, ‘Thin and Tint Applications ‘Thin and tint applications we among the most common and ¢°- ‘manding agitation applications ea- countered in the paint industry. The agitators servicing these tanks carry on the many and varied functions of thin- ning, color tinting, blending, viscosty adjustment, color development, etc..of vast array of paints and coatings ‘The more non-Newtonian charse- teristics of tade sales paints demand larger agitators, more turbine im- pellers and larger ratios of turbine di ameter to tank diameter than indusii- al applications to maintain the same general level of agitation. These are necessary requirements because the roixing energy decays rapidly with dis: 50,000 1 10,000 | a “oe Det 3 Trade g Sales 3 Paints £ seater ——— a 500 Typicat 7} Incustriat a Pants 1 ~ 100 on 10 10 100 Shear Rate (sec) Figuee 4 — Typical paint viscosities at various shear rates.Onn hin ond Ti Viewty to) Trade Sale Polat 1000 | 159 @ Iss pom 5009 2047 @ lap apie cco Son @ loo arn Table VI — Comparative Selections (Based on 3,000-Gallon Batch Sizes) Table Vil — Dry Solids Storage Selections cory Ce 00 1000 S000 10000 20,000 20 @tem Ge 2@8 @s Table Vill — Impeller Location Requirements lower Upper Nomber mpalle Impeller Maximum Vicaity Impeller, seotion toeaion a eiow 25.000 7 we — 1 es 2 1s 2 21 25,000 <0 2 tis a 1% Table IX — Batfling Requirements Yetome Viseonity Requirement S100 gat < 250060 4 Soffa 2 width 12 oth wal & 100 gat > 2000p Nat recuived > 1000 ge! So00cp 4 Bolles — 1/12 with — 1/72 ft wll > 1000 gar > soo0ce Not resuied Votoms (Galion) seas Slurries of TiO; will exhibit proper: ties characteristic: of non-Newtonian Auids, specifically in high concentra. tions, TiOy slurries, in fact, exhibit dilatent properties (viscosity increasing ‘with shear) and pseudoplastic propers fies (hear thinning with increasing shear rates). Dispersants are required 0 maintain viscosities below 2,500 eps 8t approximately 75 per cent solids concentrations, With improperly applied shear rates the apparent viscosity can be in excess of 10,000 cps and induce an un. desirable Mloceulation of pigment. 1 is therefore, important to select the Proper sized turbine agitator to pro Vide suspension of solids and. 20 Prevent flocculation of the particles Viscosities of solids storage applica. tions vary with solids concentration and patticle size: therefore, Table VI! lists 8 typical sizing for high solids Dry solids makedown of TiO, and other pigments is frequently handled by high speed, high shear dispersion mixets. There are equivalent turbine agitator designs operating at high tip speeds that can handle these applica. tions. Chemincer uses a patented high shear modified turbine style impeller (TM. “ChemShear") for these ap. plications. The ChemShear can pro- vide much higher flow rates and more uniform batch control at specified shear rates than high speed dispersers utilizing saw blade type impellers, Geometry ‘The primary emphasis of this article has been on the size of turbine agitator ‘needed to maintain uniform baich con trol for each application. Equally as important are such items as liquid depth to tank diameter ratios, number and location of impellers, and baffling requirements. Round vessels are preferred over square vessels in applications that con tain solids or have relatively high vise ccosities, such as trade paint thin and tint applications. The corners in square vessels act as dead spaces, which ean cumulate solids of see’ little fluid motion. Many times, the corners in SaUArE essels are rounded in the field {0 induce flow thy ‘hroughout the vesse! In applications with viscosities below 25,000 cp, single-ptched biode turbine impetiers in the range of 0 ae 5), the LIT ratio exccear rt Eo agitation with posible sraiteree sould occur inthe upper ligne vessel with omly one impeler To prevent improper bath contro wo. impellers are required for Toy ratios nthe range of ft 21, For single impeler insalasone. the foe pelle: should be located in he eencr OF the vessel one-third of the laud level (L/3) off the vessel otter Vessels with dual impeller requir: ments should maintain the lower nn peller one-third. the’ tank ameter (3) off the vesse! bottom, with the upper impeller located two ii the Niguid level (2131) off borom In higher viscosity more non-New tonian Aids, batch control becomes tore difficult. This probien is eco. nomicaly solved by larger turbince spaced more closely than in low vise costy applications. This requirement for more losey spaced impellers as 4 function of Viscosity is reflected in Table Vil For most Newtonian or low viseosi {y applications, smaller diameter ton pellets can satisfactorily promote flow within the vesiel Typieelyy the inn Peller diameter to vessel diameter ratio (DID is 0.3 005. As the viscosity and