BACKGROUND
Nowadays, orbitally shaken bioreactors (OSRs) show promising application in mammalian cell cultivation. Designing a suitable vessel geometry for cell culture is an important issue in the research on bioreactors.
RESULTS
A three‐dimensional computational fluid dynamic (CFD) model was established to evaluate the performance of a hollow OSR we proposed. The CFD model was validated by comparing the simulated and experimental liquid wave heights. The fluid velocity distribution verified that the hollow cylinder wall could improve the mixing efficiency due to the vanishing of central‐low velocity region. Furthermore, the volumetric oxygen transfer coefficient (kLa) and shear stress were investigated in the hollow OSR at different values of the inner diameter compared to the outer diameter (di/d).
CONCLUSION
To achieve a high level of mixing, a higher value of di/d is more preferable but too high a value of di/d has a risk of low mixing. To achieve high oxygen transfer rate and low shear stress, the value of di/d should be kept lower. For all the cases studied, the hydrodynamic stress in the hollow OSRs was moderate for mammalian cell cultivation. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry