C.M.Raguraman.et. al.

/ International Journal of Engineering Science and Technology

Vol. 2(4), 2010, 587-594

AN EFFECT OF BLADE GEOMETRY ON

HEAT TRANSFER PERFORMANCE IN
STIRRED VESSEL – COAL WATER
SLURRY SYSTEM USING COAL
GASIFICATION
C.M.Raguraman1, A. Ragupathy2, R. Ramkumar3, L. Sivakumar4
1,2 and 3
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Annamalai University, Annamalai Nagar-608002, Tamil Nadu, India
4
Formerly General Manager, (Corporate R&D), BHEL, Hyderabad, presently vice principal, Sri Krishna College of
Engineering and Technology, Coimbatore, India.

Abstract

The effect of the geometrical parameter of blades on heat transfer co-efficient were experimentally studied for
agitated vessels using coal slurry in coal gasification. The intensity of hear transfer during mixing of fluids depends
on the type of the stirrer, the design of the vessel and conditions of the process. The type and size of the stirrer, as
well as its location in the vessel, also affect the rate of hear transfer. In this study, the effect of some important
design parameter such as the type of stirrer, angle and shape of blades, number of blades and location of stirrer, etc.,
were investigated and optimized. Besides, the Taguchi method can successfully be applied to heat transfer
investigation to save energy, time and material in experimentation.

Keywords: Heat transfer rate, Coal slurry, Taguchi method, Heat transfer coefficient.

1. Introduction

Agitated jacketed vessels are generally used for processing liquid system and are suitable for carrying out
reaction at isothermal condition where heat of reaction is high. Generally, heating or cooling is effected by jacketing
the vessel [1]. Mechanically agitated reactors are widely used in the mining, food, petroleum, chemical,
pharmaceutical, pulp, paper industries, and also using in power generation industries.

In many process industries, mixing and heat transfer in stirred vessels are an important operation in both
batch and continuous process.[1]. Heat transfer in stirred vessels is important because fluid temperature in the
reactor is one of the most significant factors for controlling the outcome of process. The proper design of stirrer is
important in obtaining satisfactory mixing results. Adequate stirring assures good mixing by providing a flow
pattern that carries through out the entire batch. The type and size of the stirrer, as well as its location into vessels
also affect the rate of heat transfer. Generally mechanical stirrers are used for homogenous suspension. The degree
of mixing depends to a large extent, upon the design parameters of the vessel and the stirrers apart from the particle
characteristics (size distribution shape and density) liquid properties (density, viscosity, surface tension) and process
parameters as thy affect rheology and flow behavior of the slurry [2].

Researchers have mainly attempted to establish some correlations between the power number, Reynolds
number, the geometry of the vessel and stirrer and the physical properties of the liquid and the particle [3-4]. The
intensity of heat transfer during mixing of fluids like slurry depends on the type of the stirrer, the design of the
vessel and condition of the processes. In this study the effect of some important parameter such as type of stirrer,
angle and shape of the blades, number of blades, and location of the stirrer etc., were investigated and optimized [5].

ISSN: 0975-5462 587

 C.M.Raguraman.et. al. / International Journal of Engineering Science and Technology
Vol. 2(4), 2010, 587-594

In this work, the effect of four variables namely stirrer speed, stirrer location, D/d ratio and concentration
of slurry on heat transfer were analyzed. Each of the above variables will be kept at three different levels and the
level at which the maximum heat transfer rate achieved were identified using Taguchi method. Also in this work the
fluid as a slurry is water with coal particle. Heat transfer rates in agitated vessels have been investigated for coal
slurry in a flat bottom vessel equipped with of flat type agitation.
2. Experimental details
The experimental setup consists of a cylindrical vessel, impeller, Variable speed DC motor, auto
transformer as shown schematically in Fig.1.

Fig.1. Experimental Setup

The experimental setup consists of a cylindrical jacketed vessel, flat blade impellor with shaft, variable
speed motor, variac, temperature indicator and pressure gauge. The jacket is on the out side the mixing vessel. The
inlet of the jacket is connected to an electrically operated boiler, which produces steam continuously at constant
pressure. A pressure gauge is connected to the jacket for monitoring the jacket steam pressure. A vent is provided
for releasing non-condensable gas as well as maintains the pressure in jacket, A steam strainer is placed at the
bottom to the vessel to collect the condensed steam. An agitator that is driven by a vertically mounted motor is used
for stirring. The entire vessel is completely insulated. When the temperature reaches the saturation temperature of
the water (100 deg. C) the time period (τ sec) was noted and this period is called heating period (Unsteady state).

