Optimisation of Mixing Performance of Helical Ribbon Mixers For High Throughput Applications Using Computational Uid Dynamics
Optimisation of Mixing Performance of Helical Ribbon Mixers For High Throughput Applications Using Computational Uid Dynamics
Optimisation of Mixing Performance of Helical Ribbon Mixers For High Throughput Applications Using Computational Uid Dynamics
a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t
Article history: The work presented focuses on the optimisation in a 1 L vessel using an anchor with a helical
Received 31 October 2017 ribbon design using CFD and a learning algorithm, optimised by minimisation of the torque
Received in revised form 25 January output of the mixer and the homogeneity of the mixture in the vessel after a defined mixing
2018 time. The results were successfully validated experimentally using Electrical Resistance
Accepted 30 January 2018 Tomography (ERT) and direct torque measurements.
Available online 14 February 2018 The study determined that the height of the mixer is a key factor in the performance
of the mixer, with other significant factors present, but with a lower impact. For the case
Keywords: of torque, all design features of the mixer which increase the size, i.e., surface area acting
CFD against motion, were found to be significant in increasing the modelled torque response. The
Optimisation Auger screw was found to have no significant impact on either mixing and torque response.
Mixing The results illustrate the capability of optimisation algorithms to achieve results com-
Helical ribbon mixers parable to those achieved experimentally, while assessing a significantly larger number of
Rapid prototyping design options and optimising for several performance indicators simultaneously.
© 2018 Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
∗
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: olga.mihailova@unilever.com (O. Mihailova).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cherd.2018.01.053
0263-8762/© 2018 Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Chemical Engineering Research and Design 1 3 2 ( 2 0 1 8 ) 942–953 943
The application of helical ribbon mixers to enhance the be used directly to manufacture prototypes for experimental
bulk mixing of non-Newtonian fluids in cylindrical vessels is validation.
well known and widely researched, with the various designs
being the recommended solution for achieving high homo- 2. Materials and methods
geneity in such systems (Ayazi Shamlou and Edwards, 1985;
Brito-De La Fuente et al., 1997; Doraiswamy et al., 1994; Gijón- 2.1. Starting geometry and testing platform
Arreortúa and Tecante, 2015; Zhang et al., 2008). Therefore,
helical mixers were chosen as the lead option for improv- The robotic platform mixer assembly is held on the lid of the
ing mixing on the small scale high throughput formulator individual processing stations and consists of 3 components
platform, with the aim to improve the mixing performance which promote mixing: propeller turbine, high shear mixer
of the anchor assembly, while keeping the geometry rela- and an anchor-scraper, a typical example of which is shown
tively simple, to ensure effective cleaning using the automated in Fig. 1a. Further to the mixer elements, there are dip in tem-
cleaning protocols on the robot. However, due to a number perature and pH sensors are present on the module lid. This
of design constraints resulting from the integration of the mixer assembly was designed with a wide range of product
mixer into an existing platform a standard mixer design could rheologies and processing requirements in mind, while still
not be implemented and therefore an optimisation study was allowing the geometry to be easily cleaned in between inves-
performed, where the maximising the homogeneity of the tigated formulations.
final mixture after a given mixing time and minimising the For the purposes of optimisation of the robotic formula-
torque response of the mixer were the optimisation parame- tor through formulation cycle time reduction as well as to
ters. improve the mixing performance in more challenging formu-
Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is a powerful tool in lations (e.g., high viscosity and non-Newtonian liquids) several
mixing research, as it allows to assess and compare the per- modifications have been investigated, predominately aimed at
formance of various mixer geometries without the need for optimisation of turbine and anchor geometries. For the pur-
experimentation (Han et al., 2012; Vicum et al., 2004). CFD pro- poses of this study the focus is solely on the modifications
vides a further benefit of tracking the evolution of the process to the anchor-scraper, where the inspiration for the modi-
across the volume of the vessel, which is often not practical fications of the simple two arm anchor has come from the
when studying real industrial systems experimentally, due to popular helical ribbon mixers which have been shown to pro-
the impermeable nature of the construction materials of the vide enhanced mixing in fluids exhibiting a wide range of
vessels and often the fluids within. In addition, it is possible to rheological properties.
