CH206-Fluid and Particle Mechanics-II

Module-V
Agitation and Mixing of Liquids

Dr.Mohanraj N
S4/ April 2020
Agitation and Mixing
• Agitation
• Induced motion of a material in a specified way, typically in a circulatory
pattern inside a container.

• Mixing
• Random distribution into and through one another, of two or more initially
separate phases.

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Purpose of agitation
• Suspending solid particles.
• Blending miscible liquids.
• Dispersing a gas through the liquid in the form of small bubbles.
• Dispersing a second liquid, immiscible with the first, to form an emulsion
or suspension of fine drops.
• Promoting heat transfer between the liquid and a coil or jacket.

• Often, agitators serve multiple purposes simultaneously.

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 Agitated vessels
• Usually cylindrical vessel with vertical axis
• Height to diameter ratio varies depending
on operational requirements
• Top maybe open or closed
• Bottom is rounded
• Impeller is mounted from the top and
driven using an overhung shaft
• Baffles are often used to reduce tangential
motion and improve agitation
• Flow pattern depends on impeller type and
other vessel parameterss
Unit Operations of Chemical Engineers, McCabe, Smith, & Harriott, McGraw-Hill, 1993
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Impellers
• Impellers cause the liquid to circulate through the vessel and eventually return
to the impeller

• Impellers are divided into two main classes

• Axial-flow impellers (generate currents parallel with the axis of the impeller shaft)
• Radial-flow impellers (generate currents in a radial or tangential direction of the
impeller shaft)

• Impellers are selected based on liquid viscosity, power requirements, flow

patterns, etc.
• Three main types: propellers, turbines, and high-efficiency impellers
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 Propellers
• Axial-flow, high-speed impeller for low viscous liquids

• Direction of rotation usually forces the liquid downward,

until deflected by the bottom of the vessel

• Propellers are effective in large vessels due to persistence

of flow pattern

Unit Operations of Chemical Engineers, McCabe, Smith, & Harriott, McGraw-Hill, 1993
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 Propellers (2)
• A revolving propeller traces out a helix in the fluid.
• Assuming no-slip condition, one full revolution would move
the liquid longitudinally a fixed distance depending on the
angle of inclination of the propeller blades.
• The ratio of this distance to the propeller diameter is called
the pitch of the propeller.
• A propeller with a pitch of 1.0 is said to have a square pitch.
• In deep tanks, two or more propellers may be mounted on the
same shaft, usually directing the liquid in the same direction.
• Sometimes, propellers work in opposite direction to create
zone of high turbulence between them.
http://www.propellerpages.com/?c=articles&f=2006-03-08_what_is_propeller_pitch
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 Paddles Top view
• Results in radial circulation with almost no vertical motion.
• Fluid move towards the wall and then flows upward or
downward.
• Can be used for variety liquids with different viscosities.
Paddles are not easily fouled or destroyed during operation.
• Paddle length ≈ 50-80% vessel diameter Side view
• In some designs, blades conform to the shape of vessel so as
to scrape the surface within a small clearance; this type is
called as anchor agitator.

Unit Operations of Chemical Engineers, McCabe, Smith, & Harriott, McGraw-Hill, 1993
https://pharmacalc.blogspot.in/2016/05/types-of-agitators.html
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 Turbines (1)
Open straight disc blade turbine Vertical curved blade turbine Pitched-blade turbine

Unit Operations of Chemical Engineers, McCabe, Smith, & Harriott, McGraw-Hill, 1993

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Turbines (2)
• Similar to paddle agitators, with smaller blades, turning at higher
speeds.
• Blades may be straight or curved, pitched or vertical.
• Diameter of impeller is generally 30-50% of vessel diameter.
• Near the impeller is a zone of high turbulence and intense shear.

• Disk turbines have multiple blades mounted on a horizontal disk;

these are extremely useful for dispersing gas in a liquid.