The cylindrical outside vessel of 210mm diameter, 6mm thick, and 160mm height with a flat bottom was
used which is named as jacketed vessel. Similarly the cylindrical inside vessel of 110mm diameter, 6mm thick and
110mm height with same flat bottom was used. So the height of vessel is equal to diameter of the vessel (H=D)[6].
The different types of impeller used in process industries as shown in fig. 2.

ISSN: 0975-5462 588

 C.M.Raguraman.et. al. / International Journal of Engineering Science and Technology
Vol. 2(4), 2010, 587-594

2.1 Types of stirrers

Pitched blade turbine impeller Rushton turbine impeller

Pfaudler Impeller Flat blade impeller

Plate paddles impeller Smith turbine impeller

Anchor impeller Propeller impeller

Fig. 2 Types of stirrer
Vessel: Mild steel vessel, cylindrical shape, flat bottom
Size: 0.21m, diameter x 0.160m height x 0.006 m thick,
Provision for sampling two side outlets at bottom side for taking out the solids and liquid after each set of
experiments.
Stirrer: Driven by motor. Speed control by variac (0-220), speed measured by tachometer. Type and shape of blade
– four flat blade schematically shown in fig 3.

Fig.3. Flat blade details

Angle of blade : parallel to axis of the shaft, D – Diameter of Vessel , d – Diameter of impeller, No. of blades = 4,
blade thickness=.1.6mm, Width of the impeller = 17.5mm, Location of impeller: 25%, 50% and 75% of height of
vessel.

3. Coal - water slurry

Coal gasification is a key processes for integrated and coal gasification combined cycle(IGCC power plant.
Being one of the most competitive and promising coal gasification technologies, the slurry feed type entrained flow
coal gasification process has been extensively studied in the foreign countries. Coal water slurry (CWS) is a mixture
of water and coal. First pulverize coal mix with water according to proper proportion. (Coal : water= (40 to 70) : (
60 to 30) and their add a little additive ( about 1% of the total soiled weight) , the coal water two phase flow is
formed after strong agitation. In an entrained –flow gasifer using coal-water slurry, it should be necessary to
uniformly mix the coal water slurry with oxygen to obtain the higher carbon conversion in short residence time (0.4
– 5 s). The proximate and ultimate analysis of the coal used in the preparation of the slurries are given in table1.

ISSN: 0975-5462 589

 C.M.Raguraman.et. al. / International Journal of Engineering Science and Technology
Vol. 2(4), 2010, 587-594

Table 1. Coal analysis details

Proximate analysis Weight basis in %

Moisture 6.64%
Ash 48.71%
Volatile matter 19.12%

Fixed Carbon 25.53%

Gross calorific value in Kcal/Kg. 3491

Ultimate analysis Weight basis in %

Carbon as C 34.53%
Hydrogen as H 1.81%
Nitrogen as N 1.05%
Sulphur as S 0.47%
Oxygen by difference 1.92%

Fig. 4 Coal gasification system [8]

Additive is the main factor of making CWS, which is also one of the key factors affecting CWS quality.
Usually additive dosage accounts for about 1% of the total. Based on function, additives can be used like dispersant
and stabilizing agent.. In this project, sodium carbonate and sodium salt of carboxymethyl cellulose (Na-CMC) is
used respectively. The best dosage of dispersant and stabilizers is 0.75% by wt. of solids and 0.1% by wt. from total
solids [9].

The concentration of coal slurry could be maintained from 40% to 70% which is enabling to feed into the
gasification without any feeding problem [7]. So that the concentration chosen are 40%, 50% and 60% and the coal
particle size is BSS 36(0.422mm) which is using for coal water slurry.

