Get to know here how to calculate the tip speed of a rotating equipment, here an agitator of a mixer but it could be any kind of impeller, why it is important and access to a free Excel calculator to calculate the tip speed.

1. How to calculate the tip speed of a mixing tool ?

What is the agitator tip speed ?

The tip speed of the mixer's agitator - sometimes also called mixing tool - is the velocity at which travels the outer part of the agitator and can be calculated the following way :

Equation 1 : Tip Speed calculation formula

With :
- R is the radius of the mixing tool (center of shaft to tip of paddle) in m
- n is the mixing speed in rpm

The same formula can be used for any impeller, propeller, agitator found in several process industries, such as rapid mixer granulators.

2. Why calculating the tip speed ?

Why is the tip speed important ?

The tip speed of a dry mixer is a very important data to determine the mixing regime thanks to the Froude Number but also to verify that the agitator speed is not exceeding 1 m/s whenever the mixture in its explosivity range (ATEX), typically when loading and discharging the mixer. The mixer speed in rpm at which the tip speed equals 1 m/s is called the ATEX speed of the mixer.

3. Tip speed calculator

How to calculate the tip speed ?

You can access and download a Free Excel calculator to calculate the tip speed of an agitator, for example of a dry mixer : tip speed calculation tool