couple a CFD modelling tool with an optimisation tool, where All design modifications are assessed using the purpose
a target can be set, for example to minimise energy consump- built stand-alone mixing unit, which replicates all the design
tion of the mixer, and some features of the design can be varied features of the robotic mixer platform, but the speed and
by the optimiser to achieve the set goal (Hanada et al., 2016; runtime of the mixer is controlled manually, as opposed to
Palacz et al., 2016). For the purposes of this study Siemens via a pre-set programme. In addition, the anchor shaft has
STAR-CCM+ CFD package and HEEDS optimisation package been modified with a quick-release clasp, allowing to swap
were used. However, to ensure the quality of the CFD predic- out mixer geometries without interfering with the rest of the
tions, it is advisable to carry out experimental validation on machine. Furthermore, the lid lowering mechanism on the
select cases, to ensure model compliance. Mixing is often diffi- stand-alone rig ensured that the geometry is brought into the
cult to validate, due to the challenges posed by the equipment, same position with respect to the sample pot, with a consis-
as discusses previously. Nevertheless, a number of techniques tent immersion level and orientation.
exist which allow process tracking by measuring some form However, due to the presence of other elements in the
of tracker or difference between the materials being blended, mixer volume (i.e., temperature and pH probes), it is not
such as planar laser image fluorescence (PLIF) (Ramsay et al., possible to accommodate the traditional central shaft ribbon
2016), Particle Tracking Velocimetry (PTV) (Alberini et al., 2017), support, typical for helical ribbon mixers, as shown in Fig. 1b.
Positron Emission Particle Tracking (PEPT) (Mihailova et al., Therefore, the helical ribbons presented in this study were
2015), Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) (McCarthy et al., supported solely by the anchor arms, where additional anchor
2002) and Electrical Resistance Tomography (ERT) (Rodgers arms are introduced to provide support in the designs with
and Kowalski, 2010), which used for validation purposes in increasing number of turns of the ribbons.
this work.
3D printing has become a mature technology which is used 2.2. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling
across industries for the rapid manufacture of both proto-
types for illustrative purposes and functional parts in a range Siemens STAR-CCM+ software was used to carry out the mod-
of materials (Chua et al., n.d.). The validation work for this elling of 98 mixer designs differentiated by seven key design
project was made possible through rapid prototyping using features: (1) height of the anchor/helix assembly, (2) width of
3D printing, in particular selective laser sintering (SLS), which the helix, (3) thickness of the helix, (4) number of helix turns,
allowed the production of the complex mixer geometries in- (5) number of anchor arms, (6) height of the central auger
house, providing the opportunity to test and evaluate the new screw, and (7) width of the central auger screw. The number
designs quickly. of anchor arms is varied to accommodate the increase in the
The combination of the abovementioned techniques number of helical ribbon turns, as described previously. How-
allowed to design, analyse and validate a wide range of mixer ever, the two are independent variables, i.e., some of designs
design alternatives to improve the mixing performance of the tested can have the same number of helical ribbon turns, but
high-throughput formulator platform. Moreover, the CFD and a different number of anchor arms, or vice versa.
the rapid prototyping approaches were found to be exception- The simulation was set to assess the mixer performance
ally complimentary, as the models generated using CFD could in a fluid with the rheological profile based on that of a typ-
944 Chemical Engineering Research and Design 1 3 2 ( 2 0 1 8 ) 942–953
Fig. 1 – (a) Typical anchor scraper geometry. (b) Typical helical ribbon geometry.
ing the mixing duty, with the high shear homogeniser and the
turbine impeller present in the system, but static.