ISSN: 0975-5462 590

 C.M.Raguraman.et. al. / International Journal of Engineering Science and Technology
Vol. 2(4), 2010, 587-594

4. Design of Experiment using Taguchi method

The experiments were designed based on the orthogonal array technique. An orthogonal array is fractional
factorial design with pair wise balancing property. Using orthogonal array design the effects of multiple process
variables on the performance characteristic can be estimated simultaneously while minimizing the number of test
runs. Taguchi’s parameter design method is a powerful tool for optimizing the performance characteristic of a
process [11-12]. The aim of a parameter design experiment is to identify and design the settings of the process
parameters that optimize the chosen quality characteristic and are least sensitive to noise (uncontrollable) factors.
The selection of control factors and their levels are made on the basis of some preliminary trial experiments
conducted in the laboratory and also from literature review o the subject. Four control factors such as speed,
location, D/d ratio and concentration of the coal slurry are selected for this study. Each of the four control factors is
treated at three levels, as shown in table 2. The choice of three levels has been made because the effect of these
factors on the performance characteristic may vary nonlinearly. An L9 standard orthogonal array as shown in table
was employed for the present investigation.

4.1. Selection of variables and levels:

The variables and corresponding levels which mainly affect the heart transfer rate in jacketed vessel are
shown in table 2.
Table 2. Variables and levels

Levels
Sl.No Variables
I II III
1 Stirrer speed in rpm 100 200 300
2 Stirrer location from free surface in cm 27.5 55 82.5
3 D/d ratio 4.0 2.0 1.3
4 Slurry concentration in % 40 50 60

Table 3. Experimental arrays

Slurry
Stirrer speed in Stirrer location from
S.No D/d ratio concentration by
rpm free surface in mm
mass in %

1 100 27.5 4.0 40

2 100 55 2.0 50
3 100 82.5 1.3 60
4 200 27.5 2.0 60
5 200 55 1.3 40
6 200 82.5 4.0 50
7 300 27.5 1.3 50
8 300 55 4.0 60
9 300 82.5 2.0 40

The Taguchi approach can be utilized to arrive at the best parameter for the near optimum design
configuration with the least number of analytical investigation [10]. An L9 standard orthogonal array was employed
for the present investigation. But as per requirements, L7 is sufficient, but since there is no interaction affect in that
array, L9 is selected. The main variables A, B and C are assigned to columns 1, 2 and 3 respectively. All other
columns are kept dummy. As per L9 orthogonal array, the experimental arrays are shown in table 3.

ISSN: 0975-5462 591

 C.M.Raguraman.et. al. / International Journal of Engineering Science and Technology
Vol. 2(4), 2010, 587-594

4.2 Steps in Taguchi Analysis

After conducting the experiments, the following are the steps in analysis of results:

Evaluation of S/N ratio and Mean at different levels of variables

Formulation of ANOVA table

Interpretation by graph

Identification of Significant & Control variables

Optimization of parameters

5. Result and discussion

Experiments were carried out and the characteristics curves were drawn. Four curves are shown in fig. 9. It
is clear that all the variables namely stirrer speed, location, D/d ratio and concentration influence the overall heat
transfer co-efficient almost equal, but the speed of the stirrers has an edge over other three variables. The overall
heat transfer co-efficient has a decreasing trend with increasing the stirrer diameter. But next to stirrer speed, the
most affecting variables is D/d ratio for over all heat transfer co-efficient

ISSN: 0975-5462 592

 C.M.Raguraman.et. al. / International Journal of Engineering Science and Technology
Vol. 2(4), 2010, 587-594

Effect of S/N ratio on overall heat

1 100rpm, 2200rpm, 3300rpm 1 → 27.5mm, 2 → 55.0mm, 3 → 82.5mm.
Effect of S/N ratio on overall heat

transfer co-efficient
transfer co-efficient

Level of Design Variable (Speed) Level of Design Variable (Location)

Fig 5 Effect of different level on overall heat transfer co-efficient
Fig.6.Effect of different level on overall heat transfer co-efficient
for speed
for location

1 → 40%, 2 → 50%, 3 → 60%

Effect of S/N ratio on overall heat

1 → 4.0, 2 → 2.0 , 3 → 1.3
Effect of S/N ratio on overall
heat transfer co-efficient

Level of Design Variable (D/d ratio) transfer co-efficient

Level of Design Variable (Concentration)
Fig.7. Effect of different level on overall heat transfer co-efficient
Fig 8. Effect of different level on overall heat transfer co-efficient
for D/d ratio for concentration.

1 – Speed. 2 – Location. 3 – D/d ratio, 4 – Concentration

Effect of S/N ratio on overall heat
transfer co-efficient

Level of Design Variable

Fig.10. Percentage of contribution on each design variables
Fig.9. Effect of different level on overall heat transfer co-efficient
Overall heat transfer co-efficient.

