An experimental study of the steady and unsteady flow characteristics of stirred reactors

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Abstract
Liquid flow in a baffled stirred reactor vessel driven by a six-blade disk impeller has been investigated experimentally. Laser-slit photography provided an overview of the flows which were quantified by measurements of velocity characteristics, obtained with a laser-Doppler anemometer, for an impeller rotational speed of 300 r.p.m. and for three impeller clearances from the bottom of the vessel. The mean flow results show an inclination of the impeller stream and the formation of ring vortices above and below the impeller, which depend on the clearance; the flow was strongly three-dimensional with large regions having circumferential velocities in a direction opposite to that of the impeller rotation. Impeller-induced torque measurements show that the Power number is invariant with clearance for turbulent-flow Reynolds numbers ([ges ] 40000) and increases with impeller diameter. The flow structure was controlled mainly by convection and pressure forces with turbulent mixing important in the impeller region.