Control of the mixing time in vessels agitated by submerged recirculating jets

Submerged recirculating jet mixing systems are an efficient and economical method of agitating large tanks with a high hydraulic residence time. Much work has been carried out in developing design correlations to aid the predictions of the mixing time in such systems, with the first such correlation being developed nearly 70 years ago. In most of these correlations, the mixing time depends directly on the volume of the vessel and inversely on the injection velocity of the submerged jet. This work demonstrates, for the first time, that the distance between the injection and suction nozzles also significantly affects the mixing time and can be used to control this time scale. The study introduces a non-dimensional quantity that can be used as an adjustable parameter in systems where such control is desired.