A Network-Theory-Based Comparative Study of Melt-Conveying Models in Single-Screw Extrusion: A. Isothermal Flow

Abstract

In many extrusion processes, the metering section is the rate-controlling part of the screw. In this functional zone, the polymer melt is pressurized and readied to be pumped through the die. We have recently proposed a set of heuristic models for predicting the flow behavior of power-law fluids in two- and three-dimensional metering channels. These novel theories remove the need for numerical simulations and can be implemented easily in practice. Here we present a comparative study designed to validate these new methods against experimental data. Extensive experiments were performed on a well-instrumented laboratory single-screw extruder, using various materials, screw designs, and processing conditions. A network-theory-based simulation routine was written in MATLAB to replicate the flow in the metering zones in silico. The predictions of the three-dimensional heuristic melt-conveying model for the axial pressure profile along the screw are in excellent agreement with the experimental extrusion data. To demonstrate the usefulness of the novel melt-flow theories, we additionally compared the models to a modified Newtonian pumping model known from the literature.

Numerical Simulation of Polymer Solutions in a Single-Screw Extruder

“…Thus, the pressure is determined accurately up to a constant value. Based on the above, the condition that pressure is equal to zero is specified as the boundary condition at the channel outlet [22].…”

“…Sci. 2019, 9, 5423 2 of 12 the helical screw channel is unwound and considered as a flat rectangular channel [4,[17][18][19][20][21][22]. Thus, plane-parallel fluid flow in a channel of infinite width is considered instead of direct 3D modeling.…”

“…Also, the principle of reversed motion is often used (tube rotation is considered at the fixed screw) [4,[17][18][19][20][21][22]. In all works, polymers are considered as shear-thinning fluid [4,[17][18][19][20][21][22].The main functional zones of the extruder are feeding (solids conveying), melting, and metering. The metering zone is the simplest for modeling in a single-screw extruder, since the flow laws of viscous fluids can be applied to the polymer melt flow [23].…”

“…Besides, it is the metering zone that determines the extruder performance [23].Work [4] describes a simple numerical method for solving the problem of the polymer melt flow in the metering zone of the single-screw extruder. The 2D mathematical model takes into account the presence of circulating motion, non-Newtonian behavior of the processed material, and heating of the polymer due to viscous dissipation.In [3,18,19,21,22,25], numerical solutions obtained in a 2D and 3D formulation are approximated by symbolic regression models. The heuristic approach for predicting the main characteristics of the polymer melts flow in the extruder channel is based on genetic programming.…”

“…In [3,18,19,21,22,25], numerical solutions obtained in a 2D and 3D formulation are approximated by symbolic regression models. The heuristic approach for predicting the main characteristics of the polymer melts flow in the extruder channel is based on genetic programming.…”