MAGNETIC STIRRER

ENGINEERING PHYSICS

Topic: Magnetic Stirrer Project

Submitted To: Mam Javeria
Submitted By: Group # 3
Group Captain: Rouhan Ahmed
Semester: 1st
Department: Mechanical Engineering
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 Team Members
 Samiullah 2020-ME-127
 Sajid Ali 2020-ME-128
 Muhammad Waqas 2020-ME-129
 Waseem Abbas 2020-ME-130
 M Ali Qaisar 2020-ME-131
 Rouhan Ahmed 2020-ME-132
 Miqdam Ahmad 2020-ME-133
 Najibullah Khan 2020-ME-134
 M.Awais Khalid 2020-ME-135
 Abdullah Amin 2020-ME-136
 Ehtasham Ahmed 2020-ME-137
 Abdul Moeiz 2020-ME-138
 Ameer Ali 2020-ME-139
 Muhammad Umair 2020-ME-140

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 Title..........................................................................................................................................4
2 Objective..................................................................................................................................4
3 Abstract....................................................................................................................................4
4 Magnetic stirrer........................................................................................................................4
5 Theoretical background...........................................................................................................4
5.1 History...............................................................................................................................4
5.2 TYPES OF A MAGNETIC STIRRER.............................................................................5
5.2.1 Magnetic Mini Stirrer:...............................................................................................5
5.2.2 Magnetic Stirrer with Timer:.....................................................................................5
5.2.3 Heavy-Duty Magnetic Stirrer:...................................................................................5
5.2.4 Air Operated Turbine Magnetic Stirrer:....................................................................5
5.2.5 Battery Powered Magnetic Stirrer:............................................................................5
5.3 Components of magnetic stirrer........................................................................................5
5.3.1 12 V Cooling Fan motor............................................................................................5
5.3.2 Switch........................................................................................................................8
5.3.3 beaker.........................................................................................................................8
5.3.4 Magnets......................................................................................................................9
5.3.5 Magnetic Stirrer Bar..................................................................................................9
5.3.6 Plastic container.......................................................................................................10
5.3.7 PWM DC Regulator................................................................................................10
5.3.8 Adapter....................................................................................................................12
6 Working principle of magnetic stirrer...................................................................................12
7 Setup of the Apparatus...........................................................................................................12
7.1 Circuit Diagram...............................................................................................................13
8 Calculations...........................................................................................................................13
8.1.1 Power Factor............................................................................................................13
8.1.2 Speed factor.............................................................................................................14
9 Limitations:............................................................................................................................14
10 Precautions:............................................................................................................................14
11 Application Of Magnetic Stirrer............................................................................................14

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12 Advantages and Disadvantages of Magnetic Stirrer..............................................................15
12.1 Advantages of Magnetic Stirrer..................................................................................15
12.2 Disadvantages of Magnetic Stirrer..............................................................................15
13 Conclusion.............................................................................................................................15

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: DC Fan.............................................................................................................................6
Figure 2: BLDC...............................................................................................................................6
Figure 3: Hall Effect........................................................................................................................7
Figure 4: Construction.....................................................................................................................7
Figure 5: Switch...............................................................................................................................8
Figure 6: Beaker..............................................................................................................................9
Figure 7:Neodymium Magnet..........................................................................................................9
Figure 8:Stirrer Bar........................................................................................................................10
Figure 9: Box.................................................................................................................................10
Figure 10: PWM Regulator...........................................................................................................11
Figure 11: Adapter.........................................................................................................................12
Figure 12 :Apparatus.....................................................................................................................13
Figure 13: Circuit Diagram............................................................................................................13

1 TITLE
Magnetic stirrer and its working

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2 OBJECTIVE
To study that how the magnetic stirrer works

3 ABSTRACT
In this report we will able to discuss about the magnetic stirrer project that how it is made and
how it works. We will also explain what are the precautions, limitations we have to care about.
We will discuss about the applications and what are advantages of magnetic stirrer and what are
its drawbacks.

4 MAGNETIC STIRRER
A magnetic stirrer is a device that employs a rotating magnetic field to cause a stir bar immersed
in a liquid spin very quickly thus stirring it.

5 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
5.1 HISTORY
“Labnet celebrates 100 years of stirring.”

The first magnetic stirrer was patented by Richard Stringham of Utah in 1917. The creator
nicknamed the stir bar a “Flea” because of the way it jumped and spun in the flask.

Even After advancement of technological today’s lab stirrers still looks like the original design.
An electrical field under the base plate oscillates causing the magnetic stir bar to spin.

