Mixing efficiency in a pin mixing section for single-screw extruders

Non-Newtonian, non-isothermal 3D finite-element simulation of mixing performance in a pin mixing section with different axial gaps in the pins has been carried out according to their realistic configurations. The quantitative evaluation of mixing ability was based on the theory of kinematics of fluid mixing. To learn and to compare the local mixing performance in a standard screw and a pin mixing section, the local mixing efficiency distribution proposed by Ottino was calculated. Also, the RTDs of these mixers were calculated in an attemt to measure mixing. The integration of the two, namely, the integrating local mixing efficiency along a number of particle pathlines from entrance to exit, together with statistical treatment, which was referred as integral mixing efficiency, then gives a quantitative judgment of the total mixing ability of a continuous mixer. The calculated results showed a nonlinear dependence of the mixing ability of a pin mixing section on the axial gap of the pins. Finally, the calculation results were compared with the experimental ones obtained in our previous study.