Agitation

1.
2.
3.

Textbooks :
Principles of Unit Operations, 2ed : Alan S. Foust,Wenzel, Clump,
Maus, Andersen Chapter 20
Unit Operations of Chemical Engineering : McCabe, Smith, Harriot,
Chapter 9
Transport Processes and Unit Operations : Geankoplis, Chapter 3

Application of Agitation

Blending two immiscible liquids

Dissolving solids in liquids
Dispersing gas in liquid
Suspending fine solid particles in liquid
Agitation of fluid to increase heat transfer
between fluid and coil or jacket

Equipment for agitation

Propeller agitator (for low viscosity liquid,
flow pattern is axial flow)

Equipment for agitation

Paddle agitator
(low speed, at high speed use baffles,
radial flow)

Equipment for agitation

Turbine Agitators (wide range viscosities,
high speed, radial and axial flow
combination)

Flow pattern in agitation

Flow patterns depend on fluid properties,
geometry of tank, types of baffles, type of
agitator.
The velocity of the fluid at any point in the
tank has 3 components the overall flow
pattern depends on the variation of these
3 velocities.

Flow pattern in agitation

Velocity components :
1. radial : acts in a direction perpendicular to the
shaft of the agitator.
2. longitudinal : acts in a direction parallel with
the shaft.
3. tangential/rotational : acts in a direction
tangent to a circular path around the shaft.
Radial and longitudinal components are useful &
provide the flow necessary for the mixing.
Tangential flow creates vortex.

Flow pattern in agitation

Swirling flow pattern
with a radial-flow
turbine in an
unbaffled vessel

Flow pattern in baffled

vessel

Powered used in Agitated

Vessels
Impeller/Agitator Reynolds Number :

Da N
2

N Re

Where Da is the impeller diameter, N is

rotational speed in rev/s, is fluid density,
and is viscosity.

Powered used in Agitated

Vessels
Flow is laminar for Nre < 10,
Turbulent for Nre > 104, and
Transition between 10 and 104.

Powered used in Agitated

Vessels
Power Number :

Np

5
3
N Da

Where P is power in J/s or Watt, Da is the

impeller diameter, N is rotational speed in
rev/s, is fluid density, and is viscosity.

Powered used in Agitated

Vessels

Agitator Scale-Up
It is desired to scale-up the results from
laboratory to full-scale unit.
Many approaches of scale-up exist
(geometric similarity, kinematic similarity,
dynamic similarity).
But, it is often up to the designer and
experience.

Agitator Scale-Up

Scale up procedures :
1. Calculate the scale-up ratio R
Assuming that the original vessel is a
standard cylinder with DT1 = H1, the
volume is :
DT 12
DT 13
H1

V1

4
4

Agitator Scale-Up
The ratio of volume is :

V2 DT 2 / 4 DT 2

3
3
V1 DT 1 / 4 DT 1
3

The scale up ratio is then :

V2

R
V1

1/ 3

DT 2

DT 1

Agitator Scale-Up
2. Using this value of R, apply it to all of the
dimensions in Table 1 to calculate the new
dimensions.
3. Then a scale-up rule must be selected
and applied to determine the agitator
speed N2 to use to duplicate the small
scale results using N1.

1
N 2 N1

Agitator Scale-Up
4. After get N2, calculate the power required.

Table 1 Geometric Proportion for a

Standard Agitation System
Da / Dt = 0.3 to 0.5 H / Dt = 1

C / Dt = 1/3

W / Da = 1/5,
Dd / Da = 2/3

J / Dt = 1/12

L / Da =