Research Article

Advances in Mechanical Engineering

2015, Vol. 7(7) 112
The Author(s) 2015
Study on double-shaft mixing paddle DOI: 10.1177/1687814015592603
aime.sagepub.com
undergoing planetary motion in the
laminar flow mixing system

Jiaqi Zhang, Xiwen Li, Ruibo He and Jian Liang

Abstract
This article has studied the impact of double-shaft mixing paddle undergoing planetary motion on laminar flow mixing
system using flow field visualization experiment and computational fluid dynamics simulation. Digital image processing
was conducted to analyze the mixing efficiency of mixing paddle in co-rotating and counter-rotating modes. It was found
that the double-shaft mixing paddle undergoing planetary motion would not produce the isolated mixing regions in the
laminar flow mixing system, and its mixing efficiency in counter-rotating modes was higher than that in co-rotating
modes, especially at low rotating speed. According to the tracer trajectory experiment, it was found that the path line
of the tracer in the flow field in co-rotating modes was distributed in the opposite direction to the path line in counter-
rotating modes. Planetary motion of mixing paddle had stretching, shearing, and folding effects on the trajectory of the
tracer. By means of computational fluid dynamics simulation, it was found that axial flows and tangential flows produced
in co-rotating and counter-rotating modes have similar flow velocity but opposite flow directions. It is deduced from the
distribution rule of axial flow, radial flow, and tangential flow in the flow field that axial flow is the main reason for caus-
ing different mixing efficiencies between co-rotating and counter-rotating modes.

Keywords
Laminar flow, flow characteristics, multi-phase flow, computational fluid dynamics, digital image analysis

Date received: 11 March 2015; accepted: 15 May 2015

Academic Editor: Junwu Wang

Introduction Flow field visualization experiment is an effective

Mixing process is widely used in chemical, biological,
pharmaceutical, petroleum, and food industries. The
mixing flow field can be distinguished into laminar
flow, transition flow, and turbulent flow field according
to different Re. In the laminar flow mixing system, the
mixed object has poor time-dependent behavior due to
viscous force. In particular, during laminar flow mixing
at low Re, distinct isolated mixing regions (IMRs) often
form in the vicinity of the mixing paddle. Therefore, it
takes a lot of mixing time and energy to achieve uni-
form mixing.1 Many researchers have conducted a lot
of studies on the laminar flow mixing process, with an
aim to eliminate the IMRs and improve mixing
efficiency.
way to study the laminar flow mixing process. Flow
field visualization experiments include acidbase neu-
tralization and color change experiment, fluorescent
tracer experiment, particle image velocimetry (PIV)
experiment, and planar laser-induced fluorescence
(PLIF) experiment. Lamberto et al.2 effectively
State Key Laboratory of Digital Manufacturing Equipment and Technology,
Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, P.R. China
Corresponding author:
Xiwen Li, State Key Laboratory of Digital Manufacturing Equipment and
Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Luo Yu
Street, Wuhan 430074, Hubei, P.R. China.
Email: mail5@foxmail.com

