Dynamical compartments in stirred tank reactors and Markov state modeling for mixing quantification: a transfer operator approach
Fluid Dynamics
2026-03-17 v1 Dynamical Systems
Abstract
Identifying coherent flow structures in chemical reactors is crucial for understanding the mixing dynamics, which is essential for optimizing reactor performance. We demonstrate the use of a transfer operator method to find coherent flow structures such as almost-invariant sets and coherent sets, which are characterized by minimal mixing with the surrounding fluid, in a lab-scaled stirred tank reactor using both simulated and experimental Lagrangian trajectory data. The proposed method further enables a detailed analysis of the mixing behavior by computing expected residence times and mixing times. Additionally, a Markov-state-model describes the macroscopic transport dynamics between compartments in the reactor.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2603.13996,
title = {Dynamical compartments in stirred tank reactors and Markov state modeling for mixing quantification: a transfer operator approach},
author = {Anna Klünker and Thanh Tung Thai and Eike Steuwe and Christian Weiland and Yvonne Schade and Alexandra von Kameke and Kathrin Padberg-Gehle},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2603.13996},
year = {2026}
}