Effect of paddle rotational speed on particle mixing behavior in electrophotographic system by using parallel discrete element method

The objective of this paper is to investigate the effect of paddle rotational speed on the mixing behavior in an agitation process of an electrophotographic system by using parallel DEM. The mixing behaviors of beads with different sizes and densities were measured at various paddle rotational speeds by using a high-speed video camera, and were compared with the simulation results. A good agreement in the mixing behavior was obtained and the changes in particle velocity during the mixing were comparable. The simulation for mixing behavior of larger carrier particles suggested that the radial particle mixing was much faster than the axial one. The faster radial mixing is attributed to the fact that there are two radial flows in the system; the one is over the shaft, the other is between the paddle and shaft. The extent of mixing depended on the number of paddle rotations when the rotational speed is larger than 100 rpm, while the mixing under 50 rpm is completed at a smaller number of rotations.