This paper describes work carried out in order to match experimental processing flows to numerical simulation. The work has brought together a consortium that has developed reliable experimental methods by which processing flows can be achieved in the laboratory and then ranked against numerical simulation.A full rheological characterisation of a selected range of polymers was made and the results compared from different laboratories. The data was fitted to a number of rheological models. Multi-mode parameter fitting was universal for the linear viscoelastic response. Particular attention was paid to the non linear response of the material. Prototype industrial flow experiments were carried out for a number of geometries in different laboratories and the flow birefringence technique was used to map out the experimentally observed stress fields for different polymers in a range of complex flows that contained both extensional and shear flow components. Numerical simulation was carried out using a number of algorithms and a range of constitutive equations.In order to make a quantitative comparison between experiment and simulation, an Advanced Rheological Tool (ART) module was developed that was able in some cases to quantify the level of fit between the numerically predicted and the experimentally observed stress patterns. In addition the ART module was able to optimise certain non-linear parameters in order to improve the quality of fit between experiment and simulation.
In a Rheotens test, the tensile force needed for elongation of an extruded filament is measured as a function of the draw ratio. In this way, the melt strength can be assessed, which is an important property in many polymer processes like fibre spinning, film blowing, and blow moulding. Several LDPE grades with different melt index and polymerised by both tubular and autoclave reactor technology were investigated. It is demonstrated that to assess melt strength, Rheotens tests have to be compared at constant extrusion pressure, while comparison at constant mass flow rate can be highly misleading. At constant extrusion pressure, Rheotens curves are invariant not only with respect to temperature but also with respect to average molar mass, and polymer grades with similar branching structure and molar mass distribution fall onto a common mastercurve. Two distinct and different Rheotens mastercurves were found for grades produced by tubular versus autoclave reactor technology, indicating distinct differences in the branching structure. Irrespective of the processing conditions, all LDPE melts investigated fail by brittle fracture, and a true rupture stress in the range of 1 to 2 MPa was found.
For two linear polyethylene melts, a HDPE and a LLDPE, Rheotens experiments at constant extrusion pressure and different extusion temperatures are reported. While at sufficiently small extrusion pressure Rheotens mastercurves were found, various deviations from the mastercurves were observed at higher extrusion pressures. By use of capillary rheometry and Mooney's method, these deviations could be attributed to a stick-slip transition in the extrusion die, and, in the case of LLDPE, to partial wall slip below the stick-slip transition.
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