FlowMotion was commissioned by a very well-known food manufacturer to assist in an investigation of flow behaviour in mixers used for margarine production. Although we eat margarine daily, it is difficult to imagine how complex its production is on an industrial scale. This is primarily due to the various aqueous and oily components, which are difficult to blend into a homogeneous mass.
To achieve this homogeneous mixture, specific shear rates must be reached within the fluid; however, the heat generated by kneading the mass must not become excessive. Further design objectives include maximum throughput and minimal stirrer torque.
This project investigated the extent to which commercial CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) programs can model the flow including all relevant phenomena (fluid rheology, viscous heating, etc.) and align these models with conducted measurements. To this end, a variety of different geometries and rotational speeds were simulated.
