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Internal Mixer
March 17, 2015 by Prasanth Warrier
Internal mixer is standard rubber machinery for volume mixing in both tire industry and non-tire
rubber industry.
When you use one, your most elementary requirement is to calculate the batch weight for your
respective mixer model. Because when mixing rubber compounds, you should understand that
different compounds based on the same polymer might require different batch weights. And
different polymers will almost certainly require different batch weights.
Here’s 7 quick tips for you to fix the batch weight for your rubber mixing. (Updated on 23rd Dec
2015: Flip through this post in our digital edition and download here)
1) Theoretical Equation
The thumb rule is the theoretical equation
W= NV x SG x FF
where W – Batch Wt [kg]; NV – Net Mixer Volume [dm³]; SG – Specific Gravity (density) of the
mixed batch [kg/dm³]; and FF= Fill Factor.
Generally, most mixer manufacturers share this calculation with you. But remember, what they
give you is only a theoretical number. This is only a starting or reference point and you need to
arrive at your own mixing batch weight for your compound recipes, following some of the other
tips stated below.
2) Net Mixer Volume (NV)
Since Internal mixer has a fixed volume mixing chamber, knowledge of the net volume (in liters)
is required. This can be obtained from the manufacturer directly or in some cases from their
literature for their various models.
When the mixer is used regularly (or if you have procured a used-mixer) the effective volume
increases due to wear on the rotors and mixing chamber. If not compensated for this inside wear,
your batch volume will be effectively too small leading to insufficient ram pressure on the
compound, poor dispersion and longer mixing times. Annual measurements of chamber are
recommended to update your batch weight correctly.
Excessively worn out mixers will have to be rebuilt or reconditioned (Read our posts on mixer
rebuilding – Top 25 Things You Should Know to Discuss with Mixer Rebuilderand 17
Essential Questions to Select the Right Rebuilder for your Internal Mixer)
3) Guesstimate the Fill Factor (FF)
If you have a Tangential Mixer (aka Banbury) , then your FF can range between 0.70 and 0.85.
And for a Intermeshing Mixer (aka Intermix), your FF can range between 0.62 and 0.70.
Knowledge of the fill factor is necessary because an under-filled mixing chamber results in the
ram bottoming out too soon. This reduces the pressure on the rubber stock and increases
the mixing time. An over-filled chamber leads to unmixed ingredients staying in the mixer throat.
This creates a mess under the mixer when the batch is dumped.
For example, an NR-rich compound in an intermeshing mixer has a fill factor of around 0.65
while for the same compound in a two-wing tangential mixer, it is about 0.75. This compound
will have an increased FF of about 0.78 for a tangential mixer with four-wing rotors. Each
polymer also has its ideal fill factor and that varies again with Mooney viscosity and filler system.
Fill factor of a mixer depends on the age of the machine, wear and tear of the rotors and chamber,
the rotor type, rotor speed, rotor friction ratio, nature of elastomer, ratio of elastomers/ fillers,
mixing sequence, kind of polymers, fillers and individual SG of the ingredients in your recipe,
viscosity of ingredients, etc. Generally, the lower the compound viscosity, the fill factor is higher.
Hence, we initially guesstimate the FF before stabilizing on the figure later on through actual
trials.
4) Estimate the Specific Gravity (SG) of your Compound
You can estimate the density of your compound by multiplying the quantity of each
ingredient with its individual density (you can get this figure in any compounding handbook or
ingredient supplier literature). Sum up your individual results and then divide this number by the
total sum (usually phr). The result will give you the estimated density of the compound.
(Mathematically, this is the weighted average calculation).
For example, lets consider a sample recipe (I got this recipe from a web search) as below:
Volume x
Volume Density Density
Image of HF Mixer