Tuning of Mixing Zone Parameters in a Dynamic Mixer and Performance Comparison with Screw-Based Mixers

A new dynamic mixer has been designed for the mixing of two polymer melts. Three main design parameters (number of circles of holes N, number of holes Mper circle, and diameter of the holes d3) for the mixing zone of the dynamic mixer were selected to study their influences on the pressure drop & UDelta;p and the segregation scale S using Taguchi orthogonal arrays method. The influences of flow rate and rotational speed were also investigated. In addition, the melt mixing quality was compared with that of screw-based and slotted-screw mixers. The results showed that the most significant factor influencing S and S & BULL;& UDelta;p is N. Both & UDelta;p and S increased with increasing flow rate, and decreased with increasing rotational speed. Compared to the screw-based and slotted-screw mixers, the dynamic mixer had a uniform melt mixing quality and shorter length.