Optimal design of the key structure of planetary concrete mixers based on EDEM

Abstract

The purpose of the paper is to further improve the mixing uniformity of concrete aggregates, thereby improving the quality and mixing efficiency of concrete. Taking the structure of a planetary concrete mixer produced by a company as a reference, the discrete element software EDEM was adopted to simulate the material mixing process and to analyse the mixing uniformity. It is found in the simulation that the aggregates at the side wall of the mixing tank are not mixed evenly when the shape of the side scraper of the mixer is modified from a flat surface to a curved surface. The results show that the structural optimisation makes the trajectory of the aggregates more complicated and improves the mixing quality, the mixing uniformity of the three aggregates being increased by 16%, 10.1%, and 22.1%, respectively. The simulation results of the discrete element can provide reference for actual product design.