To assess the mixing performance of each anchor design
tracers were introduced into the simulation, where the tracer
is modelled as a liquid with the same properties as the bulk,
but is tagged with a different concentration parameter, similar
to injecting a liquid containing a dye into the bulk. Homogene-
ity describes the distribution of this tracer in a vessel volume,
where if the tracer is distributed equally, the resulting num-
ber is 1, while homogeneity of less than 1 implies some local
concentration gradients, with lower numbers indicating an
increasingly poorly mixed system, as calculated using Eq. (2).
Fig. 2 – Flow curve of the fluid used in the CFD optimisation
study. |c − |V
¯ c
Homogineity of = 1 − c
(2)
2||
¯
c
Vc
ical commercially available shampoo formulation, typically
fitting a Carreau model, shown in Eq. (1), where eff is the
where ¯ is the volume average of , c is the value for the
apparent viscosity (Pa s), 0 is the viscosity at low viscosity,
selected scalar in a cell and Vc is the cell volume.
i.e., the Newtonian plateau (Pa s), ∞ is the viscosity at infi-
As part of the study the torque response of the mixer was
nite shear rate (Pa s), ˙ is the shear rate (s−1 ), n is the Power
also modelled and was used as a metric of the size of the
law index (–) and is the relaxation time (s). The fluid has a
geometry, it can be defined as the mass resistance to mixing,
distinct Newtonian plateau at lower shear rates, with the aver-
and for the case of the same fluid used larger designs can be
age viscosity of 10 Pa s, and a shear thinning region at higher
expected to exhibit higher resistance and result in a higher
shear rates, as shown in Fig. 2, where the coefficients are as
torque response, due to the increase in the surface area nor-
follows, 0 = 9.3 Pa s, ∞ = 0 Pa s, n = 0.18 and = 0.037 s. Such
mal to the direction of motion of the anchor (Ameur, 2016;
rheological behaviour is typical of personal and household
Kuhs et al., 2017). As the final optimised design was due to be
care products, as well as some foods and other fast-moving
installed on an automated formulation platform which is also
consumer goods (FMCGs).
self-cleaning using a spray down approach, it is crucial to keep
the complexity of the anchor-helix assembly low, as a bulkier
2 (n−1)/2
eff = ∞ + (0 − ∞ )(1 + ()
˙ ) (1) design could be more challenging to clean and additionally
impede the cleaning of the instruments contained within the
The fluid behaviour was based on the above model, by solv- assembly (e.g., pH metre or high shear mixer). Therefore, for
ing the Navier–Stokes equations numerically using the widely this application it is desirable to keep the torque low, while
used SIMPLE algorithm (Ferziger and Perić, 2002), assuming maximising the homogeneity of the system at the end of the
laminar flow. mixing operation.
The simulation was set to run for a finite number of time The torque response was calculated based on the forces
steps, corresponding to 10 min of the mixer running in real exerted on the surfaces due to shear and pressure in the sys-
time, at the end of which the homogeneity of the system was tem, where the total force on a surface is computed as follows:
assessed. For these simulations, all the elements of the mixer
assembly were present, to allow for the assessment of any pressure
dead-zones caused by the presence of obstructions, such as f = Ff + Fshear
f
· nf (3)
the pH metre. However, only the anchor assembly was provid- f
Chemical Engineering Research and Design 1 3 2 ( 2 0 1 8 ) 942–953 945
Fshear
f
= −Tf · af (5)
2.5.1. Mixer prototype construction for validation
A selection of designs modelled using the STAR-CCM+ and
where Tf is the stress tensor (Pa) at face f. HEEDS packages were chosen for experimental validation.
Torque can be further calculated when the forces on the These anchor/ribbon designs were 3D printed using Acryloni-
individual mixer faces are known. trile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) plastic through Selective Laser
Sintering (SLS), as 3D printing allowed for rapid prototype
=r·f (6) manufacture in comparison to steel. Furthermore, the use of
plastic components allowed the application of Electrical Resis-
where is the torque (N m) and r is the distance of the tance Tomography (ERT) as one of the validation techniques,
element for which the force was calculated from the shaft (m), whereas the use of a metal mixer elements would interfere
which is based on the distance of each mesh element from the with the tracking of the conductivity throughout the system,
shaft. which the technique relies upon.
