Power-draw analysis of a coaxial mixer with Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids in the laminar regime

The power consumption of a new coaxial mixer composed of a wall scraping arm and a series of rods and a pitched-blade turbine mounted on the same axis of revolution and operated in a contra-rotating mode has been characterized. The work is based on experimental measurements and 3D numerical simulations in the case of homogeneous Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids in the laminar regime. Very good agreements between experimental and numerical results have been obtained. It has been shown that the Metzner–Otto concept can be extended to account for the speed ratio between the impellers, which allows to represent the power consumption results of the coaxial mixer on a single power master curve like with a single agitator mixer. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]