The Influence of Parabolic Static Mixers on the Mixing Performance of Heavy Oil Dilution

The static mixer is one of the key equipment for dilution transportation of heavy oil. To enhance the mixing performance of heavy oil dilution, a static mixer featuring a parabolic blade has been developed through an innovative redesign of the traditional Kenics blade. Numerical simulations of the parabolic static mixer were conducted using Fluent 2022 R1 software. The coefficients of concentration variation (COV) and pressure drop (∆P) served as evaluation indexes, and the effects of parabolic focal length (P), torsion angle (α), and length–diameter ratio (Ar) of the mixing blade on mixing performance were thoroughly analyzed. The research indicates that setting the mixing blade parameters to P = 60, α = 180°, and Ar = 1.5 results in improved mixing performance compared to the traditional Kenics static mixer, achieving a COV of 0.036, which signifies nearly complete mixing of heavy oil and light oil. As parabolic P increases, ∆P exhibits a decreasing trend, while the COV begins to show a significant difference at the outlet of the third mixing blade. As α increases, ∆P rises, while the COV decreases. A decrease in Ar causes ∆P to increase sharply. Although heavy oil and light oil can mix rapidly over a short distance, their influence on the final mixing effect is relatively minor. This study offers significant theoretical insights and practical implications for high-efficiency heavy oil dilution transportation technology.