Dough kneading load simulation for stand mixer using smoothed particle hydrodynamics approach

Abstract

Stand mixer is a consumer-durable appliance, primarily used for kneading, whipping, shredding, mixing, scrambling, etc. During the kneading process, there arises a situation when the hook gets stuck or the stand mixer starts to wobble or shake. Repercussions of these phenomena could lead to overheating of the transmission system, inability of the stand mixer to provide the required torque, bowl stripping out, etc. Usually, in industries, physical tests are carried out to determine the torque load exerted on the stand mixer. Hence, through this research, we intend to develop a simulation methodology to determine the torque load exerted by the dough on the stand mixer during the kneading process. The proposed research comprises the dough material model, the application of the smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) approach for representing the dough material, due to its ability to withstand high deformation and shearing loads, and the development of simulation methodology. Sensitivity analysis was also carried out to examine the effect of various parameters on the simulation results.