Partially filled flow simulation based on particle method of high-viscosity fluid in mixer

In the development of mixers and extruders, it is important to grasp the fluid flow inside the machines, and three-dimensional flow analysis is being increasingly applied. There, however, are not many studies on the partially filled flow of high-viscosity fluid. Hence, this study focuses on the particle method, a common method for analyzing free surfaces, to improve its accuracy. The Element-free Galerkin method (EFGM), which is known to have high accuracy in the calculation of rotating motions, has been used with our newly devised technique (rearrangement) to prevent particle spacing to become uneven. The comparison between the analysis results and experimental results has revealed the possibility of quantitative analysis based on this technique. This method is expected to be applied to the elucidation of mixing mechanism. © 2018 Kobe Steel Ltd. All rights reserved.