Effect of Stator Geometry on the Emulsification and Extraction in the Inline Single-Row Blade-Screen High Shear Mixer

A series of stators were designed with the same opening area but different opening shape and number for the inline single-row blade-screen high shear mixers (HSMs), to study the emulsification and extraction, respectively. The opening number has a significant influence on the emulsification and extraction, as compared to the opening shape. The computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis was used to disclose the intensifying rules of HSMs with desirable stator geometry. In the rotor and screen region, both energy dissipation rate and shear stress increase first but then decrease as the opening number rises, whereas in the jet region both of them decrease with the opening number. The opening number can affect the flux through screen and shear gap, as well as the reentrainment and jet behaviors in the screen region. These results provide important guidance on the design and optimization of HSMs structures to intensify the emulsification and extraction.