Numerical and experimental studies on the effect of thickness difference between up and down gas layers on sheet polymer gas-assisted extrusion forming

In this study, to make gas-assisted extrusion (GAE) can be better applied to conventional horizontal extrusion forming process, the thickness difference between up and down gas layer was simulated for the first time by GAE of molten high-density polyethylene sheet. In order to ascertain the effects of the thickness difference of up and down gas layers on sheet extrusion molding, a method based on the model of two-phase (gas and melt) flow was put forward, and an outer-layer GAE isothermal numerical simulation made by POLYFLOW was explored and researched. The numerical results analysis indicated that when the thickness of down gas layer is increased, the velocities, pressure drop and shear rate of the melt increase. Compared with the simplified-GAE simulation, GAE simulation method can well reflect the flow characteristics, the physical field distribution, and the morphology changes of melt extrudates. The experimental results show that with the increase of the thickness of the down gas layer, the melt falling can be obviously improved during extrusion. Thus, in the actual use of GAE for sheet production, not only the thickness difference between up and down gas layers should be reasonably controlled, but also other factors, such as melt inlet volume flow rate, gas pressure and temperature should be controlled accordingly. Finally, GAE forming technology can give full play to its advantages.     

Wall slip heating

When molten plastic is extruded, the upper limiting throughput is often dictated by fine irregular distortions of the extrudate surface. Called sharkskin melt fracture, plastics engineers spike plastics formulations with processing aids to suppress these distortions. Sharkskin melt fracture is not to be confused with gross melt fracture, a larger scale distortion arising at throughputs higher than the critical throughput for sharkskin melt fracture. Sharkskin melt fracture has been attributed to a breakdown of the no slip boundary condition in the extrusion die, that is, adhesive failure at the die walls, where the fluid moves with respect to the wall. In this article, we account for the frictional heating at the wall, which we call slip heating. We focus on slit flow, which is used in film casting, sheet extrusion, curtain coating, and when curvature can be neglected, slit flow is easily extended to pipe extrusion and film blowing. In slit flow, the magnitude of the heat flux from the slipping interface is the product of the shear stress and the slip speed. We present the solutions for the temperature rise in pressure‐driven slit flow and simple shearing flow, each subject to constant heat generation at the adhesive slip interface, with and without viscous dissipation in the bulk fluid. We solve the energy equation in Cartesian coordinates for the temperature rise, for steady temperature profiles. For this simplest relevant nonisothermal model, we neglect convective heat transfer in the melt and use a constant viscosity. We arrive at a necessary dimensionless condition for the accurate use of our results: Pé?1. We find that slip heating can raise the melt temperature significantly, as can viscous dissipation in the bulk. We conclude with two worked examples showing the relevance of slip heating in determining wall temperature rise, and we show how to correct wall slip data for this temperature rise. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 55:2042–2049, 2015. © 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers     

气辅挤出成型中的挤出缩小问题

对气辅挤出成型过程中存在的挤出物挤出缩小现象进行系统的分析研究。结果表明半固态熔膜现象和熔垂现象是引起气辅挤出物挤出缩小的两个重要原因。口模内的气体温度较低是产生半固态熔膜现象的本质原因,提高气体的温度或减小气辅挤出口模内气室高度可消除半固态熔膜现象;同时指出半固态熔膜的产生与聚合物熔体本身的特性相关,凡是黏度大的,黏度对温度较敏感的聚合物,都容易产生半固态熔膜现象。适当地降低熔体挤出温度可减小熔垂程度。     

Hybrid mixture theory based modeling of transport mechanisms and expansion‐thermomechanics of starch during extrusion

Water, vapor, and heat transport mechanisms and thermomechanical changes occurring inside the expanding extrudate were described using hybrid mixture theory‐based unsaturated transport equations. Transport equations were transformed from the Eulerian coordinates to the Lagrangian coordinates. Good agreements between the predicted and experimental values of surface temperature, moisture content, and expansion ratio of the extrudates were obtained. The model was also used to calculate temperature, moisture content, pore‐pressure, and viscoelastic‐stress distribution in the extrudate. Matrix collapse and glassy crust formation under the surface was calculated as a function of extrusion conditions. Expansion behavior of the extrudate was described using the difference between stress due to pore pressure and viscoelastic stress. The modeling results can serve as a guide for predictably modifying the extrusion parameters for obtaining specific textural attributes of expanded starch for various food, feed, and biomedical applications. © 2015 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 61: 4517–4532, 2015     

