Investigation of Radial Mixing Dynamics and Saturation Effect in Stirred Brown Rice Granular Systems Using Discrete...

Area of Science:

• Food Engineering
• Particle Technology
• Computational Fluid Dynamics

Background:

• Spray mixing is crucial for rice and food processing, with radial distribution uniformity as a key performance indicator.
• Variations in brown rice particle migration at constant stirring speeds suggest poorly understood mechanisms influencing mixing.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of stirring-shaft speed on radial particle mixing in spray mixers.
• To identify optimal operating parameters for improved mixing uniformity and particle diffusion.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the discrete element method (DEM) for numerical simulation of particle motion.
• Validated the DEM model against experimental data for particle volume proportions and power consumption.

Main Results:

• Identified a critical stirring-shaft speed of 20 rpm for optimal brown rice mixing.
• Mixing uniformity improved with speed below 20 rpm; above this, improvements were marginal.
• Particle diffusion capacity increased with stirring-shaft speed across all radial regions.

Conclusions:

• Optimal stirring-shaft speed enhances mixing homogeneity and particle diffusion in spray mixers.
• Findings provide theoretical guidance for designing and parameterizing brown rice spray mixing equipment.