(192d) Simulating Complex Mixing Configurations within a Single Numerical Framework
AIChE Annual Meeting
2023
2023 AIChE Annual Meeting
North American Mixing Forum
Advances in Computational Analyses of Mixing Processes: Fundamentals
Monday, November 6, 2023 - 2:00pm to 2:30pm
Within our framework, any numerical configuration which necessitates the construction of complex geometrical shapes uses a technique that circumvents the need for time-consuming construction, meshing, and re-meshing of these geometries. Instead, our method proceeds in a modular manner that enables the user to build any geometrical shape from primitive geometrical objects (spheres, cylinders, planes, torii, and ellipsoids) using static distance functions that take into account the interaction of these objects with the flow for both single and multiphase flows.
As an example of mixing with non-Newtonian fluids, âcavernâ formation occurs when a viscoplastic material is agitated by a central impeller within a vessel. Outside of this rotating region, the material is stagnant because the stresses being imparted on it are not sufficiently large to exceed its yield stress. This is important as most industrial applications need to minimise stagnant zones in order to achieve efficient, complete mixing. In this situation, our numerical framework has shown remarkable capability of reproducing experimental measurements and excellent agreement with scaling laws involving a combination of dimensionless parameters that incorporate rheological, inertial, and geometrical effects.