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Studies on heat transfer to Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids in agitated vessel

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Abstract

Heat transfer studies to Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids are carried out in a stirred vessel fitted with anchor/turbine impeller and a coil for heating/cooling with an objective of determining experimentally the heat transfer coefficient of few industrially important systems namely castor oil and its methyl esters, soap solution, CMC and chalk slurries. The effect of impeller geometry, speed and aeration is investigated. Generalized Reynolds and Prandtl numbers are calculated using an apparent viscosity for non-Newtonian fluids. The data is correlated using a Sieder–Tate type equation. A trend of increase in heat transfer coefficient with RPM in presence and absence of solids has been observed. Relatively high values of Nusselt numbers are obtained for non-Newtonian fluids when aeration is coupled with agitation. The contribution of natural convection to heat transfer has been accounted for by incorporating the Grashof number. The correlations developed based on these studies are applied for design of commercial scale soponification reactor. Power per unit volume resulted in reliable design of a reactor.

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Abbreviations

A :

heat transfer area, m2

c p :

specific heat of process fluid, J/kg °C

C p :

specific heat of service fluid, J/kg °C

D T :

tank diameter, m

D I :

impeller diameter, m

Fr :

Froude number, N 2 D I/g

g :

acceleration due to gravity, m/s2

Gr :

Grashof number, (βgΔT D I 3 ρ 2/μ 2)

h :

individual heat transfer coefficient, W/m2 °C

H :

liquid level, m

k :

thermal conductivity, W/m °C

K s :

equipment characteristic constant

K :

fluid consistency index, kg/m (s)2−n

M :

process fluid mass, kg

n :

flow behavior index

N :

impeller speed, s−1

Nu :

Nusselt number, hD T/k

Pr :

Prandtl number, c p μ app/k

Q :

volumetric flow rate of air, m3/h

Re :

Reynolds number, ND I 2 ρ/μ app

t :

process fluid temperature, °C

T1, T2:

initial and final temperatures of heating media, °C

U :

overall heat transfer coefficient, W/m2 °C

V g :

superficial velocity of gas, m/s

Vi:

viscosity ratio, μ/μ w

W :

service fluid mass flow rate in kg/s

β :

coefficient of thermal expansion, 1/°C

ρ :

density, kg/m3

μ :

viscosity, Pa−s

σ :

surface tension, N−m

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of chemical technology, Hyderabad, India

    B. Triveni & B. Vishwanadham

  2. Osmania University College of Technology, Hyderabad, India

    S. Venkateshwar

Authors
  1. B. Triveni
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  2. B. Vishwanadham
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  3. S. Venkateshwar
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Correspondence to B. Vishwanadham.

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Triveni, B., Vishwanadham, B. & Venkateshwar, S. Studies on heat transfer to Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids in agitated vessel. Heat Mass Transfer 44, 1281–1288 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00231-007-0364-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00231-007-0364-2

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