A novel mixing index and its application in particle mixing behavior study in multiple-spouted bed

Experimental and Numerical Study of Computer Vision-Based Real-Time Monitoring of Polymeric Particle Mixing Process in Rotary Drum

In the drum mixing of particulate polymers, segregation may occur. By measuring the mixing status in real time, it is possible to implement corrective measures to prevent separation and improve the efficiency of the process. This study aims to develop and validate a real-time vision system designed to monitor the mixing process of polymeric particles in a rotary drum mixer, employing a novel centroid-based model for determining the mixing index. The proposed centroid-based model is capable of addressing the radial particle segregation issue without the need for extra image-processing procedures like image subdivision or pixel randomization. This innovative approach greatly improves computational efficiency by processing over 68 image frames per second. The new processing method is 2.8 times faster than the gray-level co-occurrence matrix method and 21.6 times faster than the Lacey index approach. This significantly improves real-time monitoring capabilities and enables real-time image processing using only affordable single-board computers and webcams. The proposed vision-based system for monitoring rotary drum mixing has undergone validation via cross-validation using discrete element method simulations, ensuring its accuracy and reliability.

A comprehensive review of the application of DEM in the investigation of batch solid mixers

Powder mixing is a vital operation in a wide range of industries, such as food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetics. Despite the common use of mixing systems in various industries, often due to the complex nature of mixing systems, the effects of operating and design parameters on the mixers’ performance and final blend are not fully known, and therefore optimal parameters are selected through experience or trial and error. Experimental and numerical techniques have been widely used to analyze mixing systems and to gain a detailed understanding of mixing processes. The limitations associated with experimental techniques, however, have made discrete element method (DEM) a valuable complementary tool to obtain comprehensive particle level information about mixing systems. In the present study, the fundamentals of solid-solid mixing, segregation, and characteristics of different types of batch solid mixers are briefly reviewed. Previously published papers related to the application of DEM in studying mixing quality and assessing the influence of operating and design parameters on the mixing performance of various batch mixing systems are summarized in detail. The challenges with regards to the DEM simulation of mixing systems, the available solutions to address those challenges and our recommendations for future simulations of solid mixing are also presented and discussed.

CFD-DEM simulation of particle coating process coupled with chemical reaction flow model

Particle coating process, one of the main methods to improve the particle properties, is widely used in industrial production and pharmaceutical industry. For the scale up and optimization of this process, a mechanistic and detailed study is needed or numerical simulation as an alternative way. Decomposition of substances usually involves multiple chemical reactions and produces multiple substances in the actual chemical reaction. In the study, a chemical reaction flow (CRF) model has been established based on kinetic mechanism of elementary reaction, the theory of molecular thermodynamics and the sweep theory. It was established with the comprehensive consideration of the decomposition of substances, deposition process, adhesion process, desorption process, hydrogen inhibition, and clearance effect. Then the CFD-DEM model was coupled with CRF model to simulate particle coating process by FB-CVD method, and the CFD-DEM-CRF coupling model was implemented in the software Fluent-EDEM with their user definition function (UDF) and application programming interface (API). The coating process in the spouted bed was analyzed in detail and the coating behavior under different conditions were compared at the aspects of CVD rate, coating efficiency, particle concentration distribution, particle mixing index and gas concentration distribution. It is found that the average CVD rate is 6.06 × 10−4 mg/s when the inlet gas velocity is 11 m/s and bed temperature is 1273 K, and simulation result agrees with the experimental result well. Average CVD rate and coating efficiency increase with temperature increasing, but decrease acutely with mass fraction of injected hydrogen increasing. The CFD-DEM-CRF coupling model can be developed as a basic model for investigating particle coating process in detail and depth and can provide some guidance for the operating conditions and parameters design of the spouted bed in the real coating process.

Fluorescence in the assessment of the share of a key component in the mixing of feed

This paper presents the results of the mixing of a multicomponent feed for cattle. Three types of mixtures with different proportions of individual components and granulometric composition were selected. After the mixing process, the fraction of the key component (tracer) was determined. Tracer consisted of crushed grains of yellow maize, which was wet treated with a 0.01% solution of Rhodamine B. A tracer with two different average particle sizes d1 = 2.0 mm and d2 = 1.25 mm was introduced into the mixture. Then, the sample was illuminated with UV light, and the content of the tracer in the sample was evaluated using the computer image analysis. In addition, the tracer was separated to determine its fraction using a laboratory scale. From the obtained results, the high reliability of the fluorescence optical method for the evaluation of the homogeneity of granular multicomponent mixtures was proved. It was also observed that slightly better results were obtained for a tracer with a larger average particle size (d = 2.0 mm), although the comparative analysis did not indicate a significant statistical difference in the results in each series of tests.

Comparison of Euler-Euler and Euler-Lagrange Approaches for Simulating Gas-Solid Flows in a Multiple-Spouted Bed

In this work, a comparative study of Euler-Euler and Euler-Lagrange approaches for modeling gas-solid flows in the multiple-spouted bed has been carried out to investigate the hydrodynamics of gas-solid flows. The influence of inlet gas velocity on the hydrodynamics of gas-solid flows in the multiple-spouted bed is investigated as well. Hydrodynamic characteristics of gas-solid flows such as flow behaviors, solid volume fraction, particle velocity and particle trajectory are analyzed and discussed in detail, providing some basic mechanism analysis of the gas-solids in the multiple-spouted bed. It is found that the central spout gas jet is a little confined by the auxiliary gas jets, and the hole-to-hole synergy is quite obvious when the auxiliary spout gas velocity is higher than the central spout gas velocity. When central/auxiliary gas velocity is 10/20 m/s, the maximum vertical particle velocities predicted by Euler-Euler and Euler-Lagrange approaches are 452 mm/s and 721 mm/s at the height of 10 mm respectively. A typical cycle period of a single particle is about 1.25 s, and the residence time in the spout regions is about 0.14 s in one cycle period in auxiliary dominant pattern. The curves of bed expansion height versus time calculated by Euler-Lagrange approach rise and fall periodically, while the curves calculated by Euler-Euler approach keep steady with little change. It is much easier for particles to be blew in the multiple-spouted bed using the Euler-Lagrange approach. The simulation results obtained from two models can provide some guidance for modifying the multiple-spouted bed to optimize physical operations such as drying and coating in the multiple-spouted bed.