An experimental study of localized flow pattern, strain rate and turbulence kinetic energy dissipation rate of in-line teethed high shear mixer with different rotor and stator structures

The in-line teethed high shear mixers (HSMs) have been widely used in the chemical industry. However, there is still a lack of comprehensive understanding of the hydrodynamics characteristics about the attractive process equipment. In this paper, the effects of rotor and stator structures and rotor speed on flow characteristics of in-line teethed HSM are systematically studied by the particle image velocimetry experiment for the first time. The results show that increasing the rotor speed can significantly increase the strain rate (Sxy) and turbulence kinetic energy dissipation rate (ε). Especially, when the shear gap width is reduced from 1.5 mm to 0.5 mm, the mean ε increases by 96.8%. Furthermore, two dimensionless correlations are established between the maximum value of the Sxy, ε and rotor and stator geometrical parameters to provide a valuable guidance for the geometrical design and optimization of in-line teethed HSM.