| Abstract: | A good extrusion die must distribute the polymer melt in the flow channel such that the material exits from the die with a uniform velocity and temperature. Coathanger dies are commonly used for the extrusion of plastic sheets and films. The die is usually provided with a straining bar allowing a regulation of the flowrate in the case of a poor design. But this, in turn, can affect temperature uniformity. Therefore, the design of coathanger die is a complex task which is mainly accomplished by trial and error in industry. Analyses of the flow in coathanger dies have been reported in the literature. Analytical and numerical approaches are used to solve this problem. The first one involves many simplifying assumptions: the most important ones being the unidirectional and isothermal flow of the polymer. Most numerical methods deal with a 2-D geometry, but only a few of them have considered the non-isothermal flow. A new model has been developed using a modified FAN method (Flow Analysis Network introduced by Tadmor) for the calculation of the 2-D flow, coupled with a finite-difference scheme for the calculation of temperature. The overall model can run on a PC with only a few minutes of calculation. Good agreement was obtained between experimental data and simulations. |
