| The hydrodynamic characteristics of the Maxblend impeller have been investigated in the case of viscous fluids. Both laboratory experiments and 3D finite element based CFD simulations have been tackled for Newtonian (corn syrup) fluid. In the experimental study, the power consumption, the mixing kinetics, the mixing time and the effect of baffles in the laminar and transition flow regimes have been investigated. The numerical simulations have dealt with the prediction of the three dimensional flow patterns and the mixing performance (power consumption, shear rate distribution, pumping capacity, intensity of segregation, mixing efficiency). It is shown that in the range of Reynolds numbers studied in this work, the Maxblend mixer equipped with baffles has an efficient mixing rate within the range of end of laminar regime and beginning of transition regime. |
