DescriptionIn the field of civil, mechanical, and industrial engineering, batch mixing is the process of thoroughly combining multiple organic or inorganic ingredients into a single mixture for industrial purposes. Common applications of batch mixing include cement mixing, paint mixing, creating clay and fiber glasses, food production, etc. There are many dependent variables in batch mixing that can greatly alter the quality and behavior of certain mixtures. Some of these variables include the power and rotational speed of the mixing motor, applied torque, and the physical properties of the mixing materials such as density and dynamic viscosity. The physical properties of the mixture being operated are affected by independent variables including changes in temperature and change concentration. The consumed mixing power is affected by the input voltage potential needed to move the mixing paddle. As batch mixing has evolved, it becomes more important to develop ways to optimize and control the mixing process for different industrial mixtures. This leads to the current world of smart batch mixing. Smart batch mixing is the modern version of batch mixing with the ability to measure and optimize the results of a given mixing operation through computational and analytical methods. The main objectives of this thesis are to explore solutions to reduce peak power consumption during mixing processes, be able to measure the exact concentration of materials in a mixture in the middle of an operation, and be able to know the time it takes to mix to a certain concentration. Many in the mixing industry have addressed many concerns to reduce peak power demand in mixing processes. Peak power is the occurrence of high-power spikes during mixing operations which not only impacts the mixing but also consumes more energy and increases costs. Lowering power spikes during mixing processes will help reduce power consumption and increase energy savings. The second major dilemma is being able to measure the exact concentration, or material ratio, of a given mixture in the middle of an operation. While from pure observation it is simple to guess the concentration before the start of the operation and at the very end of the operation, however, it is difficult to measure the exact ratio of the materials combined between the initial and final points. Lastly, understanding the rate of mixing during a given time is useful to know when to mix materials under certain conditions to the desired combination. A mixing lab facility was designed and created to perform mixing operations on mostly highly viscous fluid mixtures to measure the effects of independent variables including temperature, mixture concentration, and voltage/pulse width modulation (PWM) will have on dependent variables including motor power of the mixer, the rotational speed of the mixing paddle, and the physical characteristics of the fluid mixture being operated (ex. density and dynamic viscosity).