Numerical investigation of in-line and staggered fins arrangements on liquid mixer

The aim of this paper is twofold: firstly, to examine the influence of fin arrangement on liquid mixing performance, and secondly, to gain insights on the flow pattern, principally on transverse flow induced by the presence of different fin arrangements, in the mixing channel. Hence, this paper numerically analyzed the liquid mixing performance of a T-mixer with fins in two distinct arrangements, namely, in-line and staggered. The effects of fin arrangements on the liquid flow characteristics in the mixing channel are assessed, and it can be profoundly indicated that the induced transverse flow tends to promote better liquid mixing. Comparatively, a mixer with a staggered fin arrangement yields superior mixing performance than that of an in-line fin arrangement, owing to a greater transverse flow. This forces the bulk of the liquid to flow alternately through both halves of the mixing channel. Supplementary to the better mixing performance attained, a mixer with staggered fins also yields a lower pressure drop. When fins are placed perpendicular to the axial flow direction (i.e., θ=0⁰), the pressure drop yielded by an in-line fin arrangement is remarkably high (> 60 times that of the basic T-mixer and > 6 times that of the staggered fin arrangement). The superiority of the staggered fins on liquid mixing is also observed for flows at different Reynolds numbers, ranging from 0.1 to 100.