Asymmetric Flow Splitter for Micro-Reactor Mixing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fluid mixing structures in continuous reaction reactors face challenges in multiphase reactions due to uneven flow distribution and phase segregation, leading to inadequate mixing and mass transfer in micro-reactors, especially during scale-up and scale-down processes.
Innovation Solution
A fluid mixing structure with a contraction zone, expansion zone, and retention zone, featuring a polygonal or flame-shaped flow splitter that splits and mixes fluid flows to ensure a non-zero average flow component in the inflow direction, preventing centrifugal forces and promoting homogenization, thereby enhancing mixing efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If parallel rows of mixers are used to increase flow rate, then productivity increases, but flow distribution uniformity deteriorates due to pressure fluctuations from phase interfaces
Solution Approach 1:
The continuous reactor is divided into multiple parallel rows of mixing structures, each handling a portion of the total flow. This segmentation allows the system to process higher overall flow rates while maintaining controlled flow distribution in each individual row, resolving the contradiction between productivity and flow uniformity.
Solution Approach 2:
The mixing structure employs asymmetric geometry with a spade-like element that has different curvature radii on its convex and concave sides. This asymmetric design creates favorable flow patterns that reduce pressure fluctuations and improve flow distribution uniformity across parallel rows, addressing the stability issue while maintaining high productivity.
2Ease of manufacture
If symmetric spade-like mixing structures are used, then manufacturing is simplified, but phase segregation increases due to centrifugal forces pushing denser fluid outward
Solution Approach 1:
The mixing structure deliberately uses asymmetric geometry where the convex side has a different curvature radius than the concave side. This asymmetry counteracts the centrifugal forces that cause phase segregation in symmetric designs, allowing the denser fluid to be redistributed more effectively and maintaining phase mixing quality while remaining manufacturable.
3Temperature
If smaller process channel dimensions are used in micro-reactors, then heat transfer efficiency improves due to increased surface-to-volume ratio, but mass transfer rate deteriorates due to diffusion-driven laminar flow
Solution Approach 1:
The asymmetric spade-like mixing structure generates turbulent flow patterns and secondary flows that enhance mass transfer by disrupting the laminar diffusion-driven flow. This mechanical disturbance increases the mass transfer rate while maintaining the efficient heat transfer characteristics of small-scale micro-reactor channels.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the flow regime parameters by introducing turbulent flow through the asymmetric mixing structure. This parameter change from laminar to turbulent flow enhances mass transfer coefficients, allowing high productivity to be achieved in small-diameter channels while preserving the heat transfer advantages of micro-reactor geometry.
4Stability of the object's composition
If complex micro-reactors with multiple consecutive fluid mixing structures are used, then mixing efficiency improves, but pressure loss increases and residence time decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The reactor is segmented into multiple parallel rows of mixing structures rather than using a single complex sequential arrangement. This parallel segmentation achieves high mixing efficiency through distributed mixing while reducing cumulative pressure losses compared to multiple consecutive mixing elements in series.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design achieves improved mixing and mass transfer by generating a fully dispersed flow regime with increased interfacial area, resulting in higher mass transfer coefficients and more efficient reaction conditions, even at lower flow rates, compared to traditional structures.
Implementation Method 1
transport phenomena are diffusion driven and thus relatively slow
Implementation Method 2
techniques are used to generate secondary flow regimes resulting in a flow field that resembles transitional or turbulent flow
Implementation Method 3
techniques are used to generate secondary flow regimes resulting in a flow field that resembles transitional or turbulent flow rather than laminar flow
Implementation Method 4
The centrifugal forces in such curvatures push the denser fluid towards the outside perimeter
Implementation Method 5
recirculatory motion within the slug flow homogenizes (i. e. makes more homogeneous or enhances the homogeneity) its interior and reduces the thickness of the boundary layer at the interface, thus increasing mass transfer rate along the channel axis
Implementation Method 6
The continuous dissipation of energy can generate and maintain dispersion smaller than slugs throughout the reactor's volume
Implementation Method 7
The geometry may strongly effect the interfacial area available for mass, momentum or energy exchange between the phases
Data Source
Figure 1A~1B
Figure 1C~1D
Figure 2A~2C
AI summary
A fluid mixing structure (10) for mixing at least two fluidic components has a flow inlet port and a flow outlet port and comprises a contraction zone (12), an expansion zone (14), and a retention zone (16), arranged in this order in an inflow direction (IFD) of a fluid flow to flow through said fluid mixing structure (10) and being composed of said at least two fluidic components, and a flow splitter (32) arranged in a space (30) formed by said expansion zone (14) and said retention zone (16) to split said fluid flow in a first sub fluid flow and a second sub fluid flow flowing in a first flow path and a second flow path, respectively, formed in the fluid mixing structure, and to mix said first and second sub fluid flows within said space (30) to generate and discharge a homogenized fluid flow, wherein said flow splitter (32) is arranged and configured to let any flow element of each of said first and second sub fluid flows prior to their mixing have a non-zero average flow component in said inflow direction (IFD).