A new tool for CFD simulation of laminar flow in mixers.

Standard CFD solvers are suitable for the calculation of velocity and pressure fields. In static mixing, however, concentration distributions are essential for the prediction of homogeneity and therefore, simulations of this process are much more challenging. In collaboration with Sulzer Chemtech, Sulzer Innotec developed a numerical method that allows predicting the effect of molecular diffusion-which is essential for laminar-flow mixing-while avoiding artificial numerical diffusion. Measurements of homogeneity and diffusion coefficients with the laser-induced fluorescence method (LIF) were performed at Sulzer Chemtech in order to validate the calculations.