Transitory powder flow dynamics during emptying of a continuous mixer

This article investigates the emptying process of a continuous powder mixer, from both experimental and modelling points of view. The apparatus used in this work is a pilot scale commercial mixer Gericke GCM500, for which a specific experimental protocol has been developed to determine the hold up in the mixer and the real outflow. We demonstrate that the dynamics of the process is governed by the rotational speed of the stirrer, as it fixes characteristic values of the hold-up weight, such as a threshold hold-up weight. This is integrated into a Markov chain matrix representation that can predict the evolution of the hold-up weight, as well as that of the outflow rate during emptying the mixer. Depending on the advancement of the process, the Markov chain must be considered as non-homogeneous. The comparison of model results with experimental data not used in the estimation procedure of the parameters contributes to validating the viability of this model. In particular, we report results obtained when emptying the mixer at variable rotational speed, through step changes.

► The emptying process of a continuous powder mixer is represented by a Markov chain.
► This allows the prediction of the outflow rate to hold-up weight relation.
► Different flow regimes are identified.
► The response to a step increase of the rotational speed of the stirrer is studied.