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 “Standard” turbine design
For the design of an agitation vessel as
shown in figure, a starting point for the
typical design is given by the ratios;

𝐷𝑎 1 𝐻 𝐽 1
= =1 =
𝐷𝑡 3 𝐷𝑡 𝐷 𝑡 12

𝐸 1 𝑊 1 𝐿 1
= = =
𝐷𝑡 3 𝐷𝑎 5 𝐷𝑎 4

Unit Operations of Chemical Engineers, McCabe, Smith, & Harriott, McGraw-Hill, 2001
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Flow Patterns in Agitated Vessels (1)
• Type of flow depends on
• Impeller type
• Fluid characteristics
• Size and proportion of tank, agitators, and baffles

• Velocity of fluid at any point has 3 components

• Radial, longitudinal, tangential
• For a vertical shaft, radial and tangential components in horizontal plane

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Flow Patterns in Agitated Vessels (2)

Axial flow pattern produced by a Radial flow pattern produced by a

marine propeller flat-blade turbine

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 Flow Patterns in Agitated Vessels (3)
• For a centrally located vertical shaft, tangential component is
disadvantageous for mixing
• Creates vortex

• Swirling perpetuates stratification at various levels without longitudinal

flow between levels.

• In presence of solids, solids move towards the wall due to centrifugal

force and gets settled down at the bottom, thereby resulting in demixing.

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Vortex formation

Unit Operations of Chemical Engineers, McCabe, Smith, & Harriott, McGraw-Hill, 1993
Ludwig’s Applied Process Design for Chemical and Petrochemical Plants, Elsevier, 2007
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Swirling
• During swirling, the liquid moves along with the impeller in circular
motion.
• Due to circulatory flow, the relative velocity of liquid and impeller
decreases and the power that can be absorbed by the liquid
decreases.
• If swirling is strong, the flow pattern in the tank is virtually the same
regardless of the impeller design.
• At high impeller speeds, the vortex may become so deep to reach the
impeller, causing suction of air into the liquid.

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 Prevention of Swirling (1)
• In small tanks, impellers can be mounted off-center / inclined.

• In large tanks, installing baffles can impede

rotational flow without affecting radial and
longitudinal flow.
• Vertical strips perpendicular to the tank wall.
• For turbines, baffle width < 1/12th tank dia.
• For propeller, baffle width < 1/18th tank dia.

• In case of tall vessels, 2 or more impellers are used. The bottom impeller
will be radial mixing and top ones will be axial mixing.
Unit Operations of Chemical Engineers, McCabe, Smith, & Harriott, McGraw-Hill, 1993
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 Prevention of Swirling (2)
• Draft tubes are used when direction
and velocity of flow to the suction of
the impeller are to be controlled
• For developing high shear at impeller
(emulsion manufacture)
• For dispersing solid particles that tend
to float

• They reduce rate of flow as they Draft tube around the impeller for axial
increases friction flow (propeller) and above the impeller
for radial flow.

Unit Operations of Chemical Engineers, McCabe, Smith, & Harriott, McGraw-Hill, 1993
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Circulation rates and Turbulence
• Circulation rate and turbulence governs mixing and dispersion operations.

• Both consume power.

• Some agitation require large flow or high average velocity; others required
high local turbulence or power dissipation.

• Large impellers with medium speed promote flow; small impellers rotating
at high speed creates intense turbulence.

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Flow Number (1)
• For a flat-blade turbine impeller, the volumetric flow rate (q) of the
flow leaving the impeller as measured at the tip of the blade is
proportional to the agitator speed (n) and the diameter (Da) and
width (W) of the impeller (for impellers with similar geometry, width
is proportional to the diameter).
𝑞 ∝𝑛 𝐷 3𝑎

• Flow number is defined by the equation,

𝑞
𝑁𝑄 ≡ 3
𝑛 𝐷𝑎

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Flow Number (2)
• Flow number NQ is a constant for each type of impeller.

• For a standard flat-blade turbine in a baffled vessel, NQ = 1.3

• For marine propellers with square pitch, NQ = 0.5
• For a 4-blade 45° turbine (W/Da = 1/6), NQ = 0.87

• For axial flow impellers, q is the discharge rate in a vertical direction as measured
immediately below the impeller.

• Flow number is also referred to as pumping number.

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Total Flow
• Total flow produced by an impeller is dependent on the volumetric
flow rate (q) at the tip of the impeller.

• For a flat-blade turbine, the total flow is3 𝐷

estimated
𝑡
by the relationship,
𝑞𝑇 =0.92𝑛 𝐷 𝑎
𝐷𝑎

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Velocity gradient and velocity patterns
• For a detailed analysis of flow pattern inside an agitated vessel, the
local velocities and the total flow produced by an impeller has to be
studied using small velocity probes, or by photographic measurements
of tracer particles.