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openaccess.htm).
2 Advances in Mechanical Engineering
eliminated IMRs generated by acidbase neutralization
experiment via changing rotating speed and improved
the efficiency of laminar flow mixing at low Re. Alvarez
et al.3 conducted acidbase neutralization experiment,
two-dimensional (2D) PLIF experiment, and three-
dimensional (3D) ultraviolet (UV) experiment to study
the changes of IMRs with different Re in the bioreac-
tor. Bonnot et al.4 studied the impact of coaxial mixing
paddle in co-rotating mode and counter-rotating mode
on IMRs and mixing time using acidbase neutraliza-
tion experiment. Alvarez et al.5 conducted 3D UV
experiment and 2D PLIF experiment to study the
impact of minor disturbance on IMRs in Newtonian
and non-Newtonian fluid flow field in the laminar flow
field with three Rushton mixing paddles. Foucault et
al.6 studied the impact of different types of mixing pad-
dles on mixing time of Newtonian and non-Newtonian
fluid flow field via acidbase neutralization and color
change experiment. However, flow field visualization
experiment can only explore the impact of mixing pad-
dles on laminar flow field from a qualitative point of
view. Acidbase neutralization and fluorescent tracer
experiment cannot obtain quantitative information
from the mixing flow field. PIV and PLIF experiments
can only observe laser irradiation on cross section of
flow field but fail to obtain numerical information of
3D flow field.
With the rapid development of computer technol-
ogy, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation
has been widely used in the analysis of the flow field,
which has greatly promoted the development of mixing
studies.7 Rivera et al.8 calculated the impacts of differ-
ent mixing paddles in co-rotating mode and counter-
rotating mode on the mixing time of Newtonian and
non-Newtonian fluid flow field via CFD simulation.
Aubin and Xuereb9 obtained a multilayer mixing pad-
dle applicable to high-viscosity fluids via CFD simula-
tion. Hartmann et al.10 calculated the dissolving process
in stirred reactors via CFD simulation. However, CFD
models have simplified many details in physical models.
High-fidelity CFD algorithm is able to reveal the quan-
titative information in the flow field more correctly
based on the experiment.
The flow field visualization experiments and CFD
simulation technology can be combined to verify and
modify CFD model, so as to obtain accurate CFD
model to guide experimental design. Bulnes-Abundis
and Alvarez11 adopted 3D UV experiment, PLIF
experiment, and CFD simulation to study the impact
of different eccentricities on IMRs in the laminar flow
field with Re at 416. Takahashi et al.12 conducted acid
base neutralization experiments and CFD simulation
to study the impacts of mixing paddles with different
slopes on IMRs and mixing time. Ng et al.13,14 verified
the accuracy of moving particle semi-implicit (MPS)
model through comparisons of streak lines between
simulation and experiment and analyzed the impact of
baffling, shaft eccentricity, and reciprocating impeller
on mixing performance using MPS model.
Shamsoddini et al.15 verified the accuracy of smoothed
particle hydrodynamics (SPH) method through com-
paring well-known benchmark results and used SPH
model to analyze the impact of planetary motion of the
blade and position of the blade on the mixing rate dur-
ing the fixed rotation of the straight and cross-shaped
blades.
To sum up, it is an intrinsic property of laminar flow
field to produce IMRs. Most researchers try to elimi-
nate the IMRs produced in the laminar flow field to
improve mixing efficiency by changing the paddle
eccentricity and stirring shaft inclination or adopting
multilayer mixing paddles. Therefore, the shape,
mounting position, and modes of motion of mixing
paddle have a decisive impact on the laminar flow field.
This article will study the mixing behavior of two mix-
ing blades undergoing planetary motion in the laminar
flow field through flow field visualization experiment
and CFD simulation.
Experimental model
The mixing paddles were composed of vertically
mounted apocentric paddle and pericentric paddle. As
shown in Figure 1, diameter D of the experimental con-
tainer was 130 mm, height H was 108 mm, and effective
volume was 1 L. The center point of apocentric paddle
was Ok, the diameter Dk of apocentric paddle was
64 mm, and its eccentric distance ek was 29.5 mm; the
center point of pericentric paddle was Os, the diameter
Ds of pericentric paddle was 64 mm, and its eccentric
distance es was 14.75 mm. The rotating speed of apoc-
entric paddle was vk, rotating speed of pericentric pad-
dle was vs, and the revolution speed was vH. The
clockwise rotation of apocentric paddle and revolution,
counterclockwise rotation of pericentric paddle was set
as co-rotating mode, while counterclockwise rotation
of apocentric paddle and revolution, clockwise rotation
of pericentric paddle was set as counter-rotating mode.
The proportional relation among rotating speeds of
apocentric paddle, pericentric paddle, and revolution
was vk = 22vs = 9.37vH. Meanwhile, the paddle
blade surface facing toward the rotation direction of
paddle blade was defined as mixture-embracing sur-
face, while the paddle blade surface facing against the
rotation direction of paddle blade was defined as
mixture-against surface. The minimum distance c1
between apocentric paddle tip and pericentric paddle
was 2 mm, the distance c2 between apocentric paddle
tip and sidewall of experimental container was 2 mm,
and the distance c3 between apocentric paddle tip and
the bottom of experimental container was 2 mm.
Zhang et al. 3

Figure 1. Schematic diagram of experimental container: (a) top view and (b) front view.