As the requirement of the magnetic stirrer is increased in the field of the lab working the
modified forms of magnetic stirrer after the simple form of magnetic stirrer, the next Integrated
with a hotplate was a bold step towards the laboratory automation.In this the heating is added to
the stirrer in 1939 a hotplate is a portable self-contained tabletop small appliance cooktop that
features one or more electric heating elements or gas burners.

Then after few years and other modified form of magnetic stirrer was introduced in 1944 coating
of glass porcelain and plastic are added to prevent the stirrer from compromising solutions and
this magnetic stirrer is very simple in construction the stirrer bar is used either made of PTFE or
glass.

After these main changes the little advance types of magnetic stirrer are also introduced like.

 Overhead stirrer
 Specialty stirrer
 Submersible stirrer
 Biological stirrer

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 5.2 TYPES OF A MAGNETIC STIRRER
5.2.1 MAGNETIC MINI STIRRER:
As the name indicates that magnetic mini stirrer is small in size that occupy little space and
allows the users to regulate the speed with great precision with the help of the controls provided.
It has been wisely designed to be resistive to harmful chemicals present in a laboratory
environment. Moreover, it also consists of a speed regulator that ensures the device never
exceeds the maximum speed.

5.2.2 MAGNETIC STIRRER WITH TIMER:

Magnetic stirrer with timer has the ability to automatically shut off the motor after the set amount
of time. The way this works is that it uses an in-built timer to shut off the stirrer when the pre –
selected period has been over.

5.2.3 HEAVY-DUTY MAGNETIC STIRRER:

The heavy-duty magnetic stirrer has a greater chemical resistance and are highly durable, besides
which they also have a high mixing capacity. Moreover, they have an internal electronic control
device that regulate the speed automatically with respect to the load. Thus, the heavy-duty
magnetic stirrer makes for a perfect instrument for use in a laboratory or production
environment.

5.2.4 AIR OPERATED TURBINE MAGNETIC STIRRER:

Air Operated Turbine Magnetic Stirrer is ideal if stirring liquid is up to one liter. The major
advantage being that it eliminates the hazards associated with sparking from electrical sources

5.2.5 BATTERY POWERED MAGNETIC STIRRER:

The battery powered magnetic stirrer come in handy where there is no electric outlet. Their main
application is in incubators. They consist of rubber feet, and their speed can be controlled with
the help of the speed control knobs provided. In general, alkaline batteries can be used with these
devices though rechargeable batteries should work just fine.

5.3 COMPONENTS OF MAGNETIC STIRRER

The components used in the magnetic stirrer are.

5.3.1 12 V COOLING FAN MOTOR

A brushless DC motor (known as BLDC) is a permanent magnet synchronous electric
motor which is driven by direct current (DC) electricity and it accomplishes electronically
controlled commutation system (commutation is the process of producing rotational torque in the
motor by changing phase currents through it at appropriate times) instead of a mechanically
commutation system.

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 Figure 1: DC Fan

5.3.1.1 WORKING PRINCIPLE AND OPERATION OF BLDC MOTOR

The BLDC motor works on the same principle as the traditional DC motor, that is Lorentz force
law “which states that whenever a current carrying conductor placed in a magnetic field it
experiences a force”

Figure 2: BLDC

As a result of the reaction force, the magnet will experience an equal and opposite force. In the
case of BLDC motors, the current carrying conductor is stationary while the permanent magnet
operates.

When the stator coil is converted to electricity by the supply, it becomes an electromagnet and
begins to produce a uniform field in the air space. Although the source of supply is DC, the
switching produces an AC voltage waveform with a trapezoidal shape. Due to the force of the
interaction between the electromagnet stator and the permanent magnet rotor, the rotor keeps
rotating.

Consider the following figure in which motor stators are excited based on different switching
states. Summarizing as high and low gestures, the North and South Poles were strengthened in

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the same direction. The permanent magnet with the north and south poles is connected to the
rotor stator pole which causes the motor to rotate.

Figure 3: Hall Effect

Observe that the motor produces torque due to the development of gravitational forces (when
aligned north-south or south-north) and backward forces (when aligned north-north or south-
south). In this way the motor moves clockwise.

5.3.1.2 CONSTRUCTION OF BLDC MOTOR

BLDC motors can be built in a variety of physical configurations. Depending on the stator
winding, they can be configured as single-phase, two-phase, or three-phase motors. However,
three-phase BLDC motors with a permanent magnet rotor are the most commonly used.

Figure 4: Construction

The construction of this motor has many similarities of three phase induction motor as well as
conventional DC motor. This motor has stator and rotor parts as like all other motors. Stator of a
BLDC motor made up of stacked steel laminations to carry the windings. The BLDC motor

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incorporates a permanent magnet into the rotor. The number of poles in the rotor may vary from
2 to 8 pole pairs with alternating south and north poles as required by the application.

