Mixing of solids

Lec -7

The degree of mixing-It

is difficult to quantify the

degree of mixing. When dealing with solid particles, the
statistical variation in composition among samples withdrawn at
any time from a mix is commonly used as a measure of the
degree of mixing.
The standard deviation s (the square root of the mean of the
squares of the individual deviations) or the variance s 2 is
generally used
For granular solids multiple small samples each containing n
particles are used. Consider a mixture of component A and B,
from which N spot samples each containing n particles, are
taken and analyzed. The standard deviation s is given by
_

2
(
x

x
)
i 1 i
N

s=

N 1

xi = number fraction of A in each sample

_

= average value of measured number fraction

For completely random mixture sr2 =

p (1 p)
n

Where sr2 = variance for the mixture, p is overall

mass fraction of component A, and n is the number
of particles in each sample.
For unmixed system (ie before mixing)

so2 = p (1- p)

so is the value of s for unmixed material and b = 0

for unmixed material s = s0 and b=0
for completely randomized material and b =1 and s

= sr

When the material is partly mixed, then degree of mixing

may be represented by term b

b=

( so2 s 2 )
2
( so2 sr )

b = 0 for an unmixed material and 1 for a completely

randomized material, where s = sr