Experimental determination of flow number curves for 45 pitched blade and KPC impeller for validation of numerical results obtained at L-CFD/FEQ/UNICAMP

• Grant number: 08/01440-6
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: September 01, 2008
• End date: August 31, 2010
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Chemical Engineering - Industrial Operations and Equipment for Chemical Engineering
• Principal Investigator: José Roberto Nunhez
• Grantee: José Roberto Nunhez
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia Química (FEQ). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Stirred tanks are widely use in chemical, petrochemical, pharmaceutical and food processing industries. The efficiency of the mixing processes have normally a great impact in the production cost and product quality. This work was devised with a main objective of determining several characteristics of two different impellers using Laser Doppler Velocimeter at the Chemical Engineering Department of the University of Alberta, Canada. The impellers are the Pitched Blade Turbine (PBT) 45 and the KPC hydrofoil. The PBT impeller is the most used impeller in Brazil. This work intends to obtain experimentally the flow number, the velocity profile inside the tankand the velocities near the wall. The height of the plume of solids due to the impelle motion and the minimum solid sedimentation velocity as a function of the rotational speed for several solid samples. The impellers efficiency will also be tested using iodine/iodate reaction. The results will be used to validate the numerical simulation using the CFX sftware at the L-CFD laboratory at FEQ/UNICAMP, where Dr Marcio Bezerra Machado works as a resarch fellow with FAPESP scholarship. The results are of good impact since these results will be published for the mixing community. Note: This research project is associated with the request of a scolarship for Marcio Bezerra Machado, Research Fellow with FAPESP scholarship at L-CFD laboratory, at the Chemical Engineering Faculty - UNICAMP. (AU)