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Geometrical modifications of the anchor impeller to enhance the overall

performances in stirred tanks

Article · July 2020

DOI: 10.36119/15.2020.6.5

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 I nstalacje przemysłowe
Geometrical modifications of the anchor impeller
to enhance the overall performances in stirred tanks
Modyfikacje geometryczne mieszadła kotwicowego
w celu zwiększenia ogólnej wydajności zbiorników z mieszaniem
HOUARI AMEUR, YOUCEF KAMLA

DOI 10.36119/15.2020.6.5

The performance of modified anchor impellers in stirred tanks is investigated. The classical anchor impeller is taken as
a reference, then the upper part of the blade arm is curved at different degrees (α). Three geometrical configurations
are explored, namely: α = 0° (which corresponds to the standard shape of anchor impellers), 45°, and 90°. The study
is achieved numerically by using a finite volume method based CFD tool. The case of highly viscous Newtonian fluids
under laminar flow conditions is considered. From the obtained results, the newly modified anchor impeller has allo-
wed an enhancement in the axial circulation of liquid and a reduction in power requirements. The curved blade with
90° yielded a decrease in power number by about 2.5%, compared to the classical anchor impeller.
Keywords: modified anchor impellers, stirred tanks, newtonian fluid, power consumption, hydrodynamic

W pracy przebadano działanie zmodyfikowanych mieszadeł kotwicowych w zbiornikach z mieszaniem. Jako

element referencyjny przyjęto klasyczne mieszadło kotwicowe, w którym górną część ramienia łopatki zakrzywiono
pod różnym kątem (α). Przebadano trzy konfiguracje geometryczne, a mianowicie: α = 0° (co odpowiada
standardowemu kształtowi mieszadła kotwicowego), 45° i 90°. Badania realizowano numerycznie przy użyciu
metody objętości skończonych CFD. Rozważany przypadek dotyczy wysoko lepkich płynów newtonowskich
w warunkach przepływu laminarnego. Na podstawie uzyskanych wyników zmodyfikowane mieszadło kotwicowe
umożliwiło zwiększenie osiowej cyrkulacji cieczy i zmniejszenie zapotrzebowania na moc. Zakrzywiona łopatka
o kącie 90° spowodowała spadek liczby mocy o około 2,5% w porównaniu z klasycznym mieszadłem kotwicowym.
Słowa kluczowe: zmodyfikowane mieszadła kotwicowe, zbiorniki z mieszaniem (mieszalniki), płyn newtonowski,
pobór mocy, hydrodynamika.

Introduction final product [4]. If turbines are used in clearance, which is resulted from the varia-
mixing highly viscous liquids, the rapid tion of flow patterns. The experimental study
Agitation in cylindrical tanks is an ordi- decay of flow velocities may be induced, performed by Triveni et al. [10] on the mix-
nary operation to fulfill many objectives in resulting thus in low blending quality [5]. ing of Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids
various areas, such as the food, polymer, Among the different kinds of close- by anchor impellers revealed an increase in
paint, pharmaceutical, and petroleum indus- clearance impellers that are available in the fraction of the well-mixed region from
tries. The quality of the final product in mix- industries, the anchor impeller has proved its 0.7 to 0.95 with increased impeller speeds.
ing systems is highly related to the hydrody- efficiency. As reported by Chhabra and This increase in mixing quality was observed
namic induced by the impeller. So, detailed Richardson [6], the anchor is suitable for the for both Newtonian and non-Newtonian
knowledge of the flow patterns in the whole mixing of viscous Newtonian and non- fluids, but the increase was small for viscous
vessel volume is needed. Additional difficul- Newtonian fluids. The flow pattern induced liquids. Prajapati and Ein-Mozaffari [2]
ties for the optimization of processes often by an anchor impeller is tangential, and it used the CFD method to determine the mix-
occur with highly-viscous fluids [1]. generates secondary radial and axial flows ing characteristics of viscoplastic fluids with
In the mixing of fluids with low viscosi- at high rotational speeds [7]. Karray et al. anchor impellers. The optimum values of the
ty, the impeller systems consisting of one or [8] explored the efficiency of standard stirrer clearance-to-vessel diameter and the
more turbines are generally used. Howev- anchor impellers for mixing Newtonian flu- stirrer width-to-vessel diameter ratios were
er, and when the working fluids exhibit ids. They observed a significant deformation 0.079 and 0.102, respectively. They also
high viscosity, the close-clearance impellers of the anchor arm when operating in the reported that the four-bladed anchor impel-
are recommended. In this case, the impel- turbulent flow regime. To overcome this issue, ler provides better performance than the
ler is recommended to be used in the lami- they proposed inserting an anchor blade. two-bladed anchor. Ameur [11] suggested
nar regime [2, 3]. For instance, in polym- Espinosa-Solares et al. [9] investigated adding vertical and/or horizontal arms in
erization processes, an efficient mixing is the combined influence of bottom clearance the blade of the classical anchor to avoid the
desired to avoid some phenomena like and wall clearance on power requirements. deformation of blades. Ameur and Ghe-
dead zones and hot spots and to control Their result revealed a decrease in power naim [12] combined the Scaba-anchor
the molecular weight distribution of the input with the raise of the bottom and wall impellers to enhance the overall perfor-