An example of the polyhedral mesh used in the STAR-CCM+ During the selective laser sintering (SLS) process, small
is shown in Fig. 3, where it can be seen that the mesh is finer grains of the material are fused together using a laser before
around the areas where the mixer is present, i.e., anchor and a new layer of granular material is deposited on top of the
central screw, to closely track the torque and mixing response. existing structure and process is repeated. SLS is limited to
The mesh is coarser in the bulk of the mixer, which allows to which plastics can be used with the technique, with ABS being
reduce the computational power required to complete each one of the most common ones. It is recognised that ABS does
simulation step. The average mesh count is 10 million cells, not provide the same physical properties as stainless steel
with a standard deviation of 2 million, which varies depending which was used for the CFD, however, due to the rigidity of the
on the individual geometry of the of the anchor assembly. The plastic this was not thought to have had an effect on the mix-
model is steady state with a frozen rotor, also known as the ing performance. The effects of using a different construction
moving reference frame (MRF). material could, nevertheless, influence the power draw of the
946 Chemical Engineering Research and Design 1 3 2 ( 2 0 1 8 ) 942–953
mixer, due to the differences in density and surface roughness filled with 780 g of the shampoo, which corresponds to the fill
between the two materials. Despite these differences, it was level of 800 mL, which is recommended for the mixing mod-
concluded that when conducting the torque validation using ule used and is the same as the fill level used in the CFD
ABS parts, the trends between the experimental and the CFD simulation. To reproduce the conditions of the model, all the
values are expected to be consistent, while the actual values elements of the mixer assembly were present in the system
may differ due to the construction material. during validation (e.g., temperature probe).
For the torque acquisition step, the mixer assembly was
lowered into the pot containing the shampoo and the motor
2.5.2. Torque validation
was set to run at 20 rmp, the same rotational speed as that
Using the stand alone mixing module it was possible to
used in the CFD. The torque response was recorded every 0.1 s
carry out the torque validation using a direct measurement
and each trial ran for 5 min.
obtained from the torque metre (E200 ORT, Sensor Technolo-
The acquired torque data was analysed, where the first
gies, UK) attached to the anchor motor, capable of measuring
minute of the measurement was discarded, as during this time
the torque response in the range of 0–200 mN m with 0.5%
the readings could be affected by any air trapped in the sys-
accuracy, as defined by the manufacturer. The sensor can oper-
tem when the mixer was lowered in. The remaining data was
ate at a higher torque range, of up to 600 mN m, where within
averaged to provide the value of the torque response of the
this range the accuracy can be reduced, however, this allows
mixer, the standard deviation of the results was also found,
to accommodate the wide range of geometry designs, includ-
addressing the level of noise in the data.
ing more complex geometries which result in higher torque
response.
For torque validation studies, basic commercially available 2.5.3. Mixing validation
shampoo formulations were used, with a known viscosity of The validation of the mixing performance of the different
10 Pa s at 25 ◦ C, the same as the viscosity of the fluids in the anchor/ribbon designs was carried out using Electrical Resis-
CFD optimisation study. The temperature of the shampoo was tance Tomography (ERT), where a conductive tracer, in this
maintained at the desired level by immersing the sample pot case a 25% (w/w) NaCl solution, was added to the system
into a jacketed vessel connected to a temperature controlled and the local changes in conductivity indicate the degree of
bath circulator (Thermo Scientific, UK). Each sample pot was spreading of the tracer and how well it has mixed with the
Chemical Engineering Research and Design 1 3 2 ( 2 0 1 8 ) 942–953 947
Fig. 5 – The model of the ERT mixing vessel, where the 3.1. CFD and mixer geometry optimisation
green rectangles correspond to the positions of the
electrodes and the mesh of 14,147 finite elements used for The results of the optimisation study are summarised in Fig. 6,
conductivity analysis is shown. where the torque response of each geometry modelled is
presented on the x-axis (N m), with the homogeneity of the
mixture delivered by each design at the end of the simulation
