EvenMix® Patented Design

EvenMix® Patented Design

The EvenMix® is designed by applying fluid mechanic principles and equations used in the aerospace turban power industries. The EvenMix® mechanical and strength properties are designed applying design principles and equations using Mix Patented Design.

The EvenMix® is designed by applying fluid mechanic principles and equations used in the aerospace turban power industries. The EvenMix® mechanical and strength properties are designed applying design principles and equations used in the aerospace industry to produce strong, robust and lightweight systems. EvenMix® design objectives are to provide an efficient mixing system that will produce a fluid velocity profile active throughout the fluid container, with nearly equal velocity components in all three axis: axis, radial and circumferential.

The vertical velocity component of a rotating fixed angle element varies from near zero at the rotation center to a high velocity at the element tip and is dependent on the rotational speed. The vertical velocity depends on the angle of the blade perpendicular to the direction of rotation. By producing a continuously variable pitch angle the velocity vector can be developed that is nearly constant from hub to tip. Adding the horizontal component to the vertical component the velocity vector is pitched toward the top and bottom of the container. The radial component further effects the angle of the velocity vector toward the outside of the container. This results in a tilted figure eight circulating vector moving fluid from the bottom to the top of the container with the node of the figure eight at the center of the rotation resulting in efficient mixing at low RPM. The last influence on the mixing vector is drag. In most of the fixed pitch designs the drag is the dominant factor proving predominantly circumferential circulation producing low efficiency mixing.

The EvenMix® drag coefficient is ½ to 1/3 that of most fixed angle mixing blades. The EvenMix® drag component causes the figure eight velocity vector to rotate around the axis: resulting in very efficient even mixing throughout the fluid container. In addition to the force required to drive the mixing blade is proportional to the drag coefficient and the velocity squared. The low drag means that even mix requires ½ to 1/3 the torque to mix at the same RPM. In addition to low RPM, mixing requires substantially less power. If the RPM is reduced by ½, the mixer with same blade drag will require only ¼ the power. In addition, low mixing torque produces lower stress on the mixing blade allowing for a lighter blade.

The EvenMix® Mechanical Design

The EvenMix® mechanical design is developed using aerospace design criteria which are used to produce very strong, robust, lightweight structures that are required for aerospace applications. The EvenMix® blade is a cantilever structure with zero bending stress at the tip of the blade to maximum bending stress at the blade root where it attaches to the drive shaft. Structural features are used to add strength. As the blade load increases from tip to root, the point at which the design stress is reached strengthening ribs are added for an increased strength and stiffness. The strength is proportional to the cube of the height of the feature. If a strengthening feature height is three times the blade thickness, the added strength is 3x3x3=27 times the strength of the blade material thickness.

Likewise the leading edge of the blade is bend in the direction of rotation producing smooth fluid flow and minimizing turbulence which reduced drag. The trailing edge is also bent along the exiting flow path from the EvenMix® blade providing a smooth flow transmission and reducing drag. In addition to providing smooth fluid flow and low drag, the projection of the bend at right angle to the even mix blade body also adds strength proportional to the cube of the height, that is three times the height increase the strengths by a factor of 27. The strengthening ribs are carried to the drive shaft and the blade is welded to the high strength shaft. Providing a strong, robust, lightweight system.

The low drag, lightweight robust even mix blade design permits the EvenMix® to mix the fluids of the same viscosity and density at the same speed at ½ to 1/3 of the power of the current systems. This allows for the design of a lightweight mixing/agitation system. The EvenMix® Mix Pneumatic system with speed control weight slightly less than 10 pound and the electric drive system. With variable speed thermal and current weights 11 ½ pound.

Extensive development testing was carried out using water, soy bean oil and glycerin with viscosities, ranging from zero to 1000 cp proof. Testing has also been done using corn syrup 5000 cp viscosity, and corn gluten water mixture where the water had separated leaving an IBC 80 percent full of a peanut butter like compound with about 4 inch of water resting on top. Within 15 minutes the air driven even mix system uniformly mixed the contents of the IBC from a thick paste to a pourable high viscosity liquid ready for application.

The EvenMix® agitation system utilizes high speed air motors and high speed brushless air motors coupled with high efficiency planetary gear system to produce a lightweight high efficiency agitation system. The EvenMix® system with The EvenMix® patented design provides efficient mixing over a wide range of viscosities and densities at low power with a low weight system which can be handled early by one person.