Designing the homogenization mechanism

Introduction. The primary goal of food processing equipment manufacturing is to create highly efficient process equipment that can increase labor productivity while reducing energy costs. Improving existing and creating new high-performance equipment for food production is one of the main trends in the development of modern mechanical engineering. The term “homogenization” literally means “increasing uniformity”. In the context of emulsions, homogenization refers to the process of treating emulsions, which leads to the fragmentation of the dispersed phase. Homogenization is the process of grinding liquid or mashed foods by passing it at high speed and pressure through narrow annular slots. The authors propose to use cam-type mechanisms for homogenization. Cam-type mechanisms allow for a more efficient allocation of the time for the product suction and injection. The homogenization process benefits from the potential to reduce the speed during product injection. The purpose of the work is to reduce power consumption during homogenization. The research methods are based on the theory of machines and mechanisms. These methods enabled developing a methodology for synthesizing the homogenizer drive mechanism and designing a machine that ensures its operation in accordance with the proposed cycle diagram. Results and discussion. The synthesis of mechanisms is executed with consideration for the workload, which was calculated for existing domestic machines in the production of processed cheese. Thus, with a given production capacity of 550 l/h and a plunger diameter of 28 mm, the technological force is F = 12315 N. In accordance with the authors' proposals, the design of the homogenizer is modified by introducing cam mechanisms. In the design of this drive, a novel cycle diagram is proposed, enabling an increase in product injection time and a reduction in suction time. According to the novel cycle diagram, 280° is proposed for product injection and 80° for suction. In this case, the power on the drive shaft is equal to P = 2.5 kW instead of 3.5 kW for the existing design, driven by a crank mechanism. The power consumption is decreased by 26 %.