Comparative studies of fluid mixing and heat transfer behaviors in a millimeter scale T-type mixer with triangular baffles

Abstract

In chemical processes, fluid mixing and heat transfer efficiency are very important. To guarantee high mixing efficiency and heat transfer performance during chemical processes, we designed and embedded triangular baffle structure in millimeter-sized T-type mixers. Through Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation and visualization experiments, the influence of triangular baffle on the heat transfer performance of mixing was studied. The results show that visualization experiment verifies the reliability of the model. Compared with T-mixer, the mixing index (M) of the T-mixer with double triangular baffle (DTB) has increased by 88.2% and the Nusselt number (Nu) has increased by 32.9%–65.2%, which shows that DTB has a good effect of enhancing mass and heat transfer. The Performance Evaluation Criterion (PEC) of DTB is within 1.22–2.43, which is 3.1%–24.5% higher than single triangular baffle (STB), indicating that DTB has good hydrothermal performance. The PEC is larger at medium to low Reynolds number (Re < 200). In addition, compared with the mixers reported in the literature, the M and Nu of T-type mixer with DTB have increased by 4.5% and 14.2%, respectively. It indicates the superiority of the structure in enhancing mass and heat transfer. The present study can be used to enhance mass and heat transfer in laminar flow.