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NUMERICAL INVESTIGATIONS OF THE EFFECT OF FILL FACTOR IN AN INTERNAL MIXER FOR TIRE MANUFACTURING PROCESS

Dhakal, Pashupati
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=akron1466964421

Abstract Details

2016, Master of Science in Engineering, University of Akron, Mechanical Engineering.
Mixing is a complex process in manufacturing where all the component ingredients are brought together by moving rotors in a closed chamber. Understanding mixing is very important in terms of evaluating the efficiency of the mixer and effect of various operating parameters such as rotor speed, ram pressure, temperature,fill factor, etc. With the physical mixing process always being partially filled, it is very important to determine the effect of fill factor and the best-operating fill ratio that yields the highest throughput. Mixing also controls the physical, chemical and mechanical properties required for downstream processing. Researches on the complex mixing process are not only limited to increase the productivity of the system but also to improve the quality of product and repeatability of the operation. Availability of modern high-performance computing resources and accurate mathematical models makes computational fluid dynamics (CFD) an important and necessary tool in understanding some of the complex physical and chemical phenomena associated with such industrial manufacturing problems. This research presents the calculation of various flow properties to determine the dispersive and distributive mixing in an internal mixer. Flow characteristics are calculated in terms of the velocity field and pressure distribution inside the chamber. Similarly, massless particles have been injected into the flow domain and the statistics of those particles have been used for determining the distributive and dispersive mixing characteristics for the various set of operating parameter. For simplicity, this study is conducted on the isothermal system where the viscous heat generation resulting temperature variation is assumed to be negligible. A series of 2D and 3D CFD simulations are carried out in a mixing chamber with various fill factors stirred by counter-rotating rotors. The Volume of Fluid (VOF) method has been used for capturing the interface between the rubber and air in partially filled isothermal simulations. Mixing quantities such as length of stretch, cluster distribution index, and segregation scale have been calculated for assessing distributive mixing. Dispersive mixing characteristics are assessed based on the history of shear stress experienced by each particle throughout the entire mixing cycle.
Abhilash J. Chandy, Dr. (Advisor)
Jae-Won Choi, Dr. (Committee Member)
Siamak Farhad, Dr. (Committee Member)
96 p.
Mechanical Engineering
Internal mixer, 2-wing rotor, rubber mixing, dispersive mixing, distributive mixing, particle statistics

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Citations

  • Dhakal, P. (2016). NUMERICAL INVESTIGATIONS OF THE EFFECT OF FILL FACTOR IN AN INTERNAL MIXER FOR TIRE MANUFACTURING PROCESS [Master's thesis, University of Akron]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=akron1466964421

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Dhakal, Pashupati. NUMERICAL INVESTIGATIONS OF THE EFFECT OF FILL FACTOR IN AN INTERNAL MIXER FOR TIRE MANUFACTURING PROCESS. 2016. University of Akron, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=akron1466964421.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Dhakal, Pashupati. "NUMERICAL INVESTIGATIONS OF THE EFFECT OF FILL FACTOR IN AN INTERNAL MIXER FOR TIRE MANUFACTURING PROCESS." Master's thesis, University of Akron, 2016. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=akron1466964421

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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This open access ETD is published by University of Akron and OhioLINK.