Large Eddy Simulations of Mixing Time in a Stirred Tank

Abstract Large eddy simulations (LES) of mixing process in a stirred tank of 0.476m diameter with a 3-narrow blade hydrofoil CBY impeller were reported. The turbulent flow field and mixing time were calculated using LES with Smagorinsky-Lilly subgrid scale model. The impeller rotation was modeled using the sliding mesh technique. Better agreement of power demand and mixing time was obtained between the experimental and the LES prediction than that by the traditional Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) approach. The curve of tracer response predicted by LES was in good agreement with the experimental. The results show that LES is a reliable tool to investigate the unsteady and quasi-periodic behavior of the turbulent flow in stirred tanks.

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