Design of Mixing Device Shafts Based on a Proposed Calculation Method Supported by Finite Element Method Analysis

The elasticity of bearings as well as their clearance have an essential influence on the total arrow and, therefore, on their own pulsation. In most of the literature, this elasticity is neglected in the calculation of shaft deflections. In some work, the elasticity of the bearings has been taken into account when calculating the deflection of the mixing device shaft, but this has been carried out on the basis of a high degree of customization: the behavior of the bearings has been considered linearly elastic, which does not correspond to reality because according to the elastic response of the bearing, it is a nonlinear function of the radial displacement. When the shaft of a mixing device operates in a pressure vessel, at the outlet of the pressure vessel, the shaft is provided with a sealing device, which can be considered a third bearing. This aspect is also not taken into account in the calculation of the shaft’s deflection, which leads to a certain degree of error in its determination. This study aims to highlight the influence of the elasticity of the bearings and the sealing device on the stiffness of the shaft and to propose a method that supports a calculation program for calculating the elastic line of a vertical cantilever shaft, considering the role played by the bearings in the case that they behave nonlinearly and the sealing device as the third bearing. This problem was solved both by applying our own method and with the help of the FEM.