• Depending on the impeller type, vessel geometry, and fluid properties,

the velocity (both radial and axial components) at different points in
the fluid will vary.

• Sharp velocity gradient will result in high shear rate.

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Velocity gradient
• Typical velocity profile of flow from a straight-blade turbine is as
shown in the figure.
• As the fluid leaves the impeller, the radial component of the fluid
velocity at the centreline of the impeller is about 0.6 times the tip
speed (the radial velocity decreases with vertical distance from the
centreline).

Unit Operations of Chemical Engineers, McCabe, Smith, & Harriott, McGraw-Hill, 1993
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 Velocity gradient
• As the fluid jet travels away from the
impeller, it slows down due to increased area
for flow and because more liquid is
entrained.
• The total volumetric flow increases with
radius due to more entrainment and then
drops near the vessel wall as the flow starts
to divide into upward and downward
circulation loops.

Unit Operations of Chemical Engineers, McCabe, Smith, & Harriott, McGraw-Hill, 1993
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 Velocity patterns
• Fluid currents in a six-blade turbine is shown in
the figure. The numbers in the figure indicates
scalar velocity as a fraction of the impeller tip
velocity.
• Fluid leaves the impeller in a radial direction,
separates into longitudinal streams flowing
upward and downward over the baffle, flows
inward toward the impeller shaft, and ultimately
returns to the impeller intake.
• Immediately under the shaft, the fluid moves in a
swirling motion; elsewhere currents are primarily
radial or longitudinal.
Unit Operations of Chemical Engineers, McCabe, Smith, & Harriott, McGraw-Hill, 1993
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 Power Consumption
• Power requirement for agitation can be estimated from the flow rate
produced by the agitator and the kinetic energy per unit volume of the
fluid.
′ 2
3 𝜌 (𝑉 )
𝑞=𝑛 𝐷𝑎 𝑁 𝑄 𝐸𝑘 =
2
where V’ is the total liquid velocity at the impeller tip. (vector sum of
tangential and radial velocities)
Generally, V’ is less than the tip velocity u. If the ratio between liquid
velocity at impeller tip and tip velocity is denoted by α, then the power
requirement is given by,

( )
2 2
3 𝜌 2 𝛼 𝜋 𝑁𝑄
𝑃=𝑛 𝐷 𝑎 𝑁 𝑄 ( 𝛼𝜋 𝑛 𝐷𝑎 ) ∴ 𝑃 =𝜌 𝑛 𝐷𝑎
3 5
2 2
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 Power Consumption
In dimensionless form,
2 2
𝑃 𝛼 𝜋 𝑁𝑄
=
3 5
𝜌 𝑛 𝐷𝑎 2

Left side of the above equation is called as the power number NP,
𝑃
N 𝑃≡ 3 5
𝜌 𝑛 𝐷𝑎

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Power correlations in terms of dimensionless
numbers
• Power required to rotate a given impeller at a given speed in an
agitator vessel depends on a number of parameters such as,
• Measurements of tank and impeller
• Distance of impeller from tank floor
• Liquid depth
• Dimensions of baffles
• Viscosity, density, speed

• Empirical correlations of power with these variables are often written

in terms of dimensionless numbers.
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 Dimensionless numbers (1)
(𝑛 𝐷 ) 𝜌 𝐷 𝑢 𝜌 𝐷𝑎
• Reynolds number (NRe) 𝑎 𝑎
N 𝑅𝐸 = ∝
𝜇 𝜇
• Calculated based on the impeller diameter and the tip speed of the impeller
• NRe < 10, laminar flow prevails throughout the vessel; when N Re > 104, the flow is turbulent
everywhere.
𝑛2 𝐷 𝑎
𝐹𝑟 =
• Froude number (Fr) 𝑔

• Ratio of the inertial stress to the gravitational force per unit area acting on the fluid.
• Appears where there is significant wave motion on a liquid surface.
• Not significant when baffles are used or when N Re < 300 (at high NRe we always use baffled
vessels)

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Dimensionless numbers (2)𝑃
N 𝑃= 3 5
𝜌 𝑛 𝐷𝑎
• Power number (NP)

• Analogous to friction factor or drag coefficient

• Proportional to the ratio of the drag force acting on a unit area of the impeller and the
inertial stress, that is, the flow of momentum associated with the bulk motion of the fluid.

