CFD-DEM investigation of viscous solid–liquid mixing: Impact of particle properties and mixer characteristics

In chemical engineering, numerous processes require the suspension of particles in a laminar or transitional regime. For such operations, predicting the fraction of suspended particles as well as their distribution and homogeneity is a major concern. In this work, the unresolved CFD-DEM model introduced by our group for solid–liquid mixing is used to investigate the mixing dynamics of viscous suspensions. The techniques chosen to characterize the degree of suspension, the homogeneity and the distribution of the particles are presented. They are used to assess the efficiency of a pitched blade turbine with a clearance of C = T/4. The impact of solid properties on mixing dynamics is investigated by varying the Young's modulus, the coefficient of restitution and the sliding friction coefficient in the DEM model. Lastly, five alternative configurations of the mixing rig are investigated by varying the clearance of the impeller and introducing baffles.