Vibration of the mixing impellers used in polymer production reactors

聚合物是加拿大工业的一种有价值的出口商品，为我们的天然石油资源增加了价值。聚合物生产也是一个竞争激烈的行业，需要高度的可靠性和工艺设备操作的最小不确定性。在高压和高温下将原料与催化剂混合的反应器是生产过程的关键组成部分。目前的拨款申请建议与Nova Chemicals合作进行研究，研究混合叶轮的振动，这是反应器的重要组成部分。研究目标包括开发一种降阶转子动态计算机仿真工具，该工具使用实验和LES CFD建模相结合的方法进行改进，可以预测混合叶轮的振动幅度、频率和稳定性极限。这种工程工具的可用性将有助于维护计划和故障诊断。

Polymers are a valuable export commodity for Canadian industry that adds value to our natural petroleum resources. Polymer production is also a competitive industry that requires a high degree of reliability and a minimum of uncertainty in the operation of process equipment. The reactors that mix the feedstock with catalyst at high pressure and temperature are key components of the production process. The present grant application proposes to conduct research in collaboration with Nova Chemicals into the vibration of the mixing impellers that are an essential component of the reactor. The research objectives include the development of a reduced order rotor-dynamic computer simulation tool, refined using a combination of experiment and LES CFD modelling, that permits the prediction of mixing impeller vibration amplitude, frequency, and stability limits. The availability of such an engineering tool would facilitate maintenance planning and failure diagnosis.