Melt fracture behavior of polypropylene‐type resins with narrow molecular weight distribution. II. Suppression of sharkskin by addition of adhesive resins

Standing on a hypothesis that the sharkskin of a polymer with a narrow molecular weight distribution at extrusion processing originates from a stick‐slip of the polymer at the die wall, the suppression of the sharkskin was tried by means of suppressing the slip by the addition of adhesives. To polypropylene (PP)‐type resins with narrow molecular weight distributions such as a PP‐type thermoplastic elastomer, PER and a controlled rheology PP were added small amounts of adhesives such as maleated PP, maleated PER, reactive polyolefin oligomers, ethylene/ethylacrylate/maleic anhydride (MAH) copolymer, ethylene/vinyl acetate copolymer, and styrene/MAH copolymer, and their melt fracture behaviors at capillary extrusion were observed. It was found that the sharkskin of the PP‐type resins with narrow molecular weight distributions was suppressed by the addition of the adhesive resins with good adhesion to metal. The suppressive effect of the sharkskin was generally the more remarkable by the higher loading of the adhesives with the higher MAH content. This is the direction of increasing adhesion. From this fact, it was assumed that the sharkskin of the PP‐type resins with narrow molecular weight distribution does not originate from a periodic growth and relaxation of tensile stress at the extrudate surface but from a stick‐slip at the die wall. Based on this mechanism, it may be said that the sharkskin can be suppressed by both ways of directions of promoting and suppressing the slip at the die wall. The former way is the previously known method, and the latter way is the method proposed in the present study. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 84: 2120–2127, 2002     

数值模拟黏弹流体通过椭圆环模具的挤出胀大

The numerical simulation of extrudate swell is significant in extrusion processing.Precise prediction of extrudate swell is propitious to the control of melt flow and the quality of final products.A mathematical model of three-dimensional(3D)viscoelastic flow through elliptical ring die for polymer extrusion was investigated.The penalty function formulation of viscoelastic incompressible fluid was introduced to the finite element model to analyze 3D extrusion problem.The discrete elastic viscous split stress(DEVSS)and streamline-upwind PetrovGalerkin(SUPG)technology were used to obtain stable simulation results.Free surface was updated by updating the streamlines which needs less memory space.According to numerical simulation results,the effect of zero-shear viscosity and elongation parameter on extrudate swell was slight,but with the increase of volumetric flow rate and relax time the extrudate swell ratio increased markedly.Finally,the numerical simulation of extrudate swell flow for low-density polyethylene(LDPE)melts was investigated and the results agreed well with others’work.These conclusions provided quantitative basis for the forecasting extrudate swell ratio and the controlling of extrusion productivity shape.     

The effect of teflon™ coatings in polyethylene capillary extrusion

Two LLDPE resins were used in this work to determine the critical conditions for the occurrence of wall slip and melt fracture in capillary extrusion. It was found that the polymer-metal interface fails at a critical value of the wall shear stress of about 0.1 MPa and, as a result, slip occurs. At values of wall shear strees of about 0.18 MPa the extrudate surface appears to be matte, while small amplitude periodic distortions (sharkskin) appear on the surface of extrudates at wall shear stresses above 0.25 MPa. Using a special slit die, the polymer–wall interface was coated with Teflon? in order to examine the effect of this coating on the processability of polyethylenes. It was found that use of Teflon? promotes slip, thus reducing the power requirement in extrusion and, most importantly, eliminates sharkskin at high extrusion rates. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Rotating die technique for sharkskin minimization in highly viscous wood/PP composite melt in an extrusion die

