Viscoelastic Numerical Simulation Study on the Co-Extrusion Process of Tri-Composite Tire Tread

Abstract

The co-extrusion process is widely used to produce composite tire treads with better performance. This study investigated the rubber co-extrusion flow process and quality influencing factors of tri-composite tire tread through numerical simulation and experimental methods. Here, RPA 2000 rubber processing analyzer was used to carry out rheological tests on the three rubber materials, the PTT viscoelastic constitutive model was fitted, and the fitting curves were in good agreement with the test data. Then, a three-dimensional viscoelastic numerical simulation model of the tri-composite tread co-extrusion process was established using Ansys Polyflow software. The parameter evolution technique is adopted in the model establishment to improve the calculation convergence. In addition, a global remeshing function is used to avoid excessive mesh deformation. A co-extrusion experiment is conducted to verify the model’s accuracy using a tri-screw extruder. The extruded tread size error rate between the experiment and simulation is less than 6%. The variation of the velocity field, pressure field and shear rate field during extrusion is analyzed, and the formation mechanism of die swell is explained simultaneously. Finally, the influence of process parameters (inflow rate and traction speed) and die structure (convergence angle and thickness) on the extruded tire tread shape and quality was investigated, which can provide theoretical guidance for improving tread quality and production efficiency. Furthermore, the numerical simulation method can assist the design of the die plate in enhancing the efficiency of the die plate design.

Improved Optimization of a Coextrusion Die with a Complex Geometry Using the Coupling Inverse Design Method

“…ANSYS Polyflow supports a wide range of material models commonly used in polymer processing simulations, including the Bird–Carreau pure viscosity model, the differential viscosity model PTT [ 7 ], and the K-BKZ Model [ 34 ]. In this study, the Bird–Carreau model was adopted to describe the viscosity behavior of non-Newtonian fluids, considering their shear rate dependence.…”

“…As minimally invasive surgery advances, the need for catheters with smaller dimensions and greater precision has become more prevalent [ 6 ]. However, in the coextrusion process, the coupling problem of polymer die swell and coextrusion interface movement [ 7 ] seriously restricts the accuracy of the catheter geometry. This development poses new challenges to the design and manufacturing of coextrusion dies.…”