陈深, 张陆阳, 俞建峰, 钱陈豪, 化春键
江南大学 机械工程学院,江苏省食品先进制造装备技术重点实验室,江苏 无锡 214122
引用格式:
陈深,张陆阳,俞建峰,等.基于EDEM的滚筒式混合机的设计与仿真[J]. 中国粉体技术, 2026, 32(3):1-10.
CHEN Shen, ZHANG Luyang, YU Jianfeng, et al. Design and simulation of drum‑type mixer based on EDEM[J]. China Powder Science and Technology, 2026, 32(3): 1-10.
DOI:10.13732/j.issn.1008-5548.2026.03.002
收稿日期:2025-04-25,修回日期:2025-07-10,上线日期:2025-09-30。
基金项目: 国家自然科学基金项目,编号:51905215;江苏省研究生科研与实践创新计划项目,编号:KYCX23_2553;江苏省食品先进制造装备技术重点实验室自主研究课题资助项目,编号:FMZ202302。
第一作者简介:陈深(2001—),男,硕士生,研究方向为粉体智能装备。E-mail:1290593895@qq.com。
通信作者简介:俞建峰(1974—),男,教授,博士,博士生导师,研究方向为粉体智能装备。E-mail:robotmcu@126.com。
摘要:【目的】为了解决聚丙烯(polypropylene,PP)和尼龙6(polyamide6,PA6)颗粒在滚筒式混合机中混合不均的问题,寻找最佳的结构参数。【方法】分析滚筒式混合机的混合机制,建立滚筒式混合机的三维模型,采用离散元法(discrete element method,DEM)分析PP和PA6 2种颗粒在不同对数带状条、不同高度带状条、不同角度带状条下的滚筒式混合机中的混合效果,通过Lacey算法计算出混合过程中混合均匀度的变化趋势;通过三水平三因素正交实验确定最佳的结构参数。【结果】在带状条对数不同时,随着带状条对数的增加,混合指数先增大后减小,3对带状条的混合效果最好,混合指数为0.884 1;在带状条高度不同时,混合指数随着带状条高度的增加而增大,但混合指数增加的幅度逐渐变小,带状条高度为3 cm时的混合效果最好,混合指数为0.904 5;在带状条角度不同时,混合指数随着带状条角度的增加而增加,但混合指数增加的幅度逐渐变小,带状条角度为50°的混合效果最好,混合指数为0.827 6。【结论】增加带状条对数会提升颗粒的混合指数,混合指数随着带状条对数的增加而先增大后减小。随着带状条高度增加,颗粒的混合指数增加,混合指数随着带状条高度的增加而增加,同时混合指数增加的幅度逐渐变小。
关键词:滚筒式混合机; 颗粒混合; 混合均匀度; 离散元法
Abstract
Objective Particle mixing technology is widely applied in industrial processes across various sectors,including steel, energy, food, pharmaceuticals, chemical engineering, mining, and ceramics. Mixing refers to the process in which two or more materials of different properties are forced into each other’s spatial domains under external forces. The velocity, direction, and position of each particle constantly change, resulting in a new particle distribution and uniform dispersion of various particle types throughout the entire volume and local regions. To meet industrial needs, different types of particles are often blended to improve material performance. Polypropylene (PP) is one of the most widely used plastic particles, but it has low thermal resistance and poor toughness. In industrial applications, nylon 6 (PA6) is often added to PP particles to improve toughness. The mixing of PP and PA6 particles usually requires advanced mixing equipment. Due to differences in working principles, drum geometry, operating modes,and mixing methods, the particle motion patterns and mixing time vary significantly among different mixers. Drum-type mixers are widely used due to their simple structure, reliable performance, and high throughput. Therefore, drum-type mixers are well suited for mixing PP and PA6 particles. This paper aims to address the problem of uneven mixing of PP and PA6 particles in drum-type mixers and to identify the optimal structural parameters.
Method The mixing model of the drum-type mixer was analyzed, and the mechanical model of the particles was also examined. A three-dimensional model of the drum-type mixer was established using the Discrete Element Method (DEM). In the EDEM software, material parameters for PA6 and PP particles were set. Under a rotational speed of 40 rpm and counterclockwise rotation, the mixing process of 3 kg of PA6 particles and 1 kg of PP particles was simulated. The mixing performance of the two types of plastic particles under striped structures with different numbers of layers, heights, and angles was analyzed, along with the mixing state of the particles at different time intervals. The number of particles in each grid cell at every time step was exported from EDEM, and MATLAB was used to calculate the Lacey mixing index. This allowed for an analysis of the variation in mixing uniformity throughout the mixing process. Finally, three-level and three-factor orthogonal experiments were conducted to determine the optimal structural parameters, and the simulation accuracy was validated by experimental data.
Results and Discussion The analysis results indicated that the mixing process in the drum-type mixer exhibited distinct characteristics at different stages. In the initial stage, the mixing index increased rapidly; in the intermediate stage, the rate of increase slowed down; and in the final stage, the index gradually stabilized. The number of pairs, height and angle of the band-shaped strips had different effects on the mixing index. The mixing effect of the three pairs of band-shaped strips is higher than that of other pairs, and the mixing index is 0.884 1. When the logarithm of the band-shaped strips exceeds three pairs, the mixing index will decrease instead. The mixing effect of the band-shaped strips with a height of 3 cm is higher than that of other heights, and the mixing index is 0.904 5. The mixing index increases with the increase in the height of the band-shaped strips, but the increase amplitude gradually decreases. The mixing effect of the band-shaped strips with an angle of 50° is higher than that of other angles, and the mixing index is 0.827 6. As the angle of the band-shaped strips increases, the mixing index of the particles increases, but the increase amplitude gradually decreases.
Conclusion A three-level, three-factor experimental design was conducted using the different number of pairs, height, and angle of the band-shaped strips as factors, with the mixing index as the evaluation metric. By analyzing the 9 sets of experimental results obtained from the orthogonal experiment, it was found that the influence of different factors on the mixing index, from greatest to least, is the height of the banded strips, the number of banded strips, and the angle of the banded strips. When the number of band-shaped strip pairs was 3, the strip height was 3 cm, and the strip angle was 35°, the best mixing performance of the drum-type mixer reached 0.908 6, with a simulation-to-experiment error of 4.297%.
Keywords: drum-type mixer; particle mixing; mixing uniformity; discrete element method
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