Cartesian coordinate systems XOY, XKOKYK, and results of Connelly and Valenti-Jordan16 and Bresler
XSOSYS were built up based on radial section of the et al.,17 a steady flow line structure existed in the lami-
experimental container under the principle of relative nar flow field, and if this steady flow line structure had
motion. As shown in Figure 1, the motion equations of not been disturbed or destroyed, it would form IMRs
apocentric paddle tip Ik and Jk were as follows which had an adverse impact on the laminar flow sys-
8 tem. The tip trajectory of mixing paddle undergoing
> 1 planetary motion was aperiodic. Compared with the
< XIk = ek cos vH t + Dk cos vk t
2 1 traditional single-shaft centric mixing or eccentric mix-
> 1
: Y = e sin v t + D sin v t ing, the motion range of double-shaft mixing paddle tip
Ik k H k k
2 undergoing planetary motion can cover the entire flow
8 field and theoretically could destroy the steady flow
> 1
< XJk ek cos vH t  Dk cos vk t line structure in the laminar flow field. Thus, it is pre-
2 2
> dicted that the mixing paddle undergoing planetary
: Y e sin v t  1 D sin v t motion can effectively avoid IMRs and improve mixing
Jk k H k k
2
efficiency in the laminar flow field.
The motion equations of pericentric paddle tip Is
and Js were as follows
Mixing experiment
8
> 1 According to the analysis on plane trajectories of pad-
< XIs es cos vH t  Ds cos vs t
2 3 dle tips, the double-shaft mixing paddle undergoing
> 1
: Y e sin v t D sin v t planetary motion can effectively avoid the occurrence
Is s H s s
2 of IMRs in the laminar flow system. Meanwhile, the
8 trajectories of paddle tips remained consistent in both
> 1
< XJs es cos vH t Ds cos vs t co-rotating mode and counter-rotating mode. Thus,
2 4
> mixing experiment was conducted to verify the exis-
: Y e sin v t  1 D sin v t
Js s H
2
s s tence of IMRs and compare the mixing efficiency of
co-rotating mode and counter-rotating mode.
When vk = 20 r/min, the changes of plane trajec- The temperature was maintained constant at 24 C
tories of apocentric paddle tips and pericentric paddle during the experiment. The mixing vessel was a cylind-
tips with time t were shown in Figure 2. According to rical plexiglass container with an open top and flat bot-
the analysis on plane trajectories of paddle tips, the tom. The wall thickness of the vessel was 3 mm. The
paddle tip can cross any point in the plane over a long two mixed solutions were corn syrup with fluorescein
enough period of time, and the trajectory of paddle tip sodium content of 3% and critical micelle concentra-
remained consistent in both co-rotating mode and tion (CMC) aqueous solution with a concentration of
counter-rotating mode. According to the research 1%. The viscosity m of corn syrup was 3 Pa s, and its
4 Advances in Mechanical Engineering

Figure 2. Plane trajectories of apocentric paddle tips and pericentric paddle tips: (a) t = 100, (b) t = 500, and (c) t = 1000.

