Manipal University

Department of Chemical Engineering

CE 1531- TRANSPORT PHENOMENA LABORATORY-I
III YEAR, 5TH SEMESTER, 2017

EXPERIMENT #6
AGITATED VESSEL SET-UP

INSTRUCTOR:
DR. ANAND GUPTA CHAKINALA
DR. MD OAYES MIDDA

GROUP #3

SUBMITTED BY: ABHIJEET SINGH

Experiment carried on: September 21, 2017

Report submitted on: September 28, 2017

PRELAB (10) ______

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY (10) ______

INTRODUCTION/OBJECTIVES/SCOPE/PROCEDURE (30) ______

RESULTS & DISCUSSION (30) ______

CONCLUSIONS (5) ______

REFERENCES (5) ______

APPENDIX
a) Original data, sample calculations, other information (5) ______

GENERAL COMPLETENESS
a) Conciseness and neatness (5) ______

TOTAL (100) ______

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY……………………………………………………………………….3
INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………………………...4
OBJECTIVE………………………………………………………………………………………4
SCOPE…………………………………………………………………………………………….4
EXPERIMENTAL SET-UP………………………………………………………………………5
 PROCESS FLOW DIAGRAM
 APPARATUS DESCRIPTION

PROCEDURE……………………………………………………………………………………6
 START UP
 WORKING
 SHUTDOWN
PRECAUTIONS………………………………………………………………………………….6
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION………………………………………………………………….6
CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATION……………………………………………………....8
APPENDIX A.1…………………………………………………………………………………...8
 CALCULATION DATA
 CALCULATION FORMULAE
 OBSERVATION TABLE

REFERENCES……………………………………………………………………………………9

FIGURE 1: BAFFLED AND UNBAFFLED AGITATING VESSELS

FIGURE 2: PROCESS FLOW DIAGRAM OF AGITATED VESSEL

FIGURE 3: PLOT OF REYNOLDS NUMBER V/S POWER NUMBER FOR SIX BLADE IMPELLER

FIGURE 4: PLOT OF REYNOLDS NUMBER V/S POWER NUMBER FOR FOUR BLADE IMPELLER

TABLE1: POWER CONSUMED BY SIX BLADE AND FOUR BLADE IMPELLERS AT DIFFERENT ROTATION SPEEDS

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Agitated Vessel experiment is used to investigate the relation between the number of blades an
impeller has and the presence of baffles with the power consumed in agitation and the observed
relation has been validated by providing a graph of Power number vs Reynolds Number. The
design of the apparatus allowed measurement of voltage and current at different rotation speeds
(angular velocity of fluid in tank) which was ultimately used to calculate the power consumption
as well as the Power Number and Reynolds Number. From the measured and calculated data it
could be observed that as the number of blades of the impeller decrease power consumption
increases, also the presence of baffles increased the power consumption. The graph plotted
between the Power Number and Reynolds Number shows a decreasing trend. For the experiment
we set different rotation speeds between the range of 30-200 RPM and hence noted the current and
voltage required for the same which was further used to calculate the power consumption.

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INTRODUCTION:
Agitation or mixing is one of the oldest and most common operations in chemical engineering .
Although the effectiveness and enery consumption in agitation depend on basic principles of fluid
mechanics , the typical flow pattern in an agitated vessel are so complex that rigorous application
of the basic principles is impossible . Instead imperical relations should be used. Many factors
influence the amount of energy required for achieving an acceptable quality of mixing such as the
arrangement of impellers, number of blades the impeller has, the presence of baffles etc. The
internal arrangement depends on the purpose of agitation i.e. whether it is to maintain homogeneity
or to keep the solid particles suspended or to improve the transfer properties such as heat transfer
etc.
Agitation tanks are typically of two types :
 Baffled
 Unbaffled
Baffled agitation tanks require more power as compared to unbaffled tanks as they reduce
hindrance in the fluid movement. However their analysis is simpler than unbaffled tanks

FIGURE 1: BAFFLED AND UNBAFFLED AGITATING VESSELS

OBJECTIVE:
To study the power consumption of a fluid in an agitated vessel with and without baffles and to
Plot the power number vs Reynolds Number for the same.
SCOPE:
The experiment facilitates the measurement of current and voltage requirement for different
rotation speeds of the impeller. These values are in turn used to calculate the power consumption
of water in the agitated vessel.

