COMPARISON OF 4-FLIGHTED AND 2-FLIGHTED INTERNAL MIXER ROTORS USING CYLINDRICAL COORDINATE HYDRODYNAMIC LUBRICATION THEORY

Internal mixers have played a key role in the polymer industry. Internal mixers with four-flighted rotors are attracting more and more attention today. In this paper, we apply a new model based on cylindrical coordinate hydrodynamic lubrication theory for internal mixers to various rotor designs. Numerical techniques were used to carry out the calculations of the pressure field, mean flux field, and various mixing characteristic parameters. Comparisons were made for both four-flighted and two-flighted rotor designs. This was done assuming a fully filled mixing chamber. The simulation effort is important for the understanding of mixing mechanisms in internal mixers and to provide a basis for the rational design of internal mixers.