High throughput millifluidics mixer with double triangle baffle for improvement of mixing performance and reduction of flow resistance designed by grey relational analysis

To improve the mixing performance and reduce flow resistance, in this study, a novel mixer with double triangle baffles was designed and optimized by the combination of CFD simulation and grey relation analysis method. Mixing index and Poiseuille number were selected as two key indexes to evaluate the mixing performance and flow resistance of the mixer. The orthogonal experiment was conducted with selecting the aspect ratio of baffles (alpha), the thickness of baffles (h), the spacing between adjacent baffles (c) and the number of baffles (d) as design variables. Among all design variables, d has the greatest influence on the mixer performances. The results show that the optimized mixer has a maximum increase of 14.25% in mixing index and a maximum decrease in Poiseuille number of 60.02%. Finally, the optimal configuration was scaled-up to centimeter level, which makes the mixer have high mixing performance, low flow resistance and high throughput at the same time. All the findings provide useful references for high throughput mixer design and optimization.

Automated summary

In this study, a novel mixer with double triangle baffles was designed and optimized using CFD simulation and grey relation analysis method. The orthogonal experiment was conducted to determine the optimal design parameters, and the mixing index and Poiseuille number were used as evaluation indexes. The results showed that the optimized mixer had significantly improved mixing performance and reduced flow resistance, and the optimal configuration was successfully scaled-up to centimeter level.