• Shape factors
• Various linear measurements that can be converted into dimensionless ratios by dividing
each of them by one of their number which is arbitrary chosen as a basis. e.g.: W/D a
• Two mixers with the same geometrical proportions throughout but of different sizes will
have identical shape factors, but different Da values.

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Power Correlation
• The power number for an impeller in a agitated vessel is a function of
the Reynolds number, Froude number, and shape factors
N 𝑃 =Ψ (𝑁 𝑅𝑒 , 𝐹𝑟 , 𝑆1 , 𝑆2 , … , 𝑆𝑛 )

• Empirical relationships are generated in the form of above equation

through repeated experiments under different conditions for a specific
type of impeller and vessel. These correlations are then used for
design and scale-up the vessels.

• The various shape factors depend on the type and arrangement of

equipment.
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 Power Correlation
Note: NP is a constant
when NRe > 104.

At high NRe, the curve

of NP for unbaffled and
baffled tanks diverges
(Fr influences NP). At
high NRe, unbaffled
tanks are not used in
general.
In the above figure,
S1 = Da/Dt, S2 = E/Dt, S3 = L/Da, S4 = W/Da, S5 = J/Dt, S6 = H/Dt
Unit Operations of Chemical Engineers, McCabe, Smith, & Harriott, McGraw-Hill, 1993
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 Calculation of Power Consumption
From equation for NP, 𝑃=N 𝑃 𝜌 𝑛3 𝐷5𝑎

At low NRe, the lines of both baffled and unbaffled tanks coincide, and the slope
of the line on logarithmic coordinates is -1. From slope (KL),
𝐾𝐿
𝑁 𝑃=
𝑁 𝑅𝑒
∴ 𝑃 =𝐾 𝐿 𝑛 2 𝐷 3𝑎 𝜇
i.e., when NRe < 10, NP is independent of density.

When NRe > 104, NP is independent of NRe and viscosity is not a factor.
𝑁 𝑃 =𝐾 𝑇 ∴ 𝑃 =𝐾 𝑇 𝑛3 𝐷5𝑎 𝜌

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Blending and Mixing
• Blending and mixing refers to agitating different fluids (different
liquids, gases, or gas-liquid mixture) or solid-fluid suspensions to get a
final uniform mixture / dispersion.

• Criterion for good mixing can be,

• Visual (color change if an acid-base indicator, interference phenomena for
blending of gases), or,
• Concentration and temperature fluctuations (variation of small samples taken
at random from different parts)

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Mixer selection
• Difficult to correlate between power consumed and amount/degree of mixing.

• Generally, when baffles are added, most of the energy provided goes into
mixing and less into circulation.

• When mixing time is critical, the best mixer is the one that mixes in the
required time with the smallest possible power.

• Mixing time is often a compromise considering the energy cost for mixing and
the capital cost of the mixer.

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Scale-up of agitator design (1)
• Challenges in scale-up
• Lack of generalized correlations.
• Different dependencies of factors such as tip speed, shear stress, volumetric flow, etc,
to one parameter (n – rotational speed).
• Maintaining geometrical similarity between lab/pilot scale vessel to plant scale vessel.

• 2 main criterions often chosen for scale-up

• Amount of power consumed per unit volume of liquid is often chosen as the
parameter for mixing effectiveness.
• Optimum ratio of impeller diameter to vessel diameter for a given power input is
another important factor in scale-up.

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 Scale-up of agitator design (2)
• When constant power per unit volume and geometric similarity are
maintained in scaling up, the impeller speed changes with .
N 𝑃 𝜌 𝑛 3 𝐷 5𝑎
[ ( ) ( )]
2
𝑃 4 𝑁 𝑃 𝜌 𝐷𝑎 𝐷𝑎 3 2
= = 𝑛 𝐷𝑎
𝑉
( )
𝜋
4
𝐷2𝑡 𝐻
𝜋 𝐷𝑡 𝐻

For geometric similarity, since all ratios inside the square bracket has to be the
same, the term has to be a constant.

( )
2 /3
Thus, 𝑛2 𝐷𝑎 1
=
𝑛1 𝐷𝑎 2
Decrease in impeller speed on scale-up at constant P/V leads to longer mixing
times in larger tanks.
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