prof. Houari Ameur - https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2087-7574, Department of Technology, University Centre of Naama, Ahmed Salhi P.O.
Box 66, Naama 45000, Algeria; dr Youcef Kamla - https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3428-4748, Faculty of Technology, University Hassiba Ben
Bouali of Chlef, Algeria. Corresponding author: houari_ameur@yahoo.fr, ameur@cuinv-naama.dz

42 6/2020 www.informacjainstal.com.pl
 Instalacje przemysłowe
mance in mixing shear-thinning fluids. For olds number Re is the ratio between the Fig. 2
anchor impellers, Kamla et al. [13] com- viscous and inertia forces: Meshing of the
pared the performance of rectangular, computational
domain with tetra-
octagonal, and circular shapes of blades. Re = (ρNd5):µ (2)
hedral elements
Their results revealed that the octagonal
shape yielded the widest well-stirred region The dimensionless axial and radial
over the other cases. However, the lowest coordinates Z* and R* are defined respec-
power input was obtained with the circular tively as:
shape of blades.
In the present paper, a new modifica- R* = 2R/D (3)
tion in the blades of anchor impeller is Z* = Z/D (4)
introduced. The primary purpose is to
enhance the circulation of fluid particles The dimensionless velocity is defined as: Consistent (SIMPLEC) was used. Mesh tests
within the vessel and to reduce power con- were done by checking that additional
sumption. The study is achieved for a high- V* = V/πNd (5) cells did not change the velocity magni-
ly viscous Newtonian fluid under laminar tude in the regions of high-velocity gradi-
flow conditions. Experimental set-up ents around the impeller blades by more
than 2.5%. After mesh tests, the final grid
Case study To perform the investigation, the com- that was selected had about 0.8 million of
puter software (CFX), which is based on cells.
The geometry of the stirred system is the finite volume method, was used. How- With a machine (INTEL® i7 processor
illustrated in Figure 1. It consists of a cylin- ever, the geometry and mesh of the com- with 8 Gb RAM) and for a residual target
drical, unbaffled, and flat-bottomed tank putational domain (Fig. 2) were created 10-7, the convergence was achieved after
(diameter: D = 300 mm, height: H/D = 1) with the computer tool Ansys ICEM CFD. about 1700−1800 iterations, which cor-
fitted with an anchor agitator. The glycerol The steady-state, three-dimensional, and responds to about 4−5 hours of CPU time.
(density ρ = 1262 [kg∙m-3] and viscosity µ laminar flows of an incompressible fluid
= 1.495 [Pa∙s]) is used as a working fluid. were considered. The Navier-Stokes equa- Validation
The liquid level is kept equal to the vessel tions written in a rotating, cylindrical
height. The impeller is placed at a clear- frame of references were solved. Due to To validate the numerical approach
ance (c) from the vessel base c/D = 0.066. the absence of baffles, the Rotating Refer- and to check the reliability of the computer
experimentally by Prajapati and Ein-Mozaffari [2]. The results provided in this figure were
Further details on the other geometrical ence Frame (RRF) technique was tech- software and the selected mesh, some pre-
parameters are provided in Table 1. nique. The same approach
obtained with has
the been
same used dicted
geometrical results were
conditions compared
and fluid with avail-
characteristics as those used by
Effects of the inclination (α) of the upper by many researchers, and satisfactory able experimental data. The predicted
part of the blade are investigated by realiz- Prajapati[14-18].
results were obtained and Ein-Mozaffari.
To achieve Thevalues
comparison
of powerbetween
numbersbothare
results shows ina satisfactory
presented
ing three geometrical configurations, which the velocity-pressure coupling, a pressure- Figure 3 against those obtained experi-
agreement.
are: α = 0° (which corresponds to the clas- correction method of the type Semi-Implic- mentally by Prajapati and Ein-Mozaffari
sical anchor), 45°, and 90°, respectively. it Method for Pressure-Linked Equations- [2]. The results provided in this figure were

