CFD analysis

We can help you better understand your CFD outputs

CFM = Computational Fluid Mixing is an attempt to solve the Navier-Stokes equation in mixing tanks. It is a subset of CFD = Computational Fluid Dynamics. The outputs from these programs are so pleasing to engineers that they are often referred to as Colorful Fluid Dynamics. We just had a visitor inform us that CFD also stands for Color For Directors!  Good one!

You already have a license to do CFD with one of the CFD vendors (Fluent, AEA , ICEM, and Star CD). Your CFD engineer has created some impressive CFD outputs, but you still don't know if you will be able to suspend those solids, or minimize those dead zones, or disperse gas, or get a desired mixing result. 

Or you contracted with someone to do the CFDs for you.

Or you could have us do the CFD for you.  Have a look at an animation example.

Just because a computer program has printed a converged result on paper or a full featured animation, doesn't mean that it has to be right. Does it look right? How do you know? And if your CFD does not converge, do you know what that can mean? We do!  Have Post Mixing help you analyze your CFD Outputs.

Click here for more CFD and CFM examples.

Did you know...

... that we can also determine fluid forces on baffles, baffle plates, shafts, impellers and the tank (or vessel) walls using Acusolve CFD?

To design an agitation system - tank, shaft, impellers, and baffles (or baffle plate) - each component must be built strong enough to withstand the fluid forces generated by the impellers. Many calculations and programs are based on conservative hand- waving ideas based on the torque on the impeller shaft times some multiplier. This really isn't necessary anymore.  The Acusolve CFD program that we use, can accurately determine the fluid forces on baffles, shafts, and the tank walls! Contact us if you would like a quote to determine the fluid forces of your mixing system.

... that we can determine the power number Np and flow number Nq using Acusolve CFD?

Most other programs require fine-tuning of the parameters to get meaningful power numbers.  It was mentioned over and over again at the 2003 Annual AIChE Meeting in San Francisco.  Not with Acusolve! The only parameter to change is the level of descritization. We have verified the use of Acusolve for the Process Intensifier Study in standard tanks. Another example is for a continuous flow-through system: the mixer-settler SX-pumper.

... that we can determine pressure drops and the dimensionless head number Nh?

Determining the pressure drop is easy. Have a look at the pressure drop and the pressure distribution in the pipeline of pipe mixers . We can also do this static mixers, such as the Sulzer SMX and the Kenics mixer. Since the head number, Nh is so important for pumper mixers for solvent extraction (SX), we can extract the pressure drop information to form the head number.

... that we can determine

• Flow patterns (Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids)
• Free surface modeling (draining, filling, vortexing)
• Dead zones
• Residence time distributions
• Shear rate distributions
• Impeller design optimization (you should see the effect of a 5 degree change in the rake angle of a propeller)
• Feed pipe optimization
• Jet mixer nozzle orientation optimization
• And more

Key Benefits

• We know mixing. We have the experience to know if the CFD output looks real or not. Do you?
• We have been analyzing CFD outputs for years.
• We can assist you to set up the experiment to verify the CFD outputs.
• We can do the CFD for you with great accuracy.  Have a look!

If this describes your project and you would like us to contact you, please use the Contact Us page.

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Last modified: February, 2013
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