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EXPERIMENTAL SETUP:
 PROCESS FLOW DIAGRAM

FIGURE 2: PROCESS FLOW DIAGRAM OF AGITATED VESSEL

 APPARATUS DESCRIPTION

As seen in Figure 2, the experimental apparatus consists of a vessel which is connected to a sensor
and a motor which helps in rotating the impeller inside the tank .As water is filled in the vessel
and the power is turned on, the readings are displayed on the control panel which consists of a
voltmeter, an ammeter and a regulator to change the angular velocity of the fluid in the tank.

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PROCEDURE:
 START UP
o Fill the vessel with water
o Ensure the drain valve is closed
o Switch on the power supply
 WORKING
o Start the motor and note the current and voltage readings at different RPM (rotation per
minute) values for the six blade impeller without baffles.
o Now, insert the baffles without changing the RPM and note the current and voltage
readings again.
o Repeat for at least three different RPM values.
o Carry out the above procedure for four blade impeller as well
 SHUT DOWN:
o Switch off the motor
o Shut down the power supply
o Empty vessel by opening the drain valve
Finally, unplug the apparatus

PRECAUTIONS:
 Make sure all drain valves are initially closed.
 All joints should be leak-proof.
 No electrical supply should come in contact with water.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION:

o SIX BLADE IMPELLER:
For the 6 blade impeller as the rotation speed increases the power consumption also
increases. From the graph below it is clear that the baffled agitated tank consumes more
power as compared to unbaffled tank this is because the presence of baffles increases the
power required for agitation as the baffles cause hindrance in the water flow and hence the
impeller requires more power to maintain the same rotation speed. The graph below also
shows that as the Reynolds Number increases the Power number decreases.

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 FIGURE 3:PLOT OF REYNOLDS NUMBER V/S POWER NUMBER FOR SIX BLADE IMPELLER

o FOUR BLADE IMPELLER:

For the 4 Blade impeller too it can be observed that the power consumption increases with increase
in rotation speed of the impeller. The graph below verifies the fact that the power consumed by
baffled tank is more than the power consumed by the unbaffled tank as the baffles offer resistance
to the water in the tank. The graph also shows that the Power Number decreases as the Reynolds
Number increases.

FIGURE 4:PLOT OF REYNOLDS NUMBER V/S POWER NUMBER FOR FOUR BLADE IMPELLER

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The above performed experiment also shows that the power consumed by the four blade impeller
is more than the power consumed by the six blade impeller.This is because the four blade impeller
has more spacing between the blades as a result of which more volume of water can fit into the
space and hence more power is required to cause agitation.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION:

The above experiment thus concludes that as the rotation speed increases power consumption also
increases. The number of blades the impeller has as well as the presence of baffles affect the power
consumed for agitation. As the number of blades increases the power consumed decreases, whereas
the presence of baffles increase the power consumption. The experiment also shows that as the
Power Number increase the Reynolds Number decreases.
It is recommended to repeat the experiment several times to get accurate results.

APPENDIX:
 CALCULATION DATA:
o Density of Water = 1 g/cm3
o Viscosity of Water = 0.01 g/cm.s
o Impeller Diameter = 0.08m
o Tank Diameter = 0.8m

 CALCULATION FORMULAE:
o Power =( 𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 ∗ 𝐶𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 )in Watt
𝐼𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑟 𝐷𝑖𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 2 ∗𝐴𝑛𝑔𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑟 𝑉𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦∗𝐷𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦
o Reynolds Number (NRE)=
𝑉𝑖𝑠𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦

𝑃𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟
o Power Number (NPO)=
𝐴𝑛𝑔𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑟 𝑉𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 3 ∗𝐼𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑟 𝐷𝑖𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 5 ∗𝐷𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦

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 o OBSERVATION TABLE:
TABLE1: POWER CONSUMED BY SIX BLADE AND FOUR BLADE IMPELLERS AT DIFFERENT ROTATION SPEEDS

REFERENCES:
[1] Alan S.Foust , Leonard A Wenzel , Curtis W Clump , Louis Maus , L. Bryce Andersen ,
‘Principles Of Unit Operations’,Second Edition,Pitot Tube
[2] Frank M. White , ‘Fluid Mechanics’,Seventh Edition