The influence of changes in the technological parameters of the feed mixer on its performance

Abstract

To conduct effective animal husbandry and poultry farming, it is necessary to use compound feeds. To prepare them mainly vertical and horizontal mixers are used. With a small consumption of compound feed by the farm, its independent preparation will be the most profitable due to the reduction of time and costs for transportation and storage of finished mixtures. The use of the raw material base of an agricultural enterprise makes it possible to prepare compound feeds that most fully take into account the need of animals for nutrients. It is preferable to use horizontal mixers since they allow to obtain combined feeds with a higher uniformity of component distribution. Experimental studies were conducted in 2021-2022. As the result, there have been obtained mathematical models of the working process of a horizontal mixer, according to which two-dimensional response surfaces were constructed and optimal operating parameters were determined taking into account various design and technological factors. The best mixing quality of 94 % is achieved when the mixing chamber is loaded by 50 %, the rotation speed of the mixer shaft is 13 min-1, the mixing time is 18 minutes. The throughput value reaches the highest value of 2.3 t/h with the amount of material in the mixing chamber of 75 % and the working time of the mixer of 12 minutes, while the rotation speed of the shaft of the combined screw is 17.2 min-1. This allows to reduce labor and energy costs for the development and manufacture of new mixers with belt working bodies and to obtain high-quality feed with minimal costs.