Computation of Fluid-Structure Interaction in a Static Mixer Using MpCCi

Author(s):  
Torsten Wintergerste

Static mixers are used for the mixing of fluids with different properties like viscosity, density, temperature, etc. The Sulzer SMB mixer is designed for a high pressure drop which is e.g. the case in polymer melt blending. The deformation of the mixer caused by the fluid flow is investigated by the coupling of commercial CFD and FEA codes through a communications library called MpCCI. This loose coupling approach gives the opportunity for calculating the deformation of very complex structures which can be used for an optimization process during the phase of development of new mixers. This paper shows the use of the coupling of the two commercial codes STAR-CD and PERMAS by MpCCI for the investigation of the deformations of a mixer. It demonstrates that the use of coupling allows a more realistic calculation of stresses inside the structure.

Author(s):  
D. Revathi ◽  
K. Saravanan

Mixing is the degree of homogeneity of two or more phases and it plays a vital role in the quality of the final product. It is conventionally carried out by mechanical agitators or by static mixers. Static mixers are a series of geometric mixing elements fixed within a pipe, which use the energy of the flow stream to create mixing between two or more fluids or to inject metered liquid into a continuous process. The objective of this work is to predict hydrodynamic aspects of the static mixer designed. The mixing performance of Komax static mixer has been determined for the blending of non-Newtonian fluid streams with identical or different rheology by using experimental study. The energy needed for mixing comes from the force created by the liquid due to turbulence and the geometry of the static mixer. Pressure drop in static mixer depend strongly on geometric arrangement of the inserts, properties of fluids to be mixed and flow conditions. Hence pressure drop studies are carried out for different flow rates of fluids with different concentrations of two non-Newtonian fluids. Starch and xanthan gum solutions are used as working fluids. It is observed from the experimental results that the pressure drop per unit length increases as the fluid flow rate increases and the nature of fluid flow varies with the velocity of the fluids.


Processes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 1353
Author(s):  
Chenfeng Wang ◽  
Hanyang Liu ◽  
Xiaoxia Yang ◽  
Rijie Wang

The Kenics static mixer is one of the most widely studied static mixers, whose structure–function relationship has been studied by varying its aspect ratio and modifying the surface. However, the effect of the symmetric structure of the Kenics static mixer itself on twisting the fluid has been neglected. In order to study how the symmetrical structure of the Kenics static mixer impacts the fluid flow, we changed the center position of elements at twist angle 90° and introduced the eccentricity factor γ. We applied LHS-PLS to study this non-standard Kenics static mixer and obtained the statistical correlations of the aspect ratio, Reynolds number, and eccentricity factor on relative Nusselt number and relative friction factor. We analyzed the results by comparing the PLS model with the univariate analysis, and it was found that the underlying logic of the Kenics static mixer with an asymmetric structure became different. In addition, a non-standard Kenics static mixer with an asymmetric structure was investigated using vortex generation and dissipation through fluid flow simulation. The results demonstrated that the classical symmetric structure has a minor pressure drop, but the backward eccentric one has a higher thermal-hydraulic performance factor. It was found that the nature of the eccentric structure is that two elements with different aspect ratios are being combined at θ=90°, and this articulation leads to non-standard Kenics static mixers with different underlying logic, which finally result in the differences between the PLS model and the univariate analysis.


2016 ◽  
Vol 08 (08) ◽  
pp. 1650095 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Devaraj ◽  
Kean C. Aw ◽  
E. Haemmerle ◽  
R. Sharma

3D printed hair-like micro-structures have been previously demonstrated in a novel micro-fluidic flow sensor aimed at sensing air flows down to rates of a few milliliters per second. However, there is a lack of in-depth understanding of the structural response of these ‘micro-hairs' under a fluid flow field. This paper demonstrates the use of lattice Boltzmann methods (LBM) to understand this structural response towards a better optimization of the micro-hair flow sensors designed to suit the end applications' needs. The LBM approach was chosen as an efficient alternative to simulate Navier–Stokes equations for modeling fluid flow around complex geometries primarily for improved accuracy and simplicity with lesser computational costs. As the spatial dimensions of the sensor's flow channel are much larger in comparison to the actual micro-hairs (the sensing element), a multidimensional approach of combining two-dimensional (D2Q9) and three-dimensional (D3Q19) lattice configurations were implemented for improved computational speeds and efficiency. The drag force on the micro-hairs was estimated using the momentum-exchange method in the D3Q19 configuration and this drag force is transferred to the structural analysis model which determines the micro-hair deformation using Euler–Bernoulli beam theory. The entirety of the LBM Fluid–Structure Interaction (FSI) model was implemented within MATLAB and the obtained results are compared against the numerical model implemented on a commercially available software package.


