What is the baffle？
Baffles are the 2-6 peaces of plates that are fixed on the tank wall by welding etc.
When you operate the agitator which is center-installed without baffles,the liquid stream are formed circling along the tank wall as following picture.
We call it corotation which doesn’t mix top-bottom liquid.
When the mixing purpose is to disperse materials of which density are different,
baffles are not necessary.
However, when the purposes are uniform mixing or mixture, baffles are necessary.
Baffles can make the top-bottom stream and increase mixing efficiency.
Now, which are mixed better?
There Many customers misunderstand that ‘the tank without baffles looks better on mixing’.
Why does it look like this? The answer is that the surface of the water without baffles is moving strongly, which mislead us that it is performing the strong mixing.
Now, let’s check the effect of the baffles. We prepare the transparent tank with suspended matter to see how the streams are formed.
Click here for mixng movie of baffles version
Click here for mixng movie of using baffles version
What do you think?
In the tank without baffles, vortex is formed and mixing looks better.
On the other hands, in the tank with baffles, it looks quiet.
However, you will notice the difference of each flow of suspended matter.
Without baffles, the stream is formed just circling along the tank wall. (unidirectional flow)
With baffles, the stream goes up and down, which means baffles make turbulent flow.
The turbulent flow is very important for mixing.
Another useful way instead of baffles?
In case, you cannot fix baffles for some reasons, ‘decentering installation’ is useful way instead of baffles.
If you shift the agitator’s installation position a little from center,
you can make the turbulent flow.
