Fluid mixing is not a high-tech subject.

Many mixers, however are mis-

designed, installed badly, and misused by those who think that mixer design
is easy. Many amateur agitator constructions operate too slowly for
efficient mixing and cause worrying vibrations in the tank.

The most important factors in the design of agitators are the pumping rate
to be achieved and the power requirement.
The pumping rate, is derived from the following formula:

Pumping rate = a constant x (rpm) x (impeller diameter)3 .

This result is invariably much higher than the pumping rate that would be
achieved by circulation with a centrifugal pump of the same power. A pump is
a poor substitute and an expensive one where a mixer will do the job.
If the pumping rate is divided by the volume of the tank, the number of
tank turnovers per unit time is calculated. This is a measure of the mixing
that will be achieved. The designer should know the requirement in terms of
tank turnovers for a particular application so as not to oversize or undersize
the unit.

Power required = a constant x (rpm)3 x (diameter)5 x fluid density x

efficiency.

As an example of the relationship between pumping rate and power, consider:

A particular impeller type running at 1450rpm and having a 200mm diameter
impeller is found to draw 3.57kW while producing 6m3 per minute pumping
rate. If this is replaced by a 350mm impeller running at 300rpm, the new
mixer will achieve 6.6m3 per minute but will require only 0.51kW.
A second point to be considered is the critical speed. As the speed of any
rotating shaft such as an agitator shaft is increased it may tend at certain
speeds to whirl or vibrate violently in a transverse direction. These are the
critical speeds - the speeds at which vibrations in the mixer will be at
resonance with the natural vibration of the elastic system. This is similar to
the effect of an out-of-balance front wheel of a car. At certain speeds (the
critical speeds) there will be vibrations evident in the steering wheel.
When a mixer is designed to run at a speed which is too close to one of its
critical speeds then vibrations may occur continuously in both the vessel and
mixer system, leading to failure. Further, if a mixer is run in air through a
critical speed (for instance during start-up), this may damage the shaft. It
is often not possible to run a mixer below the first critical speed. Start up
without liquid in the vessel as a dampening effect may be hazardous as a
result. The critical speeds for a mixer system can be calculated and the
design modified accordingly. This redesign may even result in the use of a
shaft of smaller diameter.
The third important point in the design is the shape of the tank and the
position of the impeller system in the tank. Very often, mixers placed
centrally in a cylindrical vessel do nothing more than move the liquid in a
circle round the tank with almost no intermixing between the strata.
Generally, smaller mixers will be placed off-centre and at a slight angle to
the tank wall. For the best results, the tank will have a shell height slightly
larger than the diameter