bulk of the system fluid. Tracking these changes is made pos- is shown on the y-axis. It can be noted that the results are lim-
sible by using the voltage recorded across electrode pairs in ited by what can be described as a Pareto front, shown in red
the ERT cage, where the voltages can in turn be sued to pro- in the figure, where during the optimisation process no design
duce 2- or 3D reconstructions of the conductivity distribution could be found, within the limits of the defined design fea-
(Polydorides and Lionheart, 2002; Vauhkonen et al., 2001). tures, which would lie outside of this front, hence the Pareto
For the purposes for the validation a bespoke ERT Per- front defines the optimum solution, within the set constraints
spex vessel was manufactured at the University of Manchester (Khorram et al., 2014). As described above, the highly desir-
which replicates the dimensions of the standard 1 L sample able features of the mixer for the application on the high
pots used for the formulation work on the high throughput throughput formulation platform are high homogeneity at the
platform. To enable ERT the technique 6 planes of electrodes, end of the process, with low torque response. Therefore, any
containing 16 electrodes each, were installed in on the walls of of the designs located towards the top right corner of the
the vessel, of which only 5 bottom planes were used, due to the Pareto front, before the homogeneity appears to rapidly drop
fill level of the vessel. Fig. 5 shows the model of the vessel used, for lower torque designs, would be highly desirable options
where the green rectangles correspond to the positions of the for the high throughput platform. The designs circled in blue
electrodes. Using the ITS P2000 ERT system (Industrial Tomog- in Fig. 6 are shown in detail in Fig. 7, with design parameters
raphy Systems, UK) the boundary voltages between electrode listed in Table 1, these were chosen for experimental valida-
pairs mounted on the wall of the tank vessel were measured. tion purposes. Here some of the designs can be seen to be very
The change in boundary voltage is related to the change in similar, for example design 22 and 67 are identical, bar the size
Fig. 6 – Representation of the torque responses and homogeneity of the mixture for all the geometries modelled. The line is
added to illustrate the Pareto front, while the designs chosen for experimental validation are circled.
948 Chemical Engineering Research and Design 1 3 2 ( 2 0 1 8 ) 942–953
of the central Auger screw. Referring to Fig. 6 it can be seen be clearly seen that the mixing performance of the shorter
that while the larger Auger screw does not appear to provide mixer is inferior to that of the full height one. This suggests
a significant improvement in the homogeneity of the mixture, that when selecting the anchor/helical ribbon design for such
it does negatively affect the torque response, adding approxi- applications, the mixer should span as much of the height of
mately 25% torque for design 22, compare to 67. This suggests the vessel as possible, without introducing other phenomena,
that the presence of the Auger screw does not enhance the such as aeration.
mixing significantly, and when taking into the account the It can also be noted that designs 19 and 43 are almost identi-
geometry cleaning considerations, should be omitted from the cal, with design 43 having an additional anchor arm, compared
final design. The height of the anchor/helix assembly can be to design 19, with no other differences in anchor height, helix
seen to play a significant role in improving the homogeneity or auger screw properties. However, both the homogeneity
of the mixture, as can be seen when comparing the response and the torque response of the two designs are quite differ-
for designs 67 and 81, where full height and 2/3 height mixers ent, which cannot be explained by the geometrical differences
are compared, which otherwise have similar features. It can between the two designs alone, and can expected to not be
Chemical Engineering Research and Design 1 3 2 ( 2 0 1 8 ) 942–953 949
Fig. 8 – Residuals from the initial least squares correlation for (a) torque and (b) homogeneity.
Fig. 11 – The comparison between the experimentally measured torque and torque calculated using CFD. Here the
individual points represent the different geometry designs, with a linear trendline showing the correlation between the
experimentally measured torque (x axis) and that calculated using CFD (y axis), with the CFD results shown to exceed the
experimental results by approximately 20%. Geometry 19 is shown to be an outlier and is marked in red. A dashed x = y line
is added for reference, representing a theoretical perfect agreement between experimental and CFD results.
