Mixing Performance Analysis of a Planetary Concrete Mixer

Abstract

In this research, the discrete element method is employed to study the mixing performance of a 1m3 capacity planetary concrete mixer. The performance was evaluated based on the homogeneity of granular particle mixing and the scanning of the mixer’s inside by the gyrational and planetary mixing blades. The granular particle mixing was realized by applying the Hertz-Mindlin contact law, constant directional torque, and the Simplified Johnson-Kendall-Roberts (SJKR) models using open-source software. Furthermore, analytical formulations for the trajectories of mixing blades were developed and implemented in MATLAB. The trajectories were plotted at various time intervals, and it was observed that the entire mixer was fully scanned in approximately 30 seconds. Finally, numerical and analytical results were compared to verify the findings.