This study used a newly developed rotating die system for purposes of reducing entrance pressure drop and sharkskin fracture for molten polypropylene (PP) and wood/polypropylene (WPP) composites in a single-screw extruder. The sharkskin fracture characteristics of the PP and WPP composite surfaces were examined quantitatively via roughness profiles and relaxation time evaluations, and qualitatively through scanning electron microscopy under the effects of wood content, shear rate, die temperature, and die rotation speed. The experimental results suggested that the entrance pressure drop of PP increased with increasing wood content and shear rate. The die entrance pressure drop for WPP composite melt with 30 wt % wood content could be minimized by 20–50% by using a die rotation speed of 70 rpm. The roughness level (sharkskin) and relaxation time were found to increase with increasing wood content, but could be minimized by rotating the die—the die rotating effect being more meaningful for WPP when compared with neat PP extrudate. The rotating die system was found to be an effective technique for minimizing the extrusion load and fracture level of extrudate skins for high-viscosity materials such as the WPP composites used in this work. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012     

Dynamic slip and nonlinear viscoelasticity

Several significant problems arise when film is fabricated on a large scale. One of these is the appearance of irregularities on the extrudate surfaces when the polymer melt is extruded at high rates. These irregularities vary in intensity and form and are generally known as sharkskin melt fracture. This phenomenon, which occurs when the wall shear stress exceeds a critical value, is a limiting factor for production rates in many industrial extrusion operations such as film blowing of polyethylene. We used a sliding plate rheometer incorporating a shear stress transducer to study slip in both steady and unsteady flows. By combining a dynamic slip model with a nonlinear viscoelastic constitutive model, we determined the slip model parameters for LLDPE film resin with and without a fluoropolymer sharkskin suppressant. The models give good prediction of our slip data in steady shear but show insufficient gap dependence in exponential shear. Our own film blowing studies demonstrated the efficiency of the sharkskin suppressant; it has more than doubled the throughput in our laboratory setup. The fluoropolymer additive was found to profoundly affect both the steady and dynamic slip parameters. Hence, the sharkskin suppressant alters how the LLDPE remembers its past slipping motions.     

在挤出机口模中聚合物不稳定流动的模拟

对挤出机口模流道中高聚物的流动情况进行了分析。引用高聚物黏弹性流体本构方程,建立了高聚物在挤出机机头口模中流动的数学模型。用MathCAD软件对该模型进行了数值模拟,结果表明:机头压力、材料的松弛时间以及口模流道的几何尺寸对高聚物在机头中应力张量的变化影响较大,适当调整口模流道尺寸会有利于高聚物的稳定挤出。     

A novel unified wall slip model for Poiseuille flow of polymer melt in the circular tube

In this study, to better reflect the slip effect of Poiseuille flow for polymer melt extruded through a circular tube, a novel unified wall slip model and flow equation based on two phase fluid system were proposed via a purely phenomenological approach. According to the different combinations of boundary conditions and flow parameters, the novel slip model was transformed into other models, such as adsorption–desorption model, entanglement–disentanglement model, lubrication layer model, Z–W model, and no‐slip model. The numerical simulation based on computed fluid dynamics was performed to verify the feasibility of the novel slip model. In the simulations, the radial flow velocity profile, shear rate, and viscosity distribution were obtained for six different models. Moreover, the effect of different slip coefficient combinations for the novel slip model on the radial flow velocity, slip velocity, volumetric flow rate error, and viscosity distribution of melt were also investigated and discussed. Results showed that the novel unified slip model not only incorporated the characteristics of other five models above mentioned, but also well interpreted the reason of simultaneously occurring the sharkskin surface defect and gross melt fracture phenomenon when flow rate of melt was extremely large. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 56:328–341, 2016. © 2015 Society of Plastics Engineers     

基于可压缩气辅的聚合物挤出成型非等温黏弹数值分析

基于气体具有可压缩性特点提出了可压缩气辅挤出概念,为探明气辅挤出中可压缩气体对聚合物熔体挤出成型的影响建立了熔体和压缩气体两相流模型,利用有限元计算方法对可压缩气辅的聚合物挤出成型进行了非等温黏弹数值模拟,并对比分析了传统无气辅和可压缩气辅挤出的物理场分布情况。研究表明,气辅挤出中的气体密度分布不是恒定值,而是随压力和温度空间分布变化,并且在引入气体层以及气体可压缩性后,可压缩气辅挤出与传统无气辅挤出方法相比在各物理场分布上存在较大的差异,当可压缩气体入口压力逐渐增大时熔体挤出收缩程度明显增大。该结果与实验一致,这些是传统无气辅挤出模拟无法体现出来的。     