Fig. 12 – The comparison between the experimentally measured mixing time and the homogineity of the fluid in the vessel
at the end of the CFD simulation run.
not significant. This is to be expected, as all of the signifi- consistent offset of approximately 20% between the two val-
cant terms can be linked to substantially changing the size of ues, with the CFD values higher than the experimental results.
the mixer, and therefore affecting the torque measurement. This can be attributed to a number of factors, like the construc-
Ideally, to achieve the best design within the desired param- tion material of the anchor, where ABS is lighter than steel and
eters, the height of the mixer assembly is to be kept at a also exhibits different surface properties, e.g., roughness.
maximum height which does not introduce aeration, while Alternatively, it is possible that the fluid viscosity was not
all the remaining parameters which increase torque should perfectly matched between the model and the experiment,
be minimised wherever possible. either due to error in off-line viscosity measurements or tem-
perature control during the experiment.
Nevertheless, this error appears to be systematic, and does
3.3. Experimental validation
not prevent from concluding that trend in the torque response
based on CFD is consistent with experimental measurements.
3.3.1. Torque
Geometry 19 must also be highlighted as an outlier, this
For torque validation, the mixer geometries which were 3D
was expected based on the observations of the Pareto front
printed were attached to the standalone mixer station and set
results and the least squares model used to determine the
to run at constant rpm, consistent with the rmp of the CFD
significant design parameters. Here, geometries 19 and 43 are
model, immersed in the silicone oil or shampoo with a defined
known to be very geometrically similar, and are expected to
viscosity, also matching that of the model.
provide similar torque response, which can be seen from the
The comparison between the torque response delivered
experimental results, with the recorded torque of 0.1297 and
by the model and that obtained experimentally is shown in
0.1254 N m respectively for the two geometries. However, the
Fig. 11, where 6 out of the 7 designs tested show agreement
CFD results show a dramatic difference, with geometry 19
between the model and experimental data. However, there is
952 Chemical Engineering Research and Design 1 3 2 ( 2 0 1 8 ) 942–953
yielding a torque response of 0.320 N m, almost double of the In turn, torque was determined to be highly dependent on
0.164 N m for geometry 43. It is reasonable to conclude that the the height of the mixer assembly, the number of mixer arms,
value obtained for geometry 43 is the correct one, as it falls the number of helix turns and the width of the helix, where
in line with the results for other geometries used in the val- all these parameters also significantly influence the size of the
idation study. The reason for the torque being overpredicted mixer, which in turns is directly linked to increased torque in
for geometry 19 could be a result of the mistake within the real systems.
software when setting up the CFD parameters. It is can therefore be advised to maximise the height of the
mixer whenever practical, while reducing the size of the other
design features.
3.3.2. Mixing
The use of CFD for the estimation of the effect of differ-
Mixing was validated using ERT, where a conductive tracer was
ent mixer design features on the two key parameters, torque
added to the bulk of less conductive liquid and the conductiv-
and mixing performance, has been shown to be an effective
ity across the volume of the vessel was recorded over time,
approach for rapid optimisation of a mixer design for a given
until homogeneity was reached. As the homogeneity of the
set of constraints.
mixture in the CFD predicted results was measured at the end
of the simulation, as opposed to continuously over time, it
cannot be directly compared with the mixing times required Acknowledgements
to achieve a fully mixed system, which is calculated using
ERT. However, it is still possible to draw parallels between the The authors would like to thank Innovate UK for the financial
homogeneity and mixing time, as shown in Fig. 12. Here, for support provided for this work as a part of the Embed-
mixer designs which have achieved high homogeneity at the ding Manufacturing Development into Formulation Research
end of the CFD simulation maintain a plateau at low mix- (EMFormR) project (EP/L505778/1). The authors would also like
ing times, as no differentiation can be made between designs to thank the Unilever Port Sunlight R&D rapid prototyping
which completed the mixing process at the end of the sim- team for help with 3D printing of mixer parts.
ulation run. However, as the CFD predicted homogeneity at
the end of simulation allotted time declines the experimental
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