The Agitator Stirrer is basically designed to agitate and mix several types of viscose liquids. Incidentally, convection being the dominant mechanism is consistent with the novel finding regarding blade width achieving better mixing. These mixers are manufactured with the highest quality materials. Thus, not only novel finding regarding the blade width for better mixing but also the development of an approach for identifying convective mixing in the ribbon mixer is presented herein. Thus, the swept volume measurement method is revealed as useful for identifying the mechanism as convection in the ribbon mixer. Moreover, this study shows that the relationship between the swept volume and mixing index remains, even if the paddle width changes. Through the sensitive analyses, the blade width is indicated as an important factor for achieving better mixing. Sensitivity analyses are performed to find an effective parameter for better mixing. A swept volume measurement approach due to paddle movement is newly developed to identify the main mixing mechanism as convection. In the current study, an identification approach is developed for convective mixing, and besides, the study explores an effective parameter for better mixing in the ribbon mixer using the DEM.
Significant improvements in computer hardware have enabled numerical models such as the discrete element method (DEM) to be positively employed in powder mixing. Numerical technologies represent a promising approach for solving the aforementioned problems. As such, there is a lack of sufficient discussion concerning the design for better mixing in the ribbon mixer. Additionally, experimental investigations to find the optimal design of the ribbon mixer have not been sufficiently conducted because of its prohibitive cost. At present, the mixing mechanism in the ribbon mixer is empirically identified as convection, despite a lack of precise assessment. This structure makes it difficult to understand the mixing mechanism by experimental approaches due to problems related to accurate sampling.
The structure of the ribbon mixer is extremely complicated. A ribbon mixer is often employed in powder mixing in a wide range of engineering fields.