Hall sensor provides the information to synchronize stator armature excitation with rotor
position.

5.3.1.3 SPECS OF MOTOR USED IN THE EXPERIMENT

In this experiment we used a DC fan with following specs.

5.3.1.3.1 DC INPUT
The input voltage is likely to be 0 to 12 volts.

5.3.1.3.2 MAXIMUM LOAD

The maximum load which can be bear by the DC motor is 0.18A.

5.3.2 SWITCH
A switch is used to ON and OFF the circuit. This is used to remove the instant sparks during plug
in to supply. In electrical engineering, a switch is an electrical component that can disconnect or
connect the conducting path in an electrical circuit, interrupting the electric current or diverting it
from one conductor to another. The most common type of switch is an electromechanical device
consisting of one or more sets of movable electrical contacts connected to external circuits.
When a pair of contacts is touching, current can pass between them, while when the contacts are
separated no current can flow.

Figure 5: Switch

5.3.3 BEAKER
In laboratory equipment, a beaker is generally a cylindrical container with a flat bottom. Most
also have a small spout (or "beak") to aid pouring. Beakers are available in a wide range of sizes,
from one milliliter up to several liters.

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 Figure 6: Beaker

5.3.4 MAGNETS
A neodymium magnet (also known as NdFeB, NIB or Neo magnet) is the most widely used type
of rare-earth magnet. It is a permanent magnet made from an alloy of neodymium, iron, and
boron to form the Nd2Fe14B tetragonal crystalline structure. Developed independently in 1984
by General Motors and Sumitomo Special Metals, neodymium magnets are the strongest type of
permanent magnet available commercially. Because of different manufacturing processes, they
are divided into two subcategories, namely sintered NdFeB magnets and bonded NdFeB
magnets. They have replaced other types of magnets in many applications in modern products
that require strong permanent magnets, such as electric motors in cordless tools, hard disk drives
and magnetic fasteners.

Figure 7:Neodymium Magnet

5.3.5 MAGNETIC STIRRER BAR

Magnetic stir bars are coated magnets used to stir liquids in a sealed container. A magnetic stir
bar is a magnet that is encased in material that won’t react with the fluid it is immersed in. There
is no need of opening in a container to stir fluids. It is a popular way of stirring liquids in
medium sized containers. To choose best size of stir bar, we should consider following: -

 Volume of fluid you are stirring

 Size of internal drive magnet
 Stir bar material construction

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 Shape of the vessel

Figure 8:Stirrer Bar

Stir bar are mostly made of glasses. Because the glass does not affect a magnetic field
significantly, and most of the chemical reactions are performed in glass vials or beakers. Mostly
stir bars are coated with material like Teflon and glass, so they are chemically inert and do not
contaminate or react with the system in which they are immersed. We can increase efficiency by
varying size of stir bars. They also vary in size from a few millimeters to a few centimeters.

5.3.6 PLASTIC CONTAINER

A plastic box or a container can be used to assemble this circuit. It is very useable for small
circuits to hold it and to avoid any case of incidents.

Figure 9: Box

5.3.7 PWM DC REGULATOR

A PWM regulator is used to increase or decrease the voltages. It is used to increase or decrease
the speed of a motor.

Pulse width modulation (PWM), or pulse-duration modulation (PDM), is a method of reducing

the average power delivered by an electrical signal, by effectively chopping it up into discrete

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parts. The average value of voltage (and current) fed to the load is controlled by turning the
switch between supply and load on and off at a fast rate. The longer the switch is on compared to
the off periods, the higher the total power supplied to the load. Along with maximum power
point tracking (MPPT) , it is one of the primary methods of reducing the output of solar panels to
that which can be utilized by a battery. PWM is particularly suited for running inertial loads such
as motors, which are not as easily affected by this discrete switching, because their inertia causes
them to react slowly. The PWM switching frequency has to be high enough not to affect the
load, which is to say that the resultant waveform perceived by the load must be as smooth as
possible.

Figure 10: PWM Regulator

The specification of the regulator used in our experiment.

5.3.7.1 DC INPUT
The input voltage is likely to be 12 to 15 volts.

5.3.7.2 DC OUTPUT
The output voltage is variable. It is between 0 to 12 volts.

5.3.7.3 MAXIMUM LOAD

The maximum load which can be bear by the DC regulator is 1A.

5.3.8 ADAPTER
A 12-volt DC adapter is used to step down the voltages. It is also used to convert AC to DC. It is
also used in the DC source for the circuit to work. It is compatible with the small projects.

