THE USE OF THE CLUSTER ANALYSIS METHOD TO DESCRIBE THE MIXING PROCESS OF THE MULTI-ELEMENT GRANULAR MIXTURE

Sa？etak The paper presents a new idea of and approach to using the cluster analysis to describe a complex problem concerning the mixing process of granular mixture in industrial conditions. The phenomenon of mixing is still not well understood particularly in the process of mixing multi-component nonhomogeneous mixtures. Most real granular mixtures which are present in the industrial practice, such as feed mixing, are multi-component heterogeneous systems. The results and conclusions obtained from the modelling process in laboratory conditions cannot be directly translated into industrial conditions due to the change in the scale of the device. Real situations are usually more complex and bring with them new problems to be solved and the need to develop other methods of describing the process of mixing. The article describes the process of mixing compound feeds consisting of various cereal grains of different properties, namely of different size of grains and bulk density, carried out in a two-tone industrial mixer