Author(s):  
Estela Mayoral-Villa ◽  
Mario A. Rodríguez-Meza ◽  
Jaime Klapp ◽  
Eduardo de la Cruz-Sánchez ◽  
César Ruiz-Ferrel ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
M. Benaouicha ◽  
S. Guillou ◽  
A. Santa Cruz ◽  
H. Trigui

The study deals with a 3D Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI) numerical model of a rectangular cantilevered flexible hydrofoil subjected to a turbulent fluid flow regime. The structural response and dynamic deformations are studied by analyzing the oscillations frequencies and amplitudes, under a hydrodynamics loads. The obtained numerical results are confronted with experimental ones, for validation. The numerical model is performed in the same geometric, physical and material conditions as the experimental set-up carried out in a hydrodynamic tunnel. A polyacetal (POM) flexible hydrofoil NACA0015 with an angle of attack of 8° is considered to be immersed in a fluid flow at a Reynold number of 3 × 105. The structure is initially at rest and then moved by the action of the fluid flow. The numerical model is based on a strong coupling procedure for solving the Fluid-Structure Interaction problem. The Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) formulation of the Navier-Stokes equations is used and an anisotropic diffusion equation is solved to compute the fluid mesh velocity and position at each time step. The finite volume method is used for the numerical resolution of the fluid dynamics equations. The structure deformations are described by the linear elasticity equation which is solved by the finite elements method. The Fluid-Structure coupled problem is solved by using the partitioned FSI implicit algorithm. A good agreement between numerical and experimental results for the hydrodynamics coefficients and hydrofoil deformations, maximum deflection and frequencies is obtained. The added mass and damping are analyzed and then the FSI effect on the dynamic deformations of the structure is highlighted.


Author(s):  
F. Mumic ◽  
L. Ljungkruna ◽  
B. Sunden

In this work, a numerical study has been performed to simulate the heat transfer and fluid flow in a transonic high-pressure turbine stator vane passage. Four turbulence models (the Spalart-Allmaras model, the low-Reynolds-number realizable k-ε model, the shear-stress transport (SST) k-ω model and the v2-f model) are used in order to assess the capability of the models to predict the heat transfer and pressure distributions. The simulations are performed using the FLUENT commercial software package, but also two other codes, the in-house code VolSol and the commercial code CFX are used for comparison with FLUENT results. The results of the three-dimensional simulations are compared with experimental heat transfer and aerodynamic results available for the so-called MT1 turbine stage. It is observed that the predictions of the vane pressure field agree well with experimental data, and that the pressure distribution along the profile is not strongly affected by choice of turbulence model. It is also shown that the v2-f model yields the best agreement with the measurements. None of the tested models are able to predict transition correctly.


1995 ◽  
Vol 38 (12) ◽  
pp. 2239-2250 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Lang ◽  
P. Drtina ◽  
F. Streiff ◽  
M. Fleischli

Author(s):  
R. F. Mudde ◽  
C. Van Pijpen ◽  
R. Beugels

The PRIMIX helical static mixer has been investigated using numerical simulations. The flow is in the laminar regime (Re = 1 to 1000). The simulations concentrate on the pressure drop and on the use of particle tracking for mixing studies. For the pressure drop, experimental validation is provided. It is found that the pressure drop can be simulated with high accuracy for Re < 350. For higher Re-values no grid independent solution could be obtained and the experimental results no longer agree with those of the simulations. The simulated pressure drop results scaled to the empty pipe pressure drop, can be well summarized as K = 4.99 + Re/31.4. Using Particle Tracking it has been possible to reproduce literature data. However, it has been shown that the obtained results are rather sensitive to the choice of the time step. This limits the direct use of particle tracking techniques for studying the mixing of static mixers in the laminar regime.


2019 ◽  
Vol 92 (1) ◽  
pp. 186-197
Author(s):  
Katja Putzig ◽  
E. Haberstroh ◽  
B. Klie ◽  
U. Giese

ABSTRACT Flow behavior is of major importance in the extrusion processing of rubber compounds. It is evaluated by means of a series of tests on a high-pressure capillary viscometer (HCV). Adhesion between the polymer melt and the capillary wall is assumed in all current calculation models, although such adhesion does not always pertain to the case of rubber compounds. To date, no uniform model discussed in the literature on the topic extensively describes the wall slippage behavior of rubber compounds. The phenomenon of wall slippage is analyzed by determining the power-law parameters n (flow exponent) and K (consistency factor) from the flow curve in the subcritical flow range. This makes it possible to explicitly calculate first the slip velocity and then the slippage ratio relative to the total volume flow as a function of the given shear rate and temperature. The work is based on the testing of EPDM raw polymers of different molecular weights in the HCV. In addition, EPDM compounds containing either a carbon black or a softener were analyzed with regard to their flow behavior. The rheological analysis was carried out on three variously coated flow channels. It was observed that with attainment of a critical wall shear stress, the wall slippage effect becomes more pronounced; thus, occurrences of flow anomalies such as slip-stick or shark-skin significantly influence processing and flow behavior. Wall slippage effects are noticeable, however, even before the critical wall shear stress is attained.


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