density r was 1394 kg/m3; the viscosity m of CMC aqu-

eous solution was 1 Pa s, and its density r was 1010 kg/
m3. First, 200 mL of corn syrup was added into the bot-
tom of the vessel. Then, 800 mL of CMC solution was
slowly added into the vessel. Two UV light sources at a
wavelength of 362 nm were fixed at both sides of the
vessel to eliminate the adverse impact of uneven illumi-
nations. UV light source excited fluorescein sodium in
the solution to produce green fluorescence, and the
digital camera recorded the mixing process. In order to
minimize the impact of refraction on the surface of the
cylinder during camera shooting process, the solution
of Shahirudin et al.18 and Lamberto et al.19 was taken
for reference, that is, the cylindrical vessel was put into
a cubic plexiglass container, and transparent test solu-
tion was injected into the space between the two Figure 3. Curve of mixing time in co-rotating and counter-
containers. rotating modes at different rotating speeds.
Arratia et al.,20 Bonnot et al.,4 and Cabaret et
21,22
al. used a digital camera for recording in the course where Rx is the value of R for the sampling point, Rmin
of the experiment and obtained the curve of mixing is the mean value of R extracted from images before
time t by extracting G values from RGB images before solution mixing in 10 experiments, and the maximum
and after uniform mixing. A similar method was used error is 1.8%, Rmax is the mean value of R extracted
to extract RGB images in the video before and after from images after uniform mixing in 10 experiments,
uniform mixing, the mean value of R in each RGB and the maximum error is 1.4%. The curve of the con-
image was calculated, and thereby the curve of corn centration of corn syrup Mt changing with time t was
syrup concentration M changing with time t was shown in Figure 3.
obtained. During the experiment, a total of 10 mixing In order to ensure reproducibility of the experiment,
experiments were carried out in co-rotating and the mixing experiment was repeated three times at the
counter-rotating modes with the rotating speed of apocentric paddle rotating speed of 20 r/min, which
apocentric paddle selected at 20, 30, 60, 80, and 100 r/ proved good reproducibility of the experiment.
min. For each experiment, the mean value of R was cal- According to the curve of mixing time, at the same
culated by extracting 20 sampling points with time t as rotating speed, the mixing time in counter-rotating
the horizontal axis. The formula for calculating the modes was shorter than that in co-rotating modes,
concentration of corn syrup Mt was as follows especially at low rotating speeds. Taking the rotating
speed of 20 r/min as an example, the mixed state of co-
Rx  Rmin
Mt = 3 100% 5 rotating and counter-rotating modes at the same t is
Rmax  Rmin
shown in Figure 4. During mixing process in co-
Zhang et al. 5

Co-rotating modes Counter-rotating modes

Apocentric paddle and pericentric paddle drove the
corn syrup to move toward the bottom of the vessel
and finally achieved uniform mixing. During mixing
process in counter-rotating modes, the paddle blade
t=0s drove the corn syrup solution to move upward enwind-
ing apocentric paddle and pericentric paddle. When
reaching the top of the solution level, corn syrup dif-
fused to the sidewall of the mixing vessel. Apocentric
paddle drove the corn syrup to move toward the bot-
tom of the vessel and finally achieved uniform mixing
after multiple orbital periods.
t=10s