ISSN: 0975-5462 593

 C.M.Raguraman.et. al. / International Journal of Engineering Science and Technology
Vol. 2(4), 2010, 587-594

Table 4. Optimum working conditions for flat blade

Optimum conditions
Variables
Optimum level Optimum value

Stirrer speed in rpm 3 300

Stirrer location from free surface in mm 2 55.0

D/d ratio 1 4.0

Slurry Concentration 2 50

From the table 4, the maximum value of overall heat transfer co-efficient is obtained when the stirrer speed
is 300rpm, location is 55.0mm, D/d ratio is 4.0 and slurry concentration is 50%. Finally the experimented value for
overall heat transfer co-efficient optimum level was found for this type of impeller as 258.23W/m2 K.
6. Conclusion
The purpose of the investigation is to determine the overall heat transfer co-efficient for stream augmented
flows in agitated vessels with flat blade impeller. The rate of heat transfer is influenced by a number of physical and
geometrical factors such as vessel configuration, impeller type and process fluid like slurry. The reliable selection,
design configuration and specifications of such equipment are based on the ability to predict the behavior of the
stirred material. The optimum condition for heat transfer from the surface of coal slurry were determined. The major
conclusions derived from the present work are
a) It is clear that all the four variable have almost equal effect on overall heat transfer co-efficient, vessel
side heat transfer co-efficient of coal slurry but the speed has an edge over the other variables in this types
of impeller.
b) The higher agitation rate increases the rate of heat transfer.
c) The work can be extended with some more types of stirrers like angled blade impeller, helical impeller,
trapezoidal type impeller etc., and also various slurries like char coal with water can be tested to get the
effect of material properties on heat transfer co-efficient.
d) The jacketed vessel was heated by waste steam from steam turbine. So the waste heat energy also utilized.
e) The Taguchi method can successfully be applied to heat transfer investigations to save energy, time and
material in experimentation.
7. Reference
[1] C.L.Rai, I.Devotta, P.G.Rao, Heat transfer to viscous Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids using helical ribbon agitator, Chemical
Engineering journal 79: 73-77, 2000.
[2] P.K.Biswas, S.C.Dev, K.M.Godiwalla, C.S.Sivaramakrishnan,Effect of some design parameters on the suspensions characteristics of a
mechanically agitated sand-water slurry system, Materials and design,20: 253-265, 1999.
[3] Gray JB, Oldshue JY, Mixing theory and practice, Vol.3, Academic press, Inc., 1986:16
[4] Halland Fa, Chapman FS, Liquid mixing and processing in stirred tank, Reinhold Publ. Corp. 1966.
[5] Joanna karcz, Fryderyk strek, Heat transfer in jacketed agitated vessels equipped with non-standard Bafles The chemical Engineering
journal,58: 135-143, 1995.
[6] Joanna karcz, Marta major, An effect of a Baffle length on the power consumption in an Agitated vessel, Chemical Engineering and
Processing, 37:249-256,1998.
[7] T. J. Park, J. H. Kim, J. G. Lee, J. C. Hong, Y. K. Kim, Y. C. Choi, Experimental studies on the characteristics of Entrained flow coal
gasifier,Energy conversion research department, korea Institute of energy research, Taejon, Koriea.
[8] Y.C.Choi, X.Y.Li, T.J.Park, J.H. Kim, J.G. Lee, Numerical study on the coal gasification characteristics in an entrained flow coal gasifier,
Fuel, 80: 2193-2201, 2001.
[9] Eisa S.Mosa, Abdel-hady M. Salch , Effect of chemical additives on flow characterstics of coal slurries, Physicochemical problem of
mineral processing, 42: 107-118, 2008.
[10] Prabir Kumar Chaulia, Reeta Das, Process parameter Optimization for Fly Ash Brick by Taguchi Method, Materials Research, vol.11, No.2,
159-164, 2008.
[11] Ealey Lance A., Quality by design Taguchi method and US industry, 2nd edition. Sidney: Irwin professional publish in and ASI Press: 1994,
P 189-207.
[12] Montgomery DC. Design and analysis of experiments. 4th edition. New York: John wiley publication, 1997.

ISSN: 0975-5462 594