Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering, Vol.92, No.6, 1070-1081, 2014
Compartmental modelling of turbulent fluid flow for the scale-up of stirred tanks
In this work, the results of single phase CFD simulations of mixing vessels with four baffles agitated by a Rushton turbine are used to determine the parameters of a two-compartment model that describes the turbulent non-homogeneities therein. An improved method is proposed to find the boundary between the two characteristic regions. Using this method, the effects of different conventional scale-up criteria including constant impeller speed, constant impeller tip speed and constant power consumption per liquid volume, on the value of the compartmental model parameters are investigated. It can be observed that the distribution of the turbulent energy dissipation rate and, as a result, the compartmental model parameters change considerably when following conventional scale-up rules. The concept of a general map of compartment energy dissipation rate and volume ratios, which can be used for the scale-up of stirred tanks, is introduced.