Knowledge of the fluid dynamic characteristics in a stirred vessel is essential for reliable design and scale-up of a mixing system. In this paper, 3D hydrodynamics in a vessel agitated by a Rushton turbine were numerically studied (with the help of a CFD computer program (CFX 13.0)). The study was carried out covering a wide Reynolds number range: 10 4 -10 5 . Computations, based on control volume method, were made using the k-ε model. Our main purpose was to investigate the effect of vessel configuration and agitation rates on the flow structure and power consumption. Three types of vessels were used: unbaffled, baffled and a vessel with slots placed at the external perimeter of its vertical wall. The effect of slot length has been investigated. The comparison of our predicted results with available experimental data shows a satisfactory agreement.

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This paper analyzes the influence of viscosity and impeller rotation speed in the calculation of the flow and in the theoretical prediction of the performance of a centrifugal pump impeller. The evaluation of the viscous effects allows the prediction of the frictional losses of the impeller and a more correct evaluation of the operating characteristics than can be obtained with a perfect fluid. The viscosity modifies the values of the velocity distribution in the channels of the impeller and the deviation of the flow at the exit of the blade. The experiments were carried out with mineral oils of different viscosities varying between 96.10-3 Pa.s and 520.10-3 Pa.s and which are represented by a perfectly newtonian behavior.