Laminar mixing of high-viscous fluids by a cylindrical chaotic mixer

Laminar mixing of glycerin in a chaotic mixer is carried by means of the blob deformation method. The mixer was a cylindrical vessel with two rotational blades which move along two different circular paths with a stepwise motion protocol. The flow visualization was performed by marking of the free surface of the flow with a tracer. The effects of controlling parameters such as rotational speed of blades, blades length, and rotational speed amplitude on mixing efficiency and time were analyzed by measuring of the area covered by the tracer. The results revealed that increasing rotational speed intensifies stretching and folding phenomenon, and consequently better mixing can be obtained. Also, the better condition in flow kinematic was provided to blend as stepwise motion protocol with wider amplitude adopted. A reduction in mixing time could be observed as the blades with longer length were used. In addition, it was also found that the promotion of mixing by rotational speed is more effective than that of two other parameters. The quantitative data and qualitative observations proved the potential of proposed chaotic mixer in wide range of industrial processes including chemical reaction and food processing in which laminar mixing is required.