Tracer experiment in the flow field

According to the mixing experiment, co-rotating and
counter-rotating modes of mixing paddle had different
mixing efficiencies at the same rotating speed. In order
to clearly observe the flow line disturbances in co-
t=30s
rotating and counter-rotating modes at the rotating
speed of 20 r/min, the tracer experiments of Arratia
et al.23 and Saatdjian et al.24 were taken as reference
and designed a tracer test in the flow field. Glycerin
with viscosity m of 1.1 Pa s and density r of 1200 kg/m3
was selected as the test solution in the laboratory at a
t=60s constant temperature of 24 C. Glycerol solution mixed
with 3% fluorescein sodium was used as the tracer.
Tracer of 5 mL was injected into the bottom center and
bottom sidewall of the vessel. Two UV light sources at
a wavelength of 362 nm were fixed at both sides of the
vessel. The movement of the tracer in co-rotating and
counter-rotating modes was observed and is shown in
t=100s Figure 5.
In co-rotating modes, paddle rotation made the
mixture-embracing surface produce a downward axial
velocity, which prompted the tracer at the bottom side-
wall to move upward along the sidewall. The tracer at
the bottom center diffused to the edges of the bottom.
t=200s The two tracers formed a complete flow line. When the
apocentric paddle blades moved close to the tracer at
the sidewall of the vessel, the tracer began to enwind
the apocentric paddle. When the tracer moved to a nar-
row space between apocentric paddle and pericentric
paddle, the velocity ratio of 2:1 between apocentric
paddle and pericentric paddle could cut off the com-
t=3600s
plete flow line of the tracer and produce shearing and
folding effects. Afterward, the tracer moved toward the
bottom and diffused to the edges of the vessel under
the impact of a downward axial velocity produced by
Figure 4. Comparing mixing effects of co-rotating and the mixture-embracing surface.
counter-rotating modes. In counter-rotating modes, paddle rotation made
the mixture-embracing surface produce a upward axial
velocity, which made the tracer at the bottom center
rotating modes, the apocentric paddle pushed the corn attach to the blade surface and do spiral upward move-
syrup at the bottom to the sidewall of the vessel. When ment. The tracer at the bottom sidewall did spiral
reaching the top of the solution level, the corn syrup movement toward the bottom center. The two tracers
moved toward the center of the mixing vessel. formed a complete flow line. When the tracer
6 Advances in Mechanical Engineering
Co-rotating modes Counter-rotating modes
t=1 s
t=3 s
t=5 s
t=7 s
t=9 s
t=11 s
Figure 5. Comparison of tracer experiments in co-rotating
and counter-rotating modes.
enwinding the paddle blade moved to a narrow space
between two paddle blades, the flow line of the tracer
was cut off, shearing and folding effects were produced.
Afterward, the tracer moved toward the top and dif-
fused to the edges of the vessel.
According to the tracer experiments in co-rotating
and counter-rotating modes, the tracer in co-rotating
modes first moved upward along the sidewall of mixing
vessel and then moved downward along the central axis
of the vessel. The tracer in counter-rotating modes first
moved upward along the central axis of the vessel.
Then, it moved downward along the sidewall of mixing
vessel.
CFD simulation
The curve of corn syrup concentration M changing
with time t can be obtained by means of digital image
processing. The trajectory of the tracer in the flow field
can be observed via tracer experiments. However, such
key parameters as velocity vector and pressure change
cannot be obtained through these methods. CFD simu-
lation provided a solution to obtain these key para-
meters that can be used to quantitatively analyze the
reasons causing different mixing efficiencies between
co-rotating and counter-rotating modes. ANSYS
FLUENT 14.0 was adopted as CFD simulation soft-
ware. Since the paddle blade had a large number of
complex curved surfaces, a hexahedral mesh was used
to discretize the computational model. During the sol-
ving process, user-defined function (UDF) file was cre-
ated according to the trajectory of the paddle and
described by the macro DEFINE_CG_Motion (name,
dt, vel, omega, time, dtime). The mesh of computa-
tional domain was updated based on the conservative
dynamic mesh flow field computation equation (6).25
Generalized variable f is applicable to any control vol-
ume V moving along the boundary of mixing paddles
Z Z
d   !
rfdV + rf !u !
ug dA
dt
V V
Z Z 6
!
= Grf  d A + Sf dV
V V
Verification of CFD simulation
The comparison between experimental results and
simulation results is shown in Figure 6. At t = 3 s in
co-rotating modes, the tracer was distributed on the
positions as shown in Figure 6(a). Apocentric paddle
prompted the tracer to move upward along the sidewall
of mixing vessel. At t = 3 s, CFD simulation results are
shown in Figure 6(b). The tracer in the red box of
Figure 6(a) was compared with the flow line in Figure
6(b). It can be seen that they had very similar trajec-
tories. At t = 11 s in counter-rotating modes, the tracer
was distributed on the positions as shown in Figure
6(c). The tracer enwinding the apocentric paddle blade
moved toward the top of the vessel. At t = 3 s, CFD
simulation results are shown in Figure 6(d). The tracer
in the red box of Figure 6(c) was compared with the
flow line in Figure 6(d). It shows that they had similar
trajectories. Meanwhile, in the flow field tracer experi-
ments of co-rotating modes, a vortex flow was formed
below the pericentric paddle, as shown in Figure 6(e).
The vortex flow was undergoing circular motion fol-
lowing the pericentric paddle. This vortex flow also
existed in the simulation result, as shown in Figure 6(f).
Zhang et al. 7

Figure 6. Comparing results of tracer experiment and CFD simulation: (a) t = 3 s in co-rotating modes, (b) t = 3 s in CFD simulation
results, (c) t = 11 s in co-rotating modes, (d) t = 11 s in CFD simulation results, (e) a vortex flow below the pericentric paddle, and (f)
the CFD simulation results.

