Enhanced liquid mixing in T‐mixer having staggered fins

• Published in: Asia-Pacific journal of chemical engineering Vol. 15; no. 6
• Main Authors: Tan, Sak Jie, Yu, Kok Hwa, Ismail, Mohd Azmi, Teoh, Yew Heng
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01-11-2020
• Subjects: CFD; microfluidic mixing; passive mixer
• ISSN: 1932-2135; 1932-2143
• DOI: 10.1002/apj.2538

The present study considers computational evaluation of mixing performance in a T‐mixer having staggered fins. A novel arrangement consisting of two pairs of staggered fins is incorporated and placed close to the entrance of the mixing channel. A parametric study is performed to examine the effects arising from the geometric and flow parameters alteration. With respect to all the parameters investigated, the presence of staggered fins consistently give rise to better mixing performance as compared with that without fin. With the presence of fins, flow of liquid with different species concentrations is redirected and aligned with the angle of inclination θ of the fins, creating lateral convection that disrupt the flow. This promotes better mixing of liquids. At Re = 1, staggered fins arrangement with θ = 45°, enhancement in mixing efficiency can reach as high as 33.3% as compared with that of without fin. It is also interesting to note that liquid mixing enhancement is significant at higher Reynolds numbers (1 ≤ Re ≤ 10) as compared with that of low Reynolds value (Re < 1).