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Figure 11: Adapter

The adapter used in our experiment has the following specs.

5.3.8.1 INPUT
The input voltage is 100 to 240V AC.

5.3.8.2 OUTPUT
The output voltage is 12V, DC.

Current at output is 2A.

6 WORKING PRINCIPLE OF MAGNETIC STIRRER

Magnetic stirrer working principle is repulsive for like charges and attractive for unlike charges.
Micro motor drives magnet to generate the rotating magnetic field to stir the stirring bar in the
vessel, making solution conduct completely mixed reaction, stirring speed is adjustable, widely
applies to solvent stirring in different viscosity. It equips with temperature control system, which
can heat and control the temperature of the sample according to experiment requirement,
maintaining the needed temperature condition and guaranteeing the mixed liquid meets the
experiment need.

7 SETUP OF THE APPARATUS

Following are the steps to setup the apparatus.

 Remove the blades of a cooling fan with the help of a cutter.

 Place the magnets on fan, to secure the magnet use super glue few drops. The first magnet
should have faced it North facing upward. Another magnet should have faced it South facing
upward.
 Cut the plastic container appropriate size of switch. After this now mount your switch in it.
To prevent the switch from any disturbance, use a glue to fix it. Make another hole in the
container to the appropriate size of the regulator.
 Join the wires correctly.
 Place the beaker on to the container and put the stirrer bar in the beaker.
 Start the supply and switch on the circuit.
 Now increase or decrease the speed of the motor to find the correct mechanism of stirrer
moving

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 Figure 12 :Apparatus

7.1 CIRCUIT DIAGRAM

Figure 13: Circuit Diagram

8 CALCULATIONS
Some of the factors affect the whole system.

8.1.1 POWER FACTOR

P=VI

Where V is Voltage and the I is the current

The power delivered by the motor is.

P=VI

P=12volts *0.18amperes

P= 2.16 Watts

This power depends upon the voltage as we are decreasing or increasing voltages the power also
changes and it is variable.

8.1.2 SPEED FACTOR

The speed of the motor is adjustable by 0-12volts. Regulator used for speed control has the
output of 0-12volts. After making the circuit the speed is affected by the magnetic load on the
motor. Also, during the operation of stirring the increasing the speed of the motor so high will

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broke up the glass because of large opposing force of magnet and the system starts to vibrate and
the slow speed of the motor will not be able to create the opposing magnet field and magnet
remains in contact so the substance does not stir. We obtain a result on an average speed there is
stirring as well as the opposing force to allow the magnet to stir and it will not allow the glass to
break.

9 LIMITATIONS:
 Large volumes of the mixture cannot be mixed properly.
 Magnetic stirring method is a little slow process for mixing solution of the viscous liquids
because their viscosity is very high (due to very large internal frictional effect between
layers of fluid) so such liquids are much difficult to mix like honey, glue, etc.
 Magnetic stirrer should not be used at high temperature as the protective coatings of the
stirrer bars will be degraded.

10 PRECAUTIONS:
Following precautionary measures should be taken to avoid any type of mishap.

 Medium-speed operation can continuously work for 8 hours, high-speed operation can
continuously work for four hours, to prevent severe vibration during operation.
 The instruments housing should be properly grounded to avoid accidents.
 When unused for long periods, should cut off the power, store a dry and ventilated place.
 The instrument should be kept clean and dry, prohibit the solution flows into the machine, to
avoid damaging the machine.

11 APPLICATION OF MAGNETIC STIRRER

Magnetic stirrers are often used in Chemical and Biological experiments for the following:

 They are used to stir closed vessels or systems without the need for complicated rotary seals.
 They are used in glass vessels commonly used for chemical reactions, as glass does not
affect a magnetic field.
 They are used in laboratories to ensure liquid samples are homogeneous in consistency and
temperature.
 They are used to ensure proper mixing that can boost sensor response time, allowing
measuring instruments to achieve stable readings more quickly.
 They can be used to mix everything from low-viscosity industrial adhesives and coatings to
paints and solvents.

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12 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF MAGNETIC
STIRRER
12.1 ADVANTAGES OF MAGNETIC STIRRER
 Quieter and more efficient.
 Unbreakable external parts.
 No need of lubrication.
 High productivity and accuracy.
 Minimizes risk of contamination.

12.2 DISADVANTAGES OF MAGNETIC STIRRER

 High temperature.
 Large volume of liquid.
 Viscous and thick suspension.

13 CONCLUSION
This project was very interesting and useful. It is very important if we are using chemicals at
home. So, it was nice and it give us as much information about the new circuits and devices
used. The use of BDLC motor and PWM regulator was so great.

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