As shown in Figure 6, CFD simulation results are in
good agreement with the experimental results.
Therefore, simulation results were reliable.
Flow line analysis
The complete distribution of flow line in the flow field
at the rotating speed of 20 r/min obtained from CFD
simulation was well consistent with the distribution of
the tracer in the experiment. The entire mixing flow
field is in the laminar state, where the flow line diffused
outward centered on pericentric paddle and apocentric
paddle and formed a vortex at the tip of the paddle
blade, as shown in Figure 7(a). The rotation of apocen-
tric paddle and pericentric paddle produced a stretching
effect on the flow line. As shown in Figure 7(b) and (c),
8 Advances in Mechanical Engineering
Figure 7. (a) Flow line distribution in the Z direction, (b) flow line distribution in the 2X direction, (c) flow line distribution in the
+ X direction, and (d) flow line distribution in the 2Y direction.
comparing the flow line around the apocentric paddle
and pericentric paddle, the maximum flow lines and
most obvious stretching effect of flow line occurred
around the edge of apocentric paddle. The flow line
around pericentric paddle was smoothly distributed,
while the flow line around apocentric paddle had more
obvious folding phenomenon than that around peri-
centric paddle. The edges of both paddle blades could
cut off the complete flow line, and the flow line between
two paddle blades showed squeezed and folded phe-
nomenon, as shown in Figure 7(d).
Research results of Alvarez et al.5 and Shinbrot
et al.26 showed that an effective way to improve mixing
efficiency and eliminate IMRs in the laminar flow sys-
tem was to disrupt the inherent periodic flow and dis-
turb and destroy the stable flow line. In this article, the
nonperiodic trajectory of mixing paddle tip could dis-
turb the flow line at any time, disturb the stable circular
flow in the laminar flow field, and thereby avoid the
formation of IMRs. Research results of Shinbrot
et al.26 and Bresler et al.17 showed that stretching,
shearing, folding, and chaos effects existed in the
laminar flow system. The planetary motion of apocen-
tric paddle and pericentric paddle could produce
stretching, shearing, and folding effects on the flow line
in the flow field, which is an essential factor causing
chaos effects in the laminar flow system.
Flow direction distribution
According to the analysis of flow line in the flow field,
the rotational movement of apocentric paddle and peri-
centric paddle could produce stretching, shearing, and
folding effects on the flow line in the flow field. Flow
velocity iso-contour can reflect the volume distribution
of fluid with the same flow velocity. As shown in
Figure 8, flow velocity iso-contour was plotted to ana-
lyze the distribution of axial flow, radial flow, and tan-
gential flow in co-rotating and counter-rotating modes,
as well as the differences among them.
According to Figure 8(a) and (b), axial flow was
mainly distributed on both sides of apocentric paddle
tip. Yellow area represents the fluid flowing in the + Z
direction at the velocity of 40 mm/s, while light blue
Zhang et al. 9

Figure 8. (a) Axial velocity iso-contour in co-rotating models, (b) axial velocity iso-contour in counter-rotating models, (c) radial
velocity iso-contour in co-rotating models, (d) radial velocity iso-contour in counter-rotating models, (e) tangential velocity iso-
contour in co-rotating models, and (f) tangential velocity iso-contour in counter-rotating models.

