Establishing continuous planar laser-induced fluorescence to evaluate static mixers in conjunction with particle tracking computational fluid dynamics

Robinson, Thomas ORCID: 0009-0009-9149-3632 (2025). Establishing continuous planar laser-induced fluorescence to evaluate static mixers in conjunction with particle tracking computational fluid dynamics. University of Birmingham. Eng.D.

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Abstract

A test facility was developed to enable continuous Planar Laser-Induced Fluorescence (PLIF) for the evaluation of static mixers. By integrating an activated carbon-based filtration system, the Rhodamine 6G tracer compound was adsorbed from spent glycerol test fluid, allowing it to be recycled back into the loop. Drawing inspiration from industrial techniques, the test rig incorporated comprehensive digital data acquisition and control systems, enabling remote management of temperature (and thus viscosity) and mass flow. All operational parameters were measured automatically and recorded to a database, facilitating autonomous operation through pre-programmed state machines and control via PID algorithms. To validate the accuracy and repeatability of flow properties, static mixer pressure drop tests were conducted, confirming the reliability of the on-line pipe rheometer across different glycerol mass fractions. Comprehensive PLIF imagery was captured at the outlets of various static mixers following the injection of Rhodamine 6G dye at their inlets. Included static mixers are the SMX™, SMX™ plus, Chemineer Kenics, and a new static mixer design from CALGAVIN. The high-resolution images were quantitatively analysed using coefficient of variance (CoV) and a newly proposed CG Number to assess the consistency and effectiveness of mixing under different flow conditions. Concurrently, a novel flux-based particle tracking computational fluid dynamics (CFD) methodology was developed, translating Lagrangian simulations back into Eulerian space. This approach enables CFD simulations to mirror experimental PLIF testing by producing images with a non-binary dynamic range while avoiding the numerical diffusion issues associated with passive scalar techniques. By combining this CFD method with experimental PLIF results, rapid prototyping of static mixer designs is facilitated, allowing computational testing of variations prior to fabrication and experimental validation of the most promising designs.

Type of Work:	Thesis (Doctorates > Eng.D.)
Award Type:	Doctorates > Eng.D.
Supervisor(s):	Supervisor(s) Email ORCID Droegemueller, Peter UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Simmons, Mark J. H. UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Greenwood, Richard UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Komrakova, Sasha UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED
Licence:	All rights reserved
College/Faculty:	Colleges > College of Engineering & Physical Sciences
School or Department:	School of Chemical Engineering
Funders:	Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
Subjects:	T Technology > TP Chemical technology
URI:	http://etheses.bham.ac.uk/id/eprint/16277

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