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Hydrodynamic analysis of a banbury mixer 2‐D flow simulations for the entire mixing chamber
Author(s) -
Cheng JingJy,
ManasZloczower Ica
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
polymer engineering and science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.503
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1548-2634
pISSN - 0032-3888
DOI - 10.1002/pen.760291512
Subject(s) - streamlines, streaklines, and pathlines , mechanics , mixing (physics) , flow (mathematics) , materials science , transient (computer programming) , fluid dynamics , pressure drop , rheology , work (physics) , position (finance) , static mixer , mechanical engineering , physics , engineering , composite material , computer science , turbulence , finance , economics , operating system , quantum mechanics
Banbury mixers are widely used in polymer processing. The mechanics of flow in the chamber of an internal mixer are complex and difficult to analyze due to the complicated geometry and the highly transient character of the flow. For this work, a fluid dynamics analysis package—FIDAP, using the finite element method, was implemented to simulate the flow patterns for a Banbury B mixer. A 2‐D flow analysis was carried out for the whole mixing chamber with two counter‐rotating rotors. A power‐law model fluid was used to characterize the rheological behavior of the mixture. 18 different geometries were selected to represent the relative position of the two rotors during their revolution. Streamlines and pressure contours were plotted for each geometry. Transient pressure profiles at fixed locations in the chamber wall were compared with experimental data. The comparison shows good agreement between theoretical predictions and experimental observations.