area represents the fluid flowing in the 2Z direction at
the velocity of 40 mm/s. The axial flows on the two
sides of apocentric paddle tip showed opposite flow
directions. Meanwhile, the axial flows also showed
opposite flow directions in co-rotating and counter-
rotating modes. Since the autorotation rate of apocen-
tric paddle is twice that of pericentric paddle, radial
flow was mainly distributed on both sides of apocentric
paddle, as shown in Figure 8(c) and (d). Yellow area
represents the fluid flowing in the direction of blade
10
motion at the velocity of 40 mm/s, while light blue area
represents the fluid flowing in the opposite direction of
blade motion at the velocity of 40 mm/s. It can be seen
that radial flow was basically the same in co-rotating
and counter-rotating modes. Tangential flow was
mainly distributed on the edge of apocentric paddle
and along the sidewall near the apocentric paddle, as
shown in Figure 8(e) and (f). Light green area repre-
sents the fluid flowing in the tangential direction of the
blade at the velocity of 10 mm/s, while dark green area
represents the fluid flowing in the opposite tangential
direction of the blade at the velocity of 10 mm/s. The
tangential flow in co-rotating and counter-rotating
modes showed opposite directions, but tangential flow
had a relatively lower flow velocity.
In summary, both axial flow and radial flow veloci-
ties were 40 mm/s, while tangential flow velocity was
only 10 mm/s, which was 1/4 of axial flow and radial
flow velocities. The flow velocity and direction of radial
flow were basically the same in co-rotating and
counter-rotating modes, so radial flow had almost no
effect on mixing efficiency in co-rotating and counter-
rotating modes. Both axial flow and tangential flow
had opposite flow directions in co-rotating and
counter-rotating modes, but the slow flow velocity of
tangential flow had a smaller impact on the mixing effi-
ciency than axial flow. Therefore, it can be inferred that
the factors affecting mixing efficiency in co-rotating
and counter-rotating modes were in the order of axial
flow . tangential flow . radial flow.
Flow velocity distribution
In order to thoroughly analyze the distribution of axial
flow velocity and tangential flow velocity in the flow
field, in co-rotating modes, five straight lines A1, A2,
A3, A4, and A5 were drawn parallel to the Z-axis at
30, 0, and 230 mm of the Y-axis and 60 and 260 mm
of the X-axis in Figure 1(a). A total of 20 sampling
points were selected from each straight line to plot the
distribution curve of axial flow velocity. As shown in
Figure 1(b), five straight lines T1, T2, T3, T4, and T5
were drawn parallel to the Y-axis at 50, 25, 0, 225, and
250 mm of the Z-axis. A total of 20 sampling points
were selected from each straight line to plot the distri-
bution curve of tangential flow velocity. Since radial
flow was almost the same in co-rotating and counter-
rotating modes and had little impact on mixing
efficiency of mixing experiments, there is no need to
separately analyze radial flow. The method for plotting
the velocity distribution curve in counter-rotating modes
was the same as that in co-rotating modes. It is worth
noting that the X-axis in counter-rotating modes was the
Y-axis in co-rotating modes, as shown in Figure 9.
Comparing the distribution curves of axial flow velo-
city in co-rotating and counter-rotating modes, both
Advances in Mechanical Engineering
sides of apocentric paddle tip had the maximum axial
flow velocity A2 and A4 but in the opposite directions.
The velocity curve of A4 was more stable than that of
A2, which indicated that the movement of apocentric
paddle blade was the main cause of axial flow. The axial
flow generated by the interaction between apocentric
paddle and pericentric paddle was more than the axial
flow generated by the interaction between apocentric
paddle and sidewall of mixing vessel. Under the impact
of curved surfaces on the paddle, A1 and A3 had axial
flows in both + Z direction and 2Z direction. Thus,
the curve of axial flow velocity passed through the Y-
axis twice. Since A5 was far away from the mixing pad-
dle, the flow velocity at this position was relatively slow.
The maximum tangential flow velocity was only 1/4
of the axial flow velocity in co-rotating and counter-
rotating modes. But each curve passed through the Y-
axis twice, which indicated that the movement of
paddle blade produced tangential flows in the opposite
directions. The curve had the maximum slope and
passed through the origin near the position Y = 0 in
co-rotating modes and X = 0 in counter-rotating
modes (close to the central axis of the mixing vessel), at
the position with shortest distance between curved sur-
faces of pericentric paddle and apocentric paddle
