Optimization of Parameters of Plastic Grinding Machine using Generalized Reduced Non-Linear Programming

Abstract

The focus of current research on plastic grinding machines has been improvement of efficiency. Parameters such as number of rotor blades, number of fixed blades, blade geometry, clearance between fixed and rotor blades, machine power input and throughput have been studied in previous research. The problem is that little research effort has been focused on optimization of many of such parameters combined. This research aims to improve throughput of plastic grinding machine by mathematical optimization of the five parameters to achieve higher throughput. In this paper, we optimized the parameters using generalized reduced gradient nonlinear programming. We also carried out correlation of the parameters using Pearson correlation coefficients. There was a strong correlation between maximum machine throughput and all the studied parameters. We found that throughput was optimal with nine rotor blades, two fixed blades, blade angle of 500, clearance of one millimetre, and power input of at least 5 Hp.