The onset of wall slip and sharkskin melt fracture in capillary flow

The capillary die flow of high density and linear low density polyethylenes is simulated under slip conditions to investigate the origin of sharkskin melt fracture. As suggested in the literature, it is shown that sharkskin originates at the exit of the die and is due to the acceleration (high stretching rate) of the melt as it exits the die. It is also shown that both adhesion and slip promoters eliminate surface defects by decreasing the stretching rate of the polymer melt at the exit region of the die. The effect of length-to-diameter ratio of the die on the sharkskin melt fracture is also examined. It is found that sharkskin is more pronounced in short dies which is in accord with experimental observations. Finally, it is suggested that applied pressure at the capillary exit suppresses surface defects.     

An experimental study of slip flow in capillaries and semihyperbolically converging dies

Slip velocity is measured in straight‐walled capillary dies and semihyperbolically converging dies (SHCDs) in three industrial polymer melts, with and without the presence of a viscosity reducing stearic acid (SA) additive. Data taken in shear flow through capillary dies indicated a substantial increase in the slip velocity caused by the addition of the SA. Data taken in the SHCDs showed much less of an increase in the slip velocity of the polymer/additive system relevant to the neat polymer. One possible explanation of this observation is that the magnitude of the slip velocity is directly related to the degree of orientation within the flowing polymeric material. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 47:159–167, 2007. © 2007 Society of Plastics Engineers     

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     

Conjugate transport in polymer melt flow through extrusion dies

A numerical study is carried out on the conjugate thermal transport in polymer and food melts flowing through extrusion dies. The simulation is performed to determine the influence of conduction through the die wall and of the thermal boundary conditions on the transport in the fluid and on the conditions at the outlet. An extrusion die with a uniform temperature or heat transfer coefficient specified at the outer surface is considered. It is found that, because of conduction in the solid wall, important physical variables such as centerline velocity, pressure drop, bulk temperature of the fluid and shear experienced by the fluid are strongly affected by the boundary conditions, as well as by the wall thermal conductivity and thickness. Channels of different geometries are used for the study. The flow in a circular straight tube with constant wall thickness is studied first. Flow and thermal transport in different, constricted, channels are studied next. Different wall materials are also considered. Comparisons with some experimental results are presented, indicating good agreement. The fluids considered in this study are highly viscous, polymer melts. Due to high viscous dissipation and temperature-dependent viscosity, the flow and heat transfer are coupled and the problem is quite complicated. The results show that, for some operating conditions, the bulk temperature can be high enough to cause significant heat transfer from the fluid to the wall. The downstream variation in the pressure and temperature are calculated. The thermal boundary conditions are found to have a strong influence on the temperature field and thus on the flow. The general dependence of pressure drop on temperature, flow rate, and geometry is investigated. Several other basic aspects of this problem are also discussed.     

A finite piece method for simulating polymer melt flows in extrusion sheet dies

A finite piece method is proposed to simulate three‐dimensional slit flows in extrusion sheet dies in this paper. The simulations concern incompressible fluids obeying different constitutive equations: generalized Newtonian (Carreau‐Yasuda law), and viscoelastic Phan‐Thien Tanner (PTT) models. Numerical simulations are carried out for the isothermal and nonisothermal flows of polymer melt through sheet dies. The Picard iteration method is utilized to solve nonlinear equations. The results of the finite piece method are compared with the three‐dimensional (3D) finite element method (FEM) simulation and experiments. At the die exit, the relative error of the volumetric flow between the finite piece method and the 3D FEM is below 1.2%. The discrepancy of the pressure distributions does not exceed 6%. The Maximum error of the uniformity index between the simulations and experiments is about 2.3%. It shows that the solution accuracy of the finite piece method is excellent, and a substantial amount of computing time and memory requirement can be saved. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012     

Measuring of coalescence in polymer melt blends flowing through converging channels

