Effect of the Mixer Design Parameters on the Performance of a Twin Paddle Blender: A DEM Study

Abstract

The design parameters of a mixing system have a major impact on the quality of the final product. Therefore, identifying the optimum parameters of mixing systems is highly relevant to various industrial processes dealing with particulate flows. However, the studies on the influences of the mixer’s design features are still insufficient. In this study, the Discrete Element Method (DEM) is used to examine the impact of paddle angle, width, and gap on the mixing performance of a twin paddle blender. The mixing performance and particle flow are assessed using the relative standard deviation (RSD) mixing index, velocity field, diffusivity coefficient, granular temperature, the force acting on particles, and the mixer’s power consumption. The mixing performance is highest for a paddle angle of 0° at the cost of the highest forces acting on particles. The paddle width is indicated as a critical factor for achieving better mixing quality. In contrast, the powder mixing efficiency and the mixer’s power consumption are not significantly affected by the paddle gap. The results regarding the power consumption denote that the mixer using the paddle angle of 60° has the minimum power consumption. Moreover, increasing the paddle width results in the enhancement of the mixer’s power consumption.