Optimizing Design of Soil Mixing Equipment through COMSOL Multiphysics® Simulations

T. Qiu[1], W. C. Kogelmann[2], K. Talebi[3]
[1]Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
[2]Alpine Sales & Rental Corp./Alpine Equipment LLC, State College, PA, USA
[3]Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
Published in 2013

Soil mixers are widely used to mix biochemical agents and additives to remediate contaminated soils or drill cuttings and sludges. Through COMSOL Multiphysics simulations, this paper aims to evaluate the effect of geometric configuration of the blades and rotational speed on the mixing performance of various soil mixers. A numerical model is developed to simulate the complex interaction between fluid-solid mixtures and mixing tools. Advanced rheological models are used to model the complex rheological behavior of fluid-solid mixtures. Various components of a mixer such as the main shaft and blades are modeled as interfaces or boundaries that can have rotational and translational motions. The mixing performance is monitored by injecting and tracing particles with the same density as the fluid.