A Novel Experimental Apparatus for Characterizing Flow Regime in Mechanically Stirred Tanks through Force Sensors
Pressure fluctuations in a mixing tank can provide valuable information about the existing flow regime within the tank, which in turn influences the degree of mixing that can be achieved. In the present work, we propose a prototype for identifying the flow regime in mechanically stirred tanks equipp...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2024-04-01
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| Series: | Sensors |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/24/7/2319 |
| _version_ | 1827286524280963072 |
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| author | Miguel Magos-Rivera Carlos Avilés-Cruz Jorge Ramírez-Muñoz |
| author_facet | Miguel Magos-Rivera Carlos Avilés-Cruz Jorge Ramírez-Muñoz |
| author_sort | Miguel Magos-Rivera |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Pressure fluctuations in a mixing tank can provide valuable information about the existing flow regime within the tank, which in turn influences the degree of mixing that can be achieved. In the present work, we propose a prototype for identifying the flow regime in mechanically stirred tanks equipped with four vertical baffles through the characterization of pressure fluctuations. Our innovative proposal is based on force sensors strategically placed in the baffles of the mixing tank. The signals coming from the sensors are transmitted to an electronic module based on an Arduino UNO development board. In the electronic module, the pressure signals are conditioned, amplified and sent via Bluetooth to a computer. In the computer, the signals can be plotted or stored in an Excel file. In addition, the proposed system includes a moving average filtering and a hierarchical bottom-up clustering analysis that can determine the real-time flow regime (i.e., the Reynolds number, Re) in which the tank was operated during the mixing process. Finally, to demonstrate the versatility of the proposed prototype, experiments were conducted to identify the Reynolds number for different flow regimes (static, laminar, transition and turbulent), i.e., <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mn>0</mn><mo>≤</mo><mi>R</mi><mi>e</mi><mo>≤</mo></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula> 42,955. Obtained results were in agreement with the prevailing consensus on the onset and developed from different flow regimes in mechanically stirred tanks. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T10:34:53Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ba9b96a7d4bf4bd7ae71fcaa6662f162 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-8220 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T10:34:53Z |
| publishDate | 2024-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sensors |
| spelling | doaj.art-ba9b96a7d4bf4bd7ae71fcaa6662f1622024-04-12T13:26:46ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202024-04-01247231910.3390/s24072319A Novel Experimental Apparatus for Characterizing Flow Regime in Mechanically Stirred Tanks through Force SensorsMiguel Magos-Rivera0Carlos Avilés-Cruz1Jorge Ramírez-Muñoz2Electronics Department, Autonomous Metropolitan University, Av. San Pablo 420, Col. Nueva el Rosario, Mexico City C.P. 02128, MexicoElectronics Department, Autonomous Metropolitan University, Av. San Pablo 420, Col. Nueva el Rosario, Mexico City C.P. 02128, MexicoEnergy Department, Autonomous Metropolitan University, Av. San Pablo 420, Col. Nueva el Rosario, Mexico City C.P. 02128, MexicoPressure fluctuations in a mixing tank can provide valuable information about the existing flow regime within the tank, which in turn influences the degree of mixing that can be achieved. In the present work, we propose a prototype for identifying the flow regime in mechanically stirred tanks equipped with four vertical baffles through the characterization of pressure fluctuations. Our innovative proposal is based on force sensors strategically placed in the baffles of the mixing tank. The signals coming from the sensors are transmitted to an electronic module based on an Arduino UNO development board. In the electronic module, the pressure signals are conditioned, amplified and sent via Bluetooth to a computer. In the computer, the signals can be plotted or stored in an Excel file. In addition, the proposed system includes a moving average filtering and a hierarchical bottom-up clustering analysis that can determine the real-time flow regime (i.e., the Reynolds number, Re) in which the tank was operated during the mixing process. Finally, to demonstrate the versatility of the proposed prototype, experiments were conducted to identify the Reynolds number for different flow regimes (static, laminar, transition and turbulent), i.e., <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mn>0</mn><mo>≤</mo><mi>R</mi><mi>e</mi><mo>≤</mo></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula> 42,955. Obtained results were in agreement with the prevailing consensus on the onset and developed from different flow regimes in mechanically stirred tanks.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/24/7/2319force sensorspressure fluctuationsReynolds numberflow regimemixing tank |
| spellingShingle | Miguel Magos-Rivera Carlos Avilés-Cruz Jorge Ramírez-Muñoz A Novel Experimental Apparatus for Characterizing Flow Regime in Mechanically Stirred Tanks through Force Sensors Sensors force sensors pressure fluctuations Reynolds number flow regime mixing tank |
| title | A Novel Experimental Apparatus for Characterizing Flow Regime in Mechanically Stirred Tanks through Force Sensors |
| title_full | A Novel Experimental Apparatus for Characterizing Flow Regime in Mechanically Stirred Tanks through Force Sensors |
| title_fullStr | A Novel Experimental Apparatus for Characterizing Flow Regime in Mechanically Stirred Tanks through Force Sensors |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Novel Experimental Apparatus for Characterizing Flow Regime in Mechanically Stirred Tanks through Force Sensors |
| title_short | A Novel Experimental Apparatus for Characterizing Flow Regime in Mechanically Stirred Tanks through Force Sensors |
| title_sort | novel experimental apparatus for characterizing flow regime in mechanically stirred tanks through force sensors |
| topic | force sensors pressure fluctuations Reynolds number flow regime mixing tank |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/24/7/2319 |
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