Experimental studies on radial extrudate swell and velocity profiles of flowing PS melt in an electro‐magnetized die of an extrusion rheometer

This article investigates the radial extrudate swell and velocity profiles of polystyrene melt in a capillary die of a constant shear‐rate extrusion rheometer, using a parallel coextrusion technique. An electro‐magnetized capillary die was used to monitor the changes in the radial extrudate swell profiles of the melt, which is relatively novel in polymer processing. The magnetic flux density applied to the capillary die was varied in a parallel direction to the melt flow, and all tests were performed under the critical condition at which sharkskin and melt fracture did not occur in the normal die. The experimental results suggest that the overall extrudate swell for all shear rates increased with increasing magnetic flux density to a maximum value and then decreased at higher densities. The maximum swelling peak of the melt appeared to shift to higher magnetic flux density, and the value of the maximum swell decreased with increasing wall shear rate and die temperature. The effect of magnetic torque on the extrudate swell ratio of PS melt was more pronounced when extruding the melt at low shear rates and low die temperatures. For radial extrudate swell and velocity profiles, the radial swell ratio for a given shear rate decreased with increasing r/R position. There were two regions where the changes in the extrudate swell ratio across the die diameter were obvious with changing magnetic torque and shear rate, one around the duct center and the other around r/R of 0.65–0.85. The changes in the extrudate swell profiles across the die diameter were associated with, and can be explained using, the melt velocity profiles generated during the flow. In summary, the changes in the overall extrudate swell ratio of PS melt in a capillary die were influenced more by the swelling of the melt around the center of the die. Polym. Eng. Sci. 44:2298–2307, 2004. © 2004 Society of Plastics Engineers.     

Melt Instability Identification Using Unsupervised Machine Learning Algorithms

In industrial extrusion processes, increasing shear rates can lead to higher production rates. However, at high shear rates, extruded polymers and polymer compounds often exhibit melt instabilities ranging from stick-slip to sharkskin to gross melt fracture. These instabilities result in challenges to meet the specifications on the extrudate shape. Starting with an existing published data set on melt instabilities in polymer extrusion, we assess the suitability of clustering, unsupervised machine learning algorithms combined with feature selection, to extract and identify hidden and important features from this data set, and their possible relationship with melt instabilities. The data set consists of both intrinsic features of the polymer as well as extrinsic features controlled and measured during an extrusion experiment. Using a range of commonly available clustering algorithms, it is demonstrated that the features related to only the intrinsic properties of the data set can be reliably divided into two clusters, and that in turn, these two clusters may be associated with either the stick-slip or sharkskin instability. Furthermore, using a feature ranking on both the intrinsic and extrinsic features of the data set, it is shown that the intrinsic properties of molecular weight and polydispersity are the strongest indicators of clustering.     

限定几何构型茂金属催化POE高速流变性能

采用双毛细管流变仪研究了由限定几何构型催化剂和INSITETM^TM工艺开发的聚烯烃弹性体（POE）的流变性能，分析了POEEngage8003和POEEngage8150的粘弹性行为、高速挤出时熔体流动不稳定性及挤出物外观。结果表明，POE为线型分子结构，当剪切速率达到某一临界值时，挤出物表观出现鲨鱼皮畸变；Engage8003与Engage8150比较，前者的粘一温敏感性较大且挤出物外观明显好于后者，而后者的粘切敏感性较大。粘一温和粘一切敏感性的差别与分子结构有关，Engage8003的辛烯含量低，塑料特性更明显，相对而言Engage8150的弹性体行为更加显著。     

The synergistic effect of boron nitride particle and die on the capillary extrusion processability of mLDPE

The synergistic effects of boron nitride (BN) powder and die on the rheology and processability of metallocene‐catalyzed low density polyethylene (mLDPE) were investigated. The processability in the extrusion process is closely related to the interfacial properties between the polymer melts and the die wall. BN powder was added to mLDPE to reduce the friction coefficient and surface energy. Adding 0.5 wt% BN powder to mLDPE was very effective in improving the processability and the extrudate appearance. To study the effect of die surface property, three different dies were applied in capillary extrusion. One was conventional tungsten carbide (TC) die, and the others were hot‐pressed BN (hpBN) die and hot‐pressed BN composite (hpBNC) die. The applications of these BN dies were quite effective in delaying surface melt fracture (sharkskin) and postponing gross melt fracture to higher shear rate compared to the TC die. These improvements result from the fact that BN dies reduce the wall shear stress significantly and promote slip. The synergistic effect of processability could be obtained when both BN powder and hpBN die were used together.     

