The effect of kneading clearance on the mixing performance of vertical kneading mixers was investigated by using the CFD methods.Firstly,the mixing field in the kneading tank was simulated numerically after analyzing the movement of mixer blade and the rheological properties of the material.Next,some macro mixing performance evaluation indices of the device were proposed.Lastly,the effect of kneading clearance on mixing performance was studied.The results indicated that a small kneading clearance could improve the mixing performance of vertical kneading mixers and better kneading efficiency could be achieved with a uniform kneading clearance.
