Baffle Principles

Considering baffles for turbulent agitation

Baffles are obstructing vertical arranged vanes or elongated plates inside the vessel needed to stop the radial swirl inside the fermenter and convert the rotational flow to axial mixing. Without baffles, the tangential velocities coming from any turbine(s) causes the entire fluid mass to spin creating a central vortex. Baffles, so to speak, increase the friction to the vessel inner wall surface. BactoVessel baffles are straight flat plates vertically and perpendicular oriented close to the inner side of the vessel attached to and extending from the bottom up to above liquid surface. 

Number of baffles in BactoVessel range from 3 to 6 depending on the fermenter diameter. The baffle width (B1) is typically T/10 - T/12 of the vessel inner diameter (T1). Baffles are located with a minimum distance of T/72 – T/50 from the wall.