Melt fracture of two broad molecular weight distribution high‐density polyethylenes

The melt fracture instabilities of two broad molecular weight distribution (MWD) high‐density polyethylenes (one Ziegler–Natta and one metallocene HDPEs) are studied as functions of the temperature and geometrical details and type of die (cylindrical, slit, and annular). It is found that sharkskin and other melt fracture phenomena are distinctly different for these resins, despite their almost identical rheology. It is also found that the critical conditions for the onset of various melt fracture phenomena depend significantly on the type of die used for their study. For example, sharkskin melt fracture in slit and capillary extrusion was obtained at much small critical shear stress values compared with those found in annular extrusion. Moreover, the metallocene HDPE shows significant slip at the die wall in the sharkskin flow regime. On the other hand, the Ziegler–Natta HDPE has shown no sign of slip. These differences are discussed on the basis of differences in their MWDs that influence their melt elasticity. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2011. © 2011 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Effects of ultrasonic oscillations on rheological behavior and mechanical properties of novel propylene‐based plastomers

The effects of ultrasonic oscillations on the die pressure, productivity of extrusion, melt apparent viscosity, melt surface appearance, and die swell of novel propylene‐based plastomers were studied in a specially designed ultrasonic oscillations extrusion system developed in our laboratory. The effects of ultrasonic oscillations on molecular weights, tensile strength, and dynamic mechanical properties of extrudates were also studied. The experimental results showed that the presence of ultrasonic oscillations during extrusion could significantly increase the productivity of plastomers at the same die pressure, and reduce die swell and melt fracture such as sharkskin at a given screw rotation speed. The die pressure and apparent viscosity of plastomers remarkably decreased with increasing ultrasonic intensity. Introduction of ultrasonic oscillations into plastomer melts can improve their processibility. The possible mechanism for ultrasonic improvement of rheological behavior was also proposed in this article. Under certain conditions, ultrasound‐assisted extrusion could slightly decrease the glass transition temperature (T_g) and storage modulus of plastomers due to the minor reduction in molecular weights, but showed no significant impact on yield strength and strength at break. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2007     

Numerical simulation on residual thickness of pipes with curved sections in water‐assisted co‐injection molding

The residual thicknesses of the skin and the inner layers are important quality indicators of water‐assisted co‐injection molding (WACIM) process or overflow WACIM (O‐WACIM) parts. At the curved section, the residual thicknesses change significantly. A numerical simulation program based on the computational fluid dynamics method was developed to simulate the O‐WACIM process. After the numerical simulation program was validated with the experimental results, it was used to study the effects of the bending radii and bending angles on the residual thicknesses of the skin and inner layers of O‐WACIM parts. The results showed that the penetration of the inner melt and water was always close to the inner concave side due to the higher local pressure gradient and temperature. The effects of processing parameters on the residual thicknesses of the skin and inner layers were investigated using the orthogonal simulation method. It was found that the residual thicknesses of the skin/inner layer at the inner concave/outer convex side are mainly influenced by different parameters. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 42468.     

Sharkskin and oscillating melt fracture: Why in slit and capillary dies and not in annular dies?

The sharkskin and stick‐slip polymer extrusion instabilities are studied primarily as functions of the type of die geometry. Experimental observations concerning the flow curves, the critical wall shear stress for the onset of the instabilities, the pressure and flow rate oscillations, and the effects of geometry and operating conditions are presented for linear low‐density polyethylenes. It is found that sharkskin and stick‐slip instabilities are present in the capillary and slit extrusion. However, annular extrusion stick‐slip and sharkskin are absent at high ratios of the inside‐to‐outside diameter of the annular die. This observation also explains the absence of these phenomena in other polymer processing operations such as film blowing. These phenomena are explained in terms of the surface‐to‐volume ratio of the extrudates, that is, if this ratio is high, sharkskin and stick‐slip are absent. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2008. © 2007 Society of Plastics Engineers