Droplets of polymer blends flowing through convergent channels undergo collisions and coalescence because of the appropriate wineglass‐shaped flow paths with essential flow constriction at the entrance zone. Therefore, an attempt has been undertaken to use capillary flow for studying coalescence phenomena in polymer blends. When the initial drop diameters in a barrel (before extrusion), d_b, and in the extrudate, d_e, are measured, coalescence efficiency can be easily calculated as E_c = d/d, provided that no breakup of elongated domains occurs. Compared with methods employing simple shear flow, it has several advantages. For example, the convergent flow pattern combining both shear and extensional flows is directly related to industrial processing operations like extrusion, injection molding, blowing, etc. The method imposes minor limitations on processing parameters and materials used. Applicability of the technique proposed was verified by systematic studies of coalescence in PMMA/PS binary melts blends during capillary extrusion and by comparing these results to theoretical predictions and experimental data from literature. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011     

Gross melt fracture of polyethylene. I: A criterion based on tensile stress

We propose the use of a critical tensile stress as a criterion for the onset of gross melt fracture (OGMF). This stress is estimated from the entrance pressure drop using the method of Cogswell. Carbon black tracer was used to verify that what we deemed to be GMF, based on the inspection of extrudate, was indeed the result of a brittle rupture. An orifice die was used to eliminate the complications arising from the presence of a capillary. Polyethylenes having a variety of molecular structures were used to evaluate the usefulness of the critical tensile stress for characterizing polymers. The critical stress was found to be independent of temperature and contraction ratio. It is also independent of entrance angle, as long as this is equal to or greater than 90 degrees. The critical stress is thus a material property and can be used to rate the tendency of polymers to exhibit gross melt fracture.     

Gross melt fracture of polyethylene. II: Effects of molecular structure

The effect of molecular structure (MW, MWD and LCB) on the critical tensile stress (σ_c) for the onset of gross melt fracture (OGMF), proposed in Part I (1) as a material‐dependent criterion for fracture, was determined for a group of polyethylenes varying in structure. These included linear low and high‐density polyethylenes and several materials produced using metallocene and constrained geometry catalysts. It was found that the critical stress is independent of M_W, for constant polydispersity but increases with increasing long chain branching and polydispersity. The addition of boron nitride particles had no effect on the σ_c up to a level of 0.5% by weight.     

Gross melt fracture elimination: The role of surface energy of boron nitride powders

Boron nitride (BN) is an effective processing aid for the extrusion of polyethylenes. It postpones the onset of gross melt fracture to significantly high shear rates not previously attained with conventional fluoropolymers. However, BN particles containing relatively high amounts of boron oxide (B₂O₃) do not perform well as processing aids. A reliable procedure has been developed for measurement of surface energy of powders using the capillary rise technique through the use of Washburn's equation. It is based on finding the contact angle from liquid penetration experiments with polar and non‐polar liquids. Both the dispersive and non‐dispersive components of surface energy are determined. With this technique, the surface energy of a number of different powders has been assessed. These results of the surface energy of BN powders have been found to correlate well with the critical shear rate for the onset of melt fracture, indicating the important role that surface energy plays in gross melt fracture elimination.     

Dichotomous behavior of polymer melts in isothermal melt spinning

Isothermal melt spinning experiments have been conducted using two polyethylene melts of low density (LDPE) and high density (HDPE) to produce steady state spinline profiles. The data revealed the threadline extensional viscosity exhibiting a contrasting picture : extension thickening behavior for LDPE and extension thinning one for HDPE. A White-Metzner model having a strain rate-dependent relaxation time was then found to be able to simulate this dichotomy in melt spinning fairly well: the fluids whose relaxation times have smaller strain rate-dependence can fit LDPE data with extension thickening extensional viscosity whereas the fluids whose relaxation times have larger strain rate-dependence can fit HDPE data with extension thinning extensional viscosity. This dichotomous nature of viscoelastic fluids is also believed to be able to explain other similar contrasting phenomena exhibited by polymer melts, such as vortex/no vortex in entry flows, cohesive/ductile fracture modes in extension, and more/less stable draw resonance than Newtonian fluids.     