Table 1. Details on the geometrical parameters Fig. 3 Np Exp. (Prajapati and Ein-Mozaffari, 2009)
H/D d/D h/D c/D a/D b/D ds/d Impeller power number Num. (Present work)
1 0.5 0.95 0.066 0.04 0.02 0.06 versus Reynolds number
100

Theoretical tools

The power number (Np) is an essential

10
parameter to determine the performance
of a stirred system. It is defined as follows:

Np = P:(rN3d5) (1)
1
where P is the power consumption, and N
is the impeller rotational speed. The Reyn- 1 10 100
Re

Fig. 1 obtained with the same geometrical condi-

The geometry of
tions and fluid characteristics as those used
Figure
the stirred 3: Impeller power number versus Reynolds number
system
by Prajapati and Ein-Mozaffari. The com-
parison between both results shows a sat-
6. Results and discussion isfactory agreement.

6.1. Flow fields Results and discussion

In the first part of our investigation, the flow fields are presented under various plots and
Flow fields
In theAt
for different locations in the vessel volume. first
thepart of our investigation,
mid-height the= 0.5) and for
of the vessel (Z*

the angular position θ = 0°, the variation of the dimensionless tangential velocity (Vθ*) along

www.informacjainstal.com.pl radius is given in Figure 4. Values of Vθ* are provided for the three cases
6/2020
the vessel 43 under
investigation, i.e., α = 0°, 45°, and 90°. We note the line passing through the blade of the
 theses loops decreases with the raise of blade curvature, resulting thus in a wider well-stirred

I region around the impellers, as observed in Figure 6.

Fig. 4 Vθ
* blade tip, whatever the curvature of the
Tangential velocity
0,5
blade.
α = 0°
for Re = 50, Z* = 0.5, θ = 0° The streamlines induced by the differ-
α = 45°

0,4
α = 90° ent impellers studied are plotted in Figure
5 at the mid-height of the vessel. A recircu-
0,3 lation zone, where the fluid is less agitated,
is formed near the tank wall in the area
0,2 swept by the impeller. This is due to the wall
effect. The size of theses loops decreases
0,1 with the raise of blade curvature, resulting
thus in a wider well-stirred region around
0,0 the impellers, as observed in Figure 6.
0,0 0,2 0,4 0,6 0,8 1,0
For further insight into the hydrody-
*
R namic induced by the newly modified
anchor impellers, the axial streamlines are
plotted (Figure 7) on the vertical plane
Figure 4: Tangential velocity for Re = 50, Z* = 0.5, θ = 0° passing through the impeller (θ = 0°). For
the classical anchor, the flow patterns are
uniform in the whole vessel volume. How-
ever, the curved blade has yielded a sig-
nificant change in the flow patterns. Con-
siderable enhancement in the axial circula-
tion of fluid particles is obtained with the
raise of blade curvature (α). Figure 8,
α = 0° α = 45° α = 90°
8
where the dimensionless axial velocity is
Fig. 5 * followed along with the vessel height (Z*),
Figure
Streamlines for Re = 50, Z* = 0.5 5: Streamlines for Re = 50, Z = 0.5
confirms this finding. We note that the
negative values of velocity represent the
existence of counter flows. However, the
excessive increase in the blade curvature
may result in reduced size of the well-
stirred region near the free surface of the
liquid, as illustrated in Figure 9.

