Suzanne M. Kresta, Ph.D. (McMaster, 1992), P.Eng Professor  584A Chemical and Materials Engineering Building (780) 492-9221 Fax: (780) 492-2881 Suzanne.Kresta@UAlberta.ca

Research Areas: turbulent mixing, characterization of turbulence, CFD

My research program is centered around turbulent mixing.The mixing unit operation is far broader than the classical "well mixed" continuous stirred tank reactor, and is present in most chemical processes. Successful design of mixing equipment requires first that the critical process result be clearly identified. Once this is done, the underlying physical requirements are used to design and scale the equipment. In our group, we are particularly interested in the turbulent fluid mechanics driving most mixing equipment. We use these findings to define better design and rating methods for mixing equipment by relating the turbulent fluid mechanics to important process results. We also use the important characteristics of the flow to validate engineering protocols for the use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD). We have applied our findings to applications ranging from polymerization reactors, suspension of catalyst in slurry reactors, crystallization, and water treatment, to mineral processing, production of photographic chemicals, and agrichemicals.

Recent Publications:

1. Bhattacharya, Sujit and Suzanne M. Kresta, 2002, Simulations of the Three Dimensional Wall Jets in Stirred Tanks, in press, Can. J. Chem. Eng.
   
2. Chapple, D., S.M. Kresta, A. Wall and A. Afacan, 2002, The Effect of Impeller and Tank Geometry on Power Number for a Pitched Bladed Turbine, Trans. I. Chem. E. Part A (Chem. Eng. Res. Des.), 80, 364-372.
   
3. Kresta, Suzanne M., Kevin J. Bittorf and David J. Wilson, 2001, Internal Annular Wall Jets: Radial Flow in a Stirred Tank, AIChE Journal, 47, 2390-2401.
   
4. Bittorf, K.J. and Suzanne M. Kresta, 2001, Three Dimensional Wall Jets: Axial Flow in a Stirred Tank, AIChE Journal, 47, 1277-1284.
   
5. Roussinova, V., B. Grgic and Suzanne M. Kresta, 2000, Study of Macro-Instabilities in Stirred Tanks using a Velocity Decomposition Technique, Chem. Eng. Res. Des., 78, 1040-1052.
   
6. Bittorf, K.J. and Suzanne M. Kresta, 2000, Active Volume of Mean Circulation for Stirred Tanks Agitated with Axial Impellers, Chem. Eng. Sci., 55, 1325-1336.