An analytical model for steady coextrusion of viscoplastic fluids in thin slit dies with wall slip

Coextrusion is widely used to fabricate multilayered products with each layer providing a separate functionality, including barrier resistance to gases, strength, and printability. Here an analytical model of the coextrusion die flow of two incompressible, viscoplastic fluids in a slit die, subject to nonlinear wall slip and under fully developed and isothermal conditions, is developed to allow the prediction of the steady‐state velocity and shear stress distributions and the flow rate versus pressure gradient relationship. The resulting model is applied to the coextrusion of two layers of viscoplastic fluids in a thin rectangular slit die (slit gap, h ? slit width, W). The analytical solution recognizes a number of distinct flow conditions (eleven cases) that need to be treated separately. The solutions for all eleven cases are provided along with an apriori identification methodology for the determination of the applicable case, given the shear viscosity and wall slip parameters of the two viscoplastic fluids, the slit geometry and the flow conditions. Simplifications of the model would provide the solutions for the fully developed and isothermal coextrusion flows of any combination of Hershel‐Bulkley, Bingham, power‐law and Newtonian fluids with or without wall slip at one or both walls of the slit die. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2010. © 2009 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Rheological behavior of nanofibrillated cellulose/acrylic polymer nanocomposites: Effect of melt extrusion

Nanocomposite films based on nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) and acrylic latex were prepared by film casting and their melt rheology was investigated under dynamic conditions in both the linear and the nonlinear regimes. The addition of cellulose nanofiller increased the storage modulus G′ and the dynamic viscosities η* of the nanocomposites monotonically, with NFC contents up to 6wt%. In addition, a transition from liquid‐like to solid‐like viscoelastic behavior was observed up to 1wt% of the added NFC with a terminal plateau in the low‐frequency range. This was explained in terms of the formation of an interconnected network involving the filler. After melt extrusion, a considerable change in the rheological properties was observed, with a major downward shift in the magnitude of G′ vs. the frequencies along with an upward shift to higher strain in the linear viscoelastic range. Such a transition was attributed to the irreversible break‐down and disruption of the NFC network. POLYM. COMPOS., 2011. © 2011 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Control of polymer properties by melt vibration technology: A review

This paper reviews the technology of melt vibration (more specifically at low frequency) to reduce viscosity during processing of plastics and to enhance mechanical performance of the solidified parts. The effect of vibration frequency and amplitude on melt viscosity is explained in terms of shear-thinning criteria. The effect of pressure and temperature on shear thinning is also reviewed to predict how these variables interfere with melt vibration. Practical applications of the principles of melt vibration are provided in injection molding, extrusion and compression molding/thermoforming, from reduction of viscosity to lowering processing temperature and pressure to the elimination of melt defects and weld lines, to the enhancement of mechanical properties, stiffness and strength, by modification of the amorphous and semicrystalline texture and orientational state. Commercially available equipments are reviewed. Results showing the effect of melt vibration during processing for two classical polymers, polystyrene and polypropylene, are discussed. The paper concludes on the remaining challenges to bring the benefits of the new technology to full commercialization.     

Flow distribution in shear-induced crystallisation of melt polymer: A prediction from morphological distribution of solid polymer

The present study presents a method to predict the flow distribution imposed on an injection moulded melt crystallised isotactic polypropylene (iPP) from its experimentally determined morphological distribution. A microrheological model, based on the Doi–Edwards model, was used to calculate the flow-induced free energy for the flow-induced crystallisation. The low limit flow field required to generate the final structures was then obtained. The effect of Cu-phthalocyanine (CuPc), a nucleating agent, on the flow history was also studied. Instead of geometric positions, structural parameters such as molecular orientation and crystallinity were correlated to the flow history of the injection-moulded iPP. The work provides a simple approach to predict flow–structure relationships for complex thermo-mechanical processing treatments, which can then guide the realistic design and control of the flow-induced crystallisation of polymers.     

纳米粉体在高聚物中的分散动力学模型

探讨了纳米粒子在高聚物熔体中的均匀分散混合动力学模型（哑铃模型）。结果表明，剪切速率和使用偶联剂，可改善纳米材料在高聚物中的分散效果。     

Anomalous rheological behavior of polyethylene melts in the gross melt fracture regime in the capillary extrusion

During the capillary extrusion with several different polyethylenes, we observe an abnormal rheological behavior. The nominal viscosity of polyethylene melt in the gross melt fracture regime does not change with a temperature. All polyethylenes tested show same behaviors. More interestingly, the nominal viscosity in the gross melt fracture regime shows even no molecular weight dependency when PEs have similar molecular structures (degree of branching and co-monomer content). From various experiments, we conclude that this abnormal phenomenon is relevant to the structural change with the melt temperature.