Tips for Choosing Mixing Software for Beginners

Some mixing simulation packages in the market are vital for use and over 90% of these are based on computational fluid dynamics and finite elements. The main idea of this kind of software is to use a pure mathematical result, such as by mathematical solution or differential equation; then, you are able to know the flow velocity anywhere in the tank. From this can be calculated parameters that can be used to generate a description of the mixing in the tank.

The mixing software that we provide, VisiMix, is based on a different kind of approach. We are chemical engineers that want to generate the numbers that will be useful for process and chemical engineers. The main idea is to give the engineer these numbers in order to have a successful project by generating good quality, good operation, and good equipment design.
Other kinds of software are based only on empirical data; that is, they have many kinds of equations and some correlations that are very limited regarding the range of work they can generate. So we are in the middle between them . We can witness the momentum balance to know the flow velocity using the mathematical approach, whereas we use empirical data to generate a number with high confidence and relevancy.

We need to take care when choosing the software that it will be relevant , accessible and reliable. First, we need to consider whether the software will be relevant for our use. If we use a mathematical package that is only theoretically based and we are in the industry, then it will not provide a relevant solution. If we’re using software that is only empirically based using correlations, then you may also be limited. Therefore, the software must be relevant also to the industrial environment and for a wide range of work. Whether laminar or turbulent, you will be able to calculate the main mixing parameters. Based on it the specific parameters about reaction, crystallization, fermentations, gas/liquid interaction, liquid/liquid interaction, two liquids that are not miscible, or solid/liquid interaction, and even instability of the mechanical parts of the shaft and they’ll be avoiding troubles. This is the main point, the first point, one of the main points that will be relevant.
Second, the software should be accessible to everyone and not require any further coding; that is, it is ready to use in a very simple way. The software should ask you for the minimum data required to calculate the mixing parameters relevant to your process. So, we talked about the second point is about the accessibility of the software, that should be in correspondence to your industry.
The third point is reliability. Reliability is some compromise between the capability to generate fast results in order to experiment with different options in a fast and simple way while not to be enough sensitive to represent the phenomena in a good way. So, this is the variability; the capability to release numbers that would be enough relevant and sensitive for different kinds of scenarios that you would like to evaluate, and generate the relevant results . This compromise between the results and the fast response of the software is critical for the user because it should be sufficiently fast to enable you to react swiftly to questions from the production or management team.

In summary, we have covered three points. These three points are relevant to a range of activities. And the main idea is to provide software for people working in the industry that can generate the process or the equipment, or be sure that the operation will be acceptable in order to progress with a product successfully.