Computer simulation helps increase life of impeller in alumina hydrate precipitation from 2 to 8 years

摘要

The rate at which an impeller wears is a strong function of the velocity at the leading edge. Blades often fail due to extreme erosion. Simulating the impeller and tank of a draft tube mixer using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) helped extendthe life of an impeller by two to eight years. The computer simulation, using FLUENT CFD software from Fluent Inc., Lebanon, NH, made it possible to quickly evaluate the lending edge velocity of several proposed new designs. The analysis helped identifythe erosion problem by predicting the locations of wear patterns.