RESEARCH OF THE POSSIBILITY OF INCREASING THE QUALITY OF PREPARATION OF DRY MIXTURES IN A HORIZONTAL VANE MIXER

Paddle mixers with horizontal shafts are common at building materials enterprises for the preparation of concretes, mortars, dry mortars. A new design of a horizontal paddle mixer with rod elements located in front of the working surfaces of the blades, changing the trajectories of material particles, increasing their mobility, which leads to an increase in the degree of homogeneity of the mixed material, is considered. The aim of the study was to assess the influence of rod elements on the quality of preparation of a cement-sand mixture, to establish patterns of influence on it by the design and technological parameters of a two-shaft paddle mixer and to determine the areas of their rational values. The following tasks have been solved. A bench installation of a two-shaft horizontal paddle mixer with rod elements has been developed, on which experimental studies have been carried out on the preparation of dry cement-sand mixtures. For the criterion characterizing the quality of the mixture, the ultimate compressive strength of the prism specimens made from it is adopted. Regression equations are obtained that adequately describe the compressive strength of prism samples from the design and technological parameters of the mixer: the angle of the blades, the distance from the working surfaces of the blades to the rod elements, the rotational speed of the blade shafts, and their analysis is performed. The analysis of the change in the ultimate compressive strength of the prism specimens from the parameters under study is carried out, the rational ranges of their values are determined. It was found that a mixer with rod elements allows to obtain a dry cement-sand mixture, products from which have a higher compressive strength. During the work, the method of mathematical planning of experiments was used. As a result of the study, an assessment of the influence of rod elements on the quality of preparation of a cement-sand mixture was carried out, the regularities of the influence on it of the design and technological parameters of a two-shaft paddle mixer and the area of their rational values were established.

Multistage Mechanical Activation of Multilayer Carbon Nanotubes in Creation of Electric Heaters with Self-Regulating Temperature

The article deals with research related to the issues of nanomodification of elastomers as a basis of electric heaters with self-regulating temperature. The effect of multistage mechanical activation of multilayer carbon nanotubes (MCNTs) with graphite on the uniformity of the temperature field distribution on the surface of nanomodified organosilicon elastomer has been studied. The influence of the stages of mechanical action on the parameters of MCNTs is revealed. It has been ascertained that for the MCNTs/graphite bulk material, which has passed the stage of mechanical activation in the vortex layer apparatus, a more uniform distribution of the temperature field and an increase in temperature to 57.1 °C at the supply voltage of 100 V are typical. The distribution of the temperature field in the centrifugal paddle mixer “WF-20B” for mixing MCNTs with graphite has been investigated. It has been found that there is also a thermal effect in addition to the mechanical action on the MCNTs in the paddle mixer “WF-20B”. The thermal effect is associated with the transfer of the mechanical energy of friction of the binary mixture MCNTs/graphite on the paddle and the walls of the vessel. The multiplicity of the starting current Ip to the nominal In (Ip/In) is 5 for the first sample, 7.5 for the second sample, and 10 for the third sample at the supply voltage of 100 V. The effect of reducing the starting current and stabilizing the temperature indicates the presence of self-regulation, which is expressed in maintaining a certain level of temperature.

Method of providing wear-resistance of the blades of paddle mixers.

The work is devoted to solution of the actual problem to increase the service life of blade mixers used in the foundry industry. The existing methods for ensuring wear resistance of mixing blades are described, their advantages and disadvantages are indicated. Based on the analysis of scientific publications a technical solution for applying protective coatings to the blades of the mixer using gas-thermal spraying has been proposed. The results of laboratory studies of the wear rate of gas-thermal coatings from various powder mixtures of the Ni-Cr-B-Si system under conditions of abrasive wear are presented. The results of operational tests of experimental products under conditions of corrosion and abrasive wear during the operation of a paddle mixer are given. The composition of the powder mixtur ensuring maximum wear resistance of the mixer blades was developed.