Power consumption
Variations of the power number (Np)
α = 0° α = 45° α = 90° for the different geometrical configurations
under study are provided in Figure 10.
Fig. 6
Figure 6: Well-stirred region for Re = 50, Z* = 0.5 Values of Np for the three cases α = 0°,
Well-stirred region for Re = 50, Z* = 0.5
45°, and 90° are: 2.43, 2.41, and 2.37,
For further insight into the hydrodynamic induced by the newly modified anchor respectively. As observed, the increase in
the inclination angle of the vertical arm of
impellers, the axial streamlines are plotted (Figure 7) on the vertical plane passing through the blade yields a reduction in power con-
sumption. Compared to the classical
the impeller (θ = 0°). For the classical anchor, the flow patterns are uniform in the whole
anchor, the inclination by 45° and 90°
vessel volume. However, the curved blade has yielded a significant change in the flow provided a decrease in Np by about 0.8%
and 2.5%, respectively.
patterns. Considerable enhancement in the axial circulation of fluid particles is obtained with

the raise of blade curvature (α). Figure 8, where the dimensionless axial velocity is followed
Conclusion
α = 0° α = 45° α = 90°
Fig. 7 with the vessel height (Z*), confirms this finding. We note that the negative values of
along Some modifications in the classical
Streamlines at Re = 50, θ = 0° Figure 7: Streamlines at Re = 50, θ = 0° anchor impeller have been introduced to
velocity represent the existence of counter flows. However, the excessive increase in the enhance the overall performances in cylin-
flow fields are presented under various blade of the impeller is taken as a refer- drical tanks. It concerned the curvature (α)
blade curvature may *result in reduced size of the well-stirred region near the free surface of
plots and for different locations in the ves- ence for the angular coordinate.
Vz 0,03 of the upper part of the vertical arm of the
α = 0°
selthevolume. Atillustrated
liquid, as the mid-height
in Figureof9.the vessel
α = 45° As observed in this figure, the tangen- blade. Three cases were considered,
(Z* = 0.5) and for the0,02 angular position αθ= 90° tial velocity increases gradually from the namely: α = 0° (which corresponds to the
= 0°, the variation of the dimensionless impeller shaft until reaching the highest classical anchor), 45°, and 90°. The flow
tangential velocity (Vθ0,01 *) along the vessel 9 values at the blade tip, and it decreases fields generated in the whole vessel vol-
radius is given in Figure 4. Values of Vθ* again until becoming negligible at the tank ume, as well as the power requirements for
are provided for the0,00 three cases under wall. The comparison between the three the agitation of a viscous Newtonian fluid,
investigation, i.e., α = 0°, 45°, and 90°. geometrical configurations reveals that the were determined.
We note the line passing -0,01 through the maximum amount of Vθ* is reached at the From the obtained results, the increased

-0,02

44 0,0 0,2 0,4 0,6 0,8 1,0

6/2020
Z
*
www.informacjainstal.com.pl
 α = 0° α = 45° α = 90°

Figure 7: Streamlines at Re = 50, θ = 0°

Instalacje przemysłowe
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Fig. 8 Vz 0,03 α = 0° ipment‐Process Engineering‐Biotechnology 32
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A two-dimensional model for the secondary
flow in an agitated vessel with anchor impeller,
2.43, 2.41, and 2.37, respectively. As observed, the increase in the inclination angleJournal of theof chemical engineering of Japan 18
(1985) 81-84.
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S. Karray, Z. Driss, H. Kchaou, M. Abid,
Hydromechanics characterization of the turbu-
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Figure 9: Flow fields at Re = 50, θ = 0°
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0 20 40 60 80 100
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geous in terms of reduction in Axial
power velocity
10: PoweratRnumber
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