Understanding and analysis of wear in homogenizers for processing liquid food

The tribological research pertaining to homogenizers in processing liquid food has received much less attention compared to its potential in enhancing the efficiency and durability of the homogenization process equipment. Homogenization is a process used to disrupt fat globules in dairy products to reduce the formation of creamy layer (separation) and also to enhance the viscosity of certain products. This process takes place in a narrow gap in the homogenizer machine and this region is highly prone to wear. The occurrence of wear during processing not only impairs the homogenization effect but also leads to increased downtime of the machine. The aim of this work is to understand the occurrence of wear and wear mechanisms in the homogenization gap using both experimental and analytical approaches. Two experimental test rigs were used to study the differences in wear during operation, i.e. with and without particles. The trajectories of the particles have been simulated without the influence of cavitation using a CFD-code to investigate whether the particles are the cause of wear. The homogenizer gap has been simulated for a worn geometry to see how the occurrence of wear changes the particles trajectories. The results have shown that the presence of particles accelerates wear and most important parameters are the particle hardness and mass. When cavitation and particles are combined they create a synergistic effect on wear. This can be explained by the fact that cavitation can accelerate particles in random directions through the imploding action of cavities. A change in impact angle and increased velocity increases the amount of wear significantly. CFD-simulations and calculations show that the particles do not fully follow the streamlines and therefore create wear on the gap surfaces.