Project summary: Manufacture of chewy confectionery
The manufacture of the confectionery product known as Chewits involves blending a cooked viscous syrup with an aerated foam, to which blend various flavourings and colours are added. The processing involves flow through two different designs of static mixer, and at the end of the process the ingredients of the mix may not be uniformly distributed, resulting in an unwanted marbled pattern on the end-product.

Research carried out by Faraday Associate Gemma Bowers at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, in collaboration with Leaf UK, used mathematical and numerical modelling to understand the process better. The aim of the project was to identify what physical factors in the fluid mechanics of the process contribute to the non-uniformity of the mix.

The PhD thesis explores the effect of flow rate (inertia), shear-thinning, temperature, air entrapment and boundary conditions on mixing.

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