Circulation and mixing times for helical ribbon impellers. Review and Experiments

Abstract

 The purpose of this paper is to extend basic information on mixing and circulation times for mixing systems equipped with helical ribbon impellers.

In a first part, from a survey of existing literature, we have reviewed the different effects of the geometrical parameters of the helical mixing systems (clearance-wall, pitch size ratio, blade width, number of blades) on the mixing process. From this qualitative analysis, useful guidelines are provided on the influence of the helical impeller geometry on the mixing effectiveness.

In a second part, the homogenization effectiveness of an atypical helical ribbon impeller was investigated and compared with the performance of classical helical ribbons impellers.