blades, paddle tip T1, and bottom T5. This indicated
that the narrow space between two paddle blades had
tangential flows in the opposite directions, which can
produce a strong shearing effect.
Comparing the velocity distribution in co-rotating
and counter-rotating modes, the velocity curves gener-
ally showed the same trend but in the opposite direc-
tions. In counter-rotating modes, the axial flow in the
+ Z direction generated between pericentric paddle
and apocentric paddle can easily drive the fluid at the
bottom of flow field to move upward, produce diffu-
sion effect, and thereby improve the mixing efficiency.
In co-rotating modes, the axial flow in the 2Z direction
generated between pericentric paddle and apocentric
paddle drove the fluid at the top of flow field to squeeze
downward. Compared with counter-rotating modes,
the mixing effect produced by squeezing action was not
as obvious as diffusion effect. Thus, it can be inferred
that different axial flow direction is the main reason for
causing different mixing efficiencies between co-
rotating and counter-rotating modes.
Conclusion
This article has combined flow field visualization
experiments and CFD simulation to study the impact
of double-shaft mixing paddle undergoing planetary
motion on the laminar flow mixing system. According
to the analysis on tip trajectory of double-shaft mixing
paddle undergoing planetary motion, it is predicted that
Zhang et al.
Figure 9. (a) Distribution curve of axial flow velocity, (b) distribution curve of axial flow velocity, (c) distribution curve of tangential
flow velocity, and (d) distribution curve of tangential flow velocity.
this mixing pattern can effectively inhibit the formation
of IMRs in the laminar flow system. Results of mixing
experiments showed that IMRs had not emerged in the
laminar flow system during the mixing process in both
co-rotating and counter-rotating modes. Compared
with single-shaft centric mixing paddle or eccentric mix-
ing paddle, double-shaft mixing paddles undergoing
planetary motion are more conducive to laminar flow
mixing.
Digital image processing was conducted to analyze
the mixing efficiency of double-shaft mixing paddle
undergoing planetary motion in the laminar flow sys-
tem. The results showed that the counter-rotating
modes of double-shaft mixing paddle undergoing pla-
netary motion had higher mixing efficiency than co-
rotating modes, especially at low rotating speeds.
The flow field tracer experiment was carried out to
observe the tracer trajectories in co-rotating and
counter-rotating modes. The results showed that mix-
ing paddles had a stretching effect on the tracer trajec-
tories in both co-rotating and counter-rotating modes,
but the tracer trajectories were in the opposite direc-
tions. The tracer flow lines were sheared and folded in
the narrow space between apocentric paddle and peri-
centric paddle.
11
CFD simulation was adopted to quantify the impact
of double-shaft mixing paddle undergoing planetary
motion on the flow line and flow direction distribution
in the flow field. The results showed that given the same
rotating speed, radial flow and tangential flow gener-
ated in co-rotating and counter-rotating modes had
similar velocity but in the opposite directions, while the
velocity and direction of radical flows were approxi-
mately the same. It can be inferred from the distribution
rule of axial flow, radial flow, and tangential flow in the
flow field that axial flow was the main factor affecting
the mixing time. The axial flow in the + Z direction
generated by counter-rotating modes is more conducive
to improve mixing efficiency than the axial flow in the
2Z direction generated by co-rotating modes.
Declaration of conflicting interests
The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests
regarding the publication of this article.
Funding
This study was supported by the National Special Fund
Program for Major Scientific Instruments and Equipment
Development (2011YQ160002).
12
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Appendix 1
Notation
A area
c1 minimum distance between apocentric
paddle tip and pericentric paddle
c2 distance between apocentric paddle tip
and sidewall of experimental container
c3 distance between apocentric paddle tip
and the bottom of experimental container
D diameter
Dk diameter of apocentric paddle
Ds diameter of pericentric paddle
ek eccentric distance of apocentric paddle
es eccentric distance of pericentric paddle
H height
Mt concentration of corn syrup
Ok center point of apocentric paddle
Os center point of pericentric paddle
u viscosity
~
ug velocity of the mesh motion
V volume
r density
f generalized variable
vH revolution speed
vk rotating speed of apocentric paddle
vs rotating speed of pericentric paddle