Results of experimental studies of mixing process in a horizontal ribbon mixer

The performance of livestock farms and complexes largely depends on the quality of feed preparation for feeding. It is proved that feeding efficiency is increased with the use of feed mixtures in the diet, which allows to increase animal performance, to reduce feeding period and feed consumption per production unit. Despite of the wide use of different types of mixers, their working process is understudied, and therefore the study of influence of design and technological parameters of mixers on the quality characteristics of mixture is the crucial task. The aim of the study is the improvement of technological process of feed mixtures preparation in a horizontal ribbon mixer by improving quality of mixing and reducing energy intensity of working process. Experimental studies of a horizontal ribbon mixer were carried out in the laboratory of mechanization of animal husbandry at the Zonal Research Institute of Agriculture of the North-East. For the studies, the mixture consisting of a basis (80% of barley and 20% of rye) and a control component (pea) was used. The implementation of multifactorial experiment allows to obtain approximate mathematical models of the process, that link together all the factors taken into account. Experimental studies allow to determine the numerical values of coefficients of regression equations, by which it is possible to assess the degree of influence of relevant factors. During the tests, Box-Behnken design matrix was implemented. According to the results, the maximum value of the uniformity coefficient of finished product is 86,1%, which meets the zootechnical requirements for feeding of cattle and poultry, and is achieved in the presence of 620 kg of basis and 146 kg of control component in the mixture. The mixing time is 4 minutes, and the throughput capacity of mixer is 5,75 t/h, when the specific energy consumption is 1,55 kilowatt-hours per ton.

mixer, study of mixing process, mixed feed, uniformity of finished product