MIE.18 – Study of Industrial Mixing Process for USG using Computational Fluid Dynamics
Team Members Heading link
- Kaushik Hariharan
- Mark Opalinski
- Chris Patel
- Madhav Peddireddy
Project Description Heading link
Mixing of solid particles along with water suspended with glue yields one of many products, joint compounds. Joint compound has been available for market use for just over a century yet the rheological studies behind the mixing practices are limited. Joint compound or more commonly known as drywall mud is used in the finishing process of drywall. Customer’s of USG commonly face the same problem that the consistency of the mud is too thick in the all-purpose joint compound. In this study, the objective is to study rheological behavior through mixing of the raw components used in joint compound using two parameters, mixing time and rotational velocity of the mixer on ANSYS CFX. Using ANSYS, residence time, particle dispersion, shear rate, shear history, flow patterns, turbulence, and drag models will be used as solutions to provide USG with the correct ratio of powder to liquid and best mixing time. The yielding solutions will mitigate problems such as batch inconsistencies, air entrapment and other bad mixing conditions. Bad mixing conditions will lead to lower mechanical properties and high thixotropy, which will be unfavorable for the consumers.