Quantification of laminar mixing in the Kenics static mixer: An experimental study

The laminar flow field in a Kenics KM static mixer has been studied using laser induced fluorescence and digital image analysis. Mixing was quantified by measurement of the number average striation thickness, variance of striation widths and interfacial area, for elements of length to diameter (L/D) ratios of 0.8, 1.0, 1.5 with 90 degrees twist per element. From flow visualisations, transitions were observed in the flow where vortices developed above the first and second elements at Reynolds numbers of 43 and 90 for L/D = 0.8 and Reynolds numbers of 55 and 105 for L/D = 1.0. It was found that these vortices did not appreciably enhance mixing based on striation thickness and variance of striation widths measurements after 4 to 5 elements. The influence of viscosity ratio showed a viscosity ratio (dyed stream/bulk stream) of 1 had faster interfacial area growth and created more uniform mixtures compared to a viscosity ratio of 0.2 for flow rate ratio of 0.2.