non-Newtonian charavteratis ie erease, it becomes increasingly more Aitfcult to conte further ftom the op oF the impeler. tn these non-Newe tonian fluids, suchas trade sales pant, poe) 7 Figure 5 — Impeller ication,¢ Baffles Figure 6 — Battling larger DY/Ts are required. In the high viscosity trade sales paints, the D/T falls in the 0.5 to 0.65 range. Batfling Requirements Baffling is required to prevent the ‘contents of the vessel from swirling and to promote turnover of the batch contents. Where battling is required, use Tour vertical baffles located 90 apart mounted perpendicular to the vessel wall Gee Figure 6) Each baflle should be one-welfth of the vessel diameter in width and located oneseventy-second of the vessel diameter off the vessel wall. [tis important to not _mount the batfle against the wall or the bottom of the vessel to preclude dead space. Table IX lists the standard baffling rules. Note that the requirement for baffling varies with viscosity Careful consideration should be saiven to requirements for multipur- pose vessels or vessels in which vis- cosities may vary considerably, For ex: ample, thinning vessels may handle viscosities that may not require bal fling at the beginning of the thinning ‘operation. During processing, how. ever, the viscosity may be reduced suf- ficiently to necessitate baffling. In this situation. baffling should be used, In square tanks, some baffling does accrue from the vessel configuration: ‘thus, reduced baffling is appropriate Although insight has been given to proper turbine agitator selections, vessel geometry, baffling, ete, itis also important that’ turbine agitators. be properly designed from a mechanical standpoint. Shaft design is an important: me- chanical design problem encountered in agitation equipment. Proper design will yield shafting that ean handle the torque requirements and withstand the bending moment that is generated from the random hydraulic forces acting at right angles on the turbine impeller. Proper design consideration for the first critical speed of the overhung shatt is also mandatory for trouble-free operation. Vessel geometry almost always plays a key role in the op- timization of shaft designs. Tall vessels ‘can generate shaft lengths that can im pose a larger agitator drive specifically {o handle the shafting requirement in non-steady bearing installation, Although various manufacturers offer a variety of modified turbine im- pellers varying from eight co three blades with claims of superior perfor- mance characteristics, the standard {our-bladed 45° pitched impeller {P-4) fs, in the writers’ experience, an ideal impeller. Substantial laboratory and ‘on-line operating data verify that the Pot turbine impeller is well suited for ‘most paint plant applications. The P-4 impeller is the standard of the coatings industry Normally, the turbine blades are securely bolted to the stub blades on the turbine hub, as noted in Figure 7. Bolted blades facilitate removal for in- stallasion through small vessel openings and permit replacement of Gifferent size blades if process modifi- ‘ations are made. The hub is fastened to the agitator shaft by a pinned key arrangement, a¢ noted in Figure 8. ‘This arrangement provides positive securement and ease of relocation on the shart ‘The agitator gear reducer accounts for 50 to 60 per cent of the initial agix ator investment. This factor alone should place the gear drive at the top of the list in evaluation of agitators, Other important features to look for (1) Right angle drive configuration to permit flexibility in mounting any style variable or multispeed moto rive @) Low over-all drive profile to facilitate installation into tight places, and provide maintenance accessibility if required G)Easy access change gears add versatility t0 paint installations. The ‘output speed of the agitator drive may be altered by changing the high speed ‘earset in conjunction with the bolted turbine impeller blades, This feature provides flexibility in the event process of production requirements are altered fn the future. (4) High efficiency helical and spiral bevel gearing is recommended. This high efficiency gearing allows. max imum transmission of motor drive horsepower. Other geating types, such as worm gears, which operate at lower gearing efficiencies, are not recom mended for maximum gearing life oF process performance (5) The more desirable splash oil lubrication system provides a postive ‘means of lubrication. Oil pump lubri= cation is less desirable because of the Additional maintenance required, but more specifically for potential failures by oil Hine plugging or oil pump fait. Item Descristion a) 2 Blate 3 Bolt, nut, lockwasher G OL Item Desetiption ae 2 Bin key 3 Set scien Figure 7 — Pitched blade impeller. Figure 8 — Impeller hub,