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A Novel Approach To Quantify Scale Thickness and Distribution in Stirred Vessels
journal contribution
posted on 2017-11-15, 00:00 authored by Meysam Davoody, Lachlan J.W. Graham, Jie Wu, Inju Youn, Abdul Aziz Abdul Raman, Rajarathinam ParthasarathyA novel
approach is proposed for the numerical evaluation of scale
thickness and its distribution in a mixing tank. Whereas a majority
of the available literature on scale buildup focuses on the application
of chemical antiscalants, few works have been devoted to the prevention
of scale formation through the proper design and operation of stirred
vessels. The methodology proposed in the current study consists of
two major phases: (1) identifying an accelerated process to grow scales
on the walls of a laboratory reactor and (2) analyzing the grown scale
physically. These objectives were achieved through the fabrication
of a reactor that could be disassembled and the scanning of the reactor’s
surface using a coordinate measuring machine (CMM). The proposed approach
was used to study the effects of liquid flow velocity and experiment
duration on the patterns of scale formed both qualitatively and quantitatively.