Mixer Sizing

234 Abby Road
Manchester, NH 03103
Tel: 603-627-2340
Fax: 603-627-2019
800-466-2369
web site: www.admix.com
email: mixing@admix.com
Tech. Note No. 102
November 1998
SIZING THE ADMIXER STATIC MIXER

AND SANITARY STATIC BLENDER
INTRODUCTION
This article provides the necessary information for sizing an Admixer for liquid / liquid (single phase) mixing. It is designed
to be an accurate yet simple method for obtaining the correct static mixer for various liquid applications.
The proceeding calculations will determine the length, diameter, number of elements and pressure drop of the static mixer.
These calculations do not apply to gas/liquid or gas/gas dispersions or emulsions, please contact Admix directly regarding
any such cases, or refer to Tech Note #105.
Step 1: Tell us the Facts!
Step 3: It's Elementary!
Before actual sizing can begin, the initial conditions must be

identified. The following chart has been provided for this use:
(Select the Number of Elements)
SIZING VARIABLE
VALUE
UNITS
Mixing Medium(s)
(Q) Flow Rate
GPM
(D) Existing Pipe Diameter
Inches
() Absolute Viscosity
CPS
(SG) Specific Gravity

() Max Allowable Head Loss
(T/P) Temperature / Pressure
Using the pipe Reynold's Number (Re) determined above,

locate the proper flow regime and Re to select the number
of elements required. As explained by the table, it is
necessary to add more elements when a wide ratio of fluid
viscosities and/or volumes are present. Please remember
that these values are guidelines, and should be checked by
your local representative or home office.
PSI
F/PSI
Flow
Regime
Existing Pipe Material

Laminar
Reynold's
Number
(Re)
No. of
Element
Number of Elements to add Number of Elements to add if

if Viscosity ratio between
Volumetric ratio between
fluids exceeds 1000:1
fluids exceeds 100:1
<1
24
1-10
18
11-50
14
51-100
12
101-500
10
Transitional 501-1000
1001-2000
2001-5000
5001 +
Sidestream Injection?
Special Requirements?
Step 2: Go With The Flow!

(Calculate Reynold's Number)
Turbulent
Reynolds number must be calculated in order to identify if

the pipe flow is turbulent, laminar, or transitional. Reynolds
number can calculated as follows:
Diameter and Length

Reynold's # (Re) = 3157QSG
D
Q = Flow Rate (GPM)
SG = Specific Gravity
= Absolute Viscosity (cps)
D = Pipe Inside Diameter (inches)
For most circumstances, the in-situ piping will determine

the mixer diameter. However, it is possible that alternate
sizes are needed to accomplish more thorough mixing,
reduce pressure drop, or increase dispersion capability. The
mixer length will be based on the number of elements
required. An approximate length can be determined by
multiplying the number of elements by 1.5.
Page 1
Step 4: Check Your Pressure!

(Calculate Pressure Drop P)
1. To graphically determine pressure drop:
If the process materials are waterlike, with S.G. = 1.0 and viscosity less than 10 cps, the graph below will provide an
approximate value of expected pressure drop per element. If the fluids have properties other than that of water, a
manual calculation of pressure drop follows.
PRESSURE DROP PER ELEMENT VERSUS FLOWRATE

For 1 through 12 Diameter Static Mixers
1
100
Pressure Drop Per Element (PSI)
10
10
12
1.0
0.1
10
100
1,000
Flowrate (GPM)
Page 2
10,000
2. For non waterlike materials where viscosity is

greater than 10:
a) Recheck the value for Reynolds number

calculated at step #2. Using this value, determine
the associated friction factor for the mixer housing
using the graph on page 4 (Friction Factors for Clean
Commercial Steel and Wrought Iron Pipe).
Step 5: Watch your Speeed!

(Check Mixer Velocity)
For turbulent flow applications, it is generally recommended
that a minimum velocity of 1.0 Ft/sec be maintained. For
best performance, specific applications such as liquid-liquid
dispersions may require as high as 7-8 Ft/Sec. For most
blending applications, a velocity of 2-3 Ft/Sec. is sufficient.
b) Now calculate PH of the empty housing without

mixing elements.
(V) = 0.408 Q
D2
PH = 0.0135 f L SG Q2
D5
V = Velocity in Ft/Sec
SAMPLE WORKSHEET
where f = friction factor

L = length of pipe (ft)
Results:
Step 2: Re _______________________________
c) Using the Reynolds number from Step #2,
calculate the flow factor, F to compensate for the
headloss caused by the mixing elements.
Step 3: n (# of elements) ____________________

Dia _____________ Length ___________
if Re<10,
if 10<Re<1000,
if Re>1000,
F = 6.5
F = 1.53 (Re) 0.45
F = 8.5In (Re) - 16
Step 4: _________________________________
PH _______________________________
F ________________________________
P (PSI) __________________________
d) Does this compute?

Step 5: V ________________________________
The total mixer pressure drop or head loss can now
be found by multiplying the housing head loss (PH)
by the element flow factor (F)
Friction Factor Example

P (PSI) = PH x F
From the chart on page 4, a mixer with a Reynolds

Number (Re) of 200,000 within a 4 Sched. 40 pipe will
have a friction factor () of .0185.
Page 3
Page 4
Re = Reynolds Number
0.01
48
36
24
20
0.012
16
0.014
10
12
8
6
5
4
0.016
0.018
0.02
1.5
1
0.75
0.3
f = Friction Factor
0.025
0.5
0.4
0.03
f = 64/Re
0.25
0.2
0.04
0.05
0.06
0.07
0.08
0.09
1,000,000
100,000
10,000
1,000
0.1
10,000,000
100,000,000
FRICTION FACTORS FOR CLEAN COMMERCIAL STEEL

AND WROUGHT IRON PIPE

Mixer Sizing

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Mixer Sizing

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Mixer Sizing

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

234 Abby Road

Tech. Note No. 102

SIZING THE ADMIXER STATIC MIXER

Step 1: Tell us the Facts!

Step 3: It's Elementary!

Before actual sizing can begin, the initial conditions must be

(Select the Number of Elements)

(D) Existing Pipe Diameter

(SG) Specific Gravity

Using the pipe Reynold's Number (Re) determined above,

Existing Pipe Material

Number of Elements to add Number of Elements to add if

Step 2: Go With The Flow!

Reynolds number must be calculated in order to identify if

Diameter and Length

For most circumstances, the in-situ piping will determine

Step 4: Check Your Pressure!

PRESSURE DROP PER ELEMENT VERSUS FLOWRATE

Pressure Drop Per Element (PSI)

2. For non waterlike materials where viscosity is

a) Recheck the value for Reynolds number

Step 5: Watch your Speeed!

b) Now calculate PH of the empty housing without

where f = friction factor

Step 3: n (# of elements) ____________________

d) Does this compute?

Friction Factor Example

From the chart on page 4, a mixer with a Reynolds

FRICTION FACTORS FOR CLEAN COMMERCIAL STEEL

You might also like