Home » Determining the Agitator Shaft Loading and Power
Determining the Agitator Shaft Loading and Power
Q: I am working on the design for a fluid bed reactor. The design includes an agitator that will move the aggregate in the bed. Do you know of equations that I can use to determine the agitator shaft loading and the power required for the agitation?
A: There are no equations to directly determine agitator power for several reasons. First, the shape of the impeller is important to performance, shape and power characteristics are unique to each mixer type. Second, the power requirement in a powder application depends on the bulk density and the flow characteristics of the aggregate in the bed.
About the only "equation" that does apply is that power will be roughly proportional to the bulk density of the aggregate, the rotational speed of the mixer cubed, and the diameter of the mixer impeller raised to the fifth power. The base line characteristics must be determined by experimental measurement. Actual power requirements may also change with the shape, size, and flow characteristics of the aggregate.
No simple answer to this question - too many variables and unknowns.
Solutions Centers
The Optimized Plant
Sponsored by Honeywell
Honeywell can help sustain the life of your assets and maximize the operational performance of your plant or mill.
Solutions for the Chemicals Industry
Sponsored by SAP
Measure your performance against your peers and discover which functional areas you can improve. Includes manufacturing, supply chain, R&D, regulatory compliance (ie REACH), and customer management.
Business Performance
Sponsored by Honeywell
Improve performance and increase profitability with integrated, comprehensive solutions that protect your people, process and assets, while reducing costs and improving productivity.
Print page