Vortex Shear-Mixer

The Alfa Laval Vortex Shear-Mixer is a unique high-performance Venturi eductor designed for demanding slurry mixing applications. These include oil and gas drilling fluid mixing, construction material production, chemical production, mining, sugar solution mixing, brine mixing, cosmetics, paint pigment mixing, metal processing, plastic production, and more.

Simple, effective mixing solution

Robust design, no moving parts and easy to replace inserts
Superior additive loading rates for solids, liquids and gas
Dynamically shears additives into fluid
Handles hard-to-mix additives such as clays, polymers and guar
Prevents clumps, fish eyes, and microgels

The Alfa Laval Vortex Shear-Mixer has no motorized or rotating components. It relies on vacuum and dynamic shear generated by its unique nozzle to rapidly introduce and mix additives into fluids. With its higher loading rates and advanced mixing, it outperforms traditional Venturi eductors and is highly resistant to plugging and downtime.

How it works

Working principle of the shear-mixer

Fluid is pumped at a high rate into the inlet of the Alfa Laval Vortex Shear-Mixer where pressure builds behind the Lobestar Mixing Nozzle®. The fluid’s velocity spikes as it passes through the nozzle, and the resulting pressure drop creates a near perfect vacuum for optimum additive loading. The Lobestar Mixing Nozzle® produces a unique jet stream that has a dual impact.

First, it dynamically shears the fluid to ensure rapid hydration and uniform dispersion of the additives. Secondly, it promotes a highly energized fluid boundary layer, which when combined with the effect of the Shear-Mixer's specialized Venturi/diffuser tube, minimizes the impact of pressure loss in the downstream piping and increases the distance and elevation at which the mixed slurry can be delivered and discharged. Generally, the Shear-Mixer can be utilized in any application where the motive fluid can be handled by a centrifugal pump.

Learn more by downloading the product leaflets

Shear-Mixer Basic product leaflet

Shear-Mixer BBS product leaflet

Shear-Mixer Tier 2 product leaflet

Shear-Mixer Tier 3 product leaflet

Basic equipment

The Alfa Laval Vortex Shear-Mixer consists of a single or dual suction port Lobestar mixing eductor with a radial pre-mixer.

The basic configuration includes a heavy duty, stainless steel, parabolic, table top hopper with support legs. The entire assembly is mounted on a skid base for easy transport and placement, and the standard inlet and discharge connections are grooved end piping with grooved style couplings.

The features that makes the difference

Lobestar

Accelerated mixing with dynamic shearing

Unique nozzle design creates high vacuum, dynamic shearing and reduces plugging.

LiquidLock

Minimized air entrainment

Vortex action creates a liquid buffer, inhibiting air entrainment.

Customer feedback

A technical consultant for leading drilling fluids company said;

“The Vortex Shear-Mixer is on many current applications that we are involved, aside from mixing chemicals, it is configured to mix barite and gel as fast as the rig can deliver the bulk to the mixing device.

The shear is excellent and is easily better than competing mixing units. I have the data on competing mixers, but after learning their system, they have nothing superior to the devices we currently employ through Alfa Laval Vortex. In fact, some of the features of the Vortex Shear-Mixer are more flexible than other shearing devices that (our company) has used in the past."