Modelling three-dimensional rotating flows in cylindrical-shaped vessels

Abstract

This paper reports on a study concerned with the numerical simulation of dough kneading that arises in the food processing industry. The flows considered are in a complex domain setting. Two dough mixers running at various rotation speeds are studied; one with a single stirrer and the other with two stirrers. Stirrers are fixed on the lid of the vessel and the motion is driven by the rotation of the outer vessel. Two different mixer orientations are considered, generating horizontal or vertical-rotating flow fields. Three-dimensional numerical simulations are performed on the full flow equations in a cylindrical polar co-ordinates system, through a finite-element, semi-implicit time stepping, Taylor-Galerkin pressure-correction scheme. The results reflect excellent agreement against the equivalent experimental findings. The motivation for this work is to develop advanced technology to model the kneading of dough. The ultimate target is to predict and adjust the design of dough mixers, so that optimal dough processing may be achieved notably, with reference to local rate-of-work input. © 2003 John Wiley and Sons, Ltd.