The influence of design and processing parameters on the mixing performance of a fluted mixer

Abstract

In this paper, the mixing efficiency of two slightly different fluted mixing elements is studied. RGB spectral analysis is used for the quantification of the mixing. The overall mixing appears to be equal after sufficient mixing time. The mixer without the wiping flight, however, creates a stagnation layer of material which rotates between the mixer and the barrel. This layer is characterized by a long residence time. The residence time of the layer is twice as long as for a mixer with the wiping flight. The long residence time is again measured by RGB spectral analysis and also visualized in the video. The results of a 3D FEM simulation shows that the mass flow rate of the stagnation layer represents almost 50% of the total mass flow rate.