Dr.

Farhan Saeed
 During extrusion, a polymer melt is pumped
through a shaping die and formed into a
profile.
 This profile can be a plate, a film, a tube, or
have any shape for its cross section.
 In today’s polymer industry, the most
commonly used extruder is the single screw
extruder.

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 Must generate pressure from viscous
stresses but in drag flow, no pressure
generated

 If close an end partially, fluid is still

dragged and pressure is generated

Pressure
build-up
 Take the infinite flat plate and twist it into
a barrel and shallow channel by twisting
and turning the screw inside the barrel.
Twist into a screw
Schematic of a typical single-screw extruder.

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 feed
hopper

Conveying section die

gear
box

{
barrel surface
Vb Vbz
W = width of channel
df Vbx
H = channel depth qb
df = flight clearance
Vb = velocity of barrel H y z
qb=barrel surface angle
x
W
flight
 q sinq = L/z

H-df
Db = barrel diameter
z = down-channel
direction e Db = Ds + 2d
W
Ds Ls = length of flight

e = fight width
Ls

• Neglect flight clearance in our analysis so Db ≈ Ds

Velocity of barrel =Vb=pDN where N is the rotation rate

(assume barrel is moving and not screw)

Vbz = Vbcosq = pDsNcosq

 The machine variables under the operator's
control are
◦ Screw speed
◦ Back pressure
◦ Heater temperature
◦ Temperature profile
 A single screw extruder with a smooth
inside barrel surface is called a
conventional single screw extruder, with
grooved feed zone it is called a grooved
feed extruder.

 In some cases, an extruder can have a

degassing zone, required to extract
moisture, volatiles, and other gases that
form during the extrusion process.
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 Another important class of extruders are the
twin screw extruders.
 Twin screw extruders can have co-rotating or
counter-rotating screws, and the screws can
be intermeshing or non-intermeshing.
 Twin screw extruders are primarily employed
as mixing and compounding devices, as well
as polymerization reactors.

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Schematic of different types of twin screw extruders.

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Schematic of a plasticating single screw extruder.

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The tasks of a plasticating extruder are to:
 Transport the solid pellets or powder from
the hopper to the screw channel
 Compact the pellets and move them down the
channel
 Melt the pellets
 Mix the polymer into a homogeneous melt
 Pump the melt through the die

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 Low
resistance
die

High
resistance
die

Screw and die characteristic curves for a 45 mm diameter extruder with an PE-LD
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 The different screw characteristic curves
represent different screw rotational speeds.
 In a screw characteristic curve, the point of
maximum throughput and no pressure build-
up is called the point of open discharge. This
occurs when there is no die.
 The point of maximum pressure build-up and
no throughput is called the point of closed
discharge. This occurs when the extruder is
plugged.

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 The curve labeled Tmax represents the
conditions at which excessive temperatures
are reached as a result of viscous heating.
 The feasibility line represents the throughput
required to have an economically feasible
system.

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 The task of the solids conveying zone is to
move the polymer pellets or powders from
the hopper to the screw channel.
 Once the material is in the screw channel, it is
compacted and transported down the
channel.
 The process to compact the pellets and to
move them can only be accomplished if the
friction at the barrel surface exceeds the
friction at the screw surface.

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Grooved section < 3.5D

Typical conventional and grooved feed extruder pressure

distributions in a 45 mm diameter extruder.
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With grooved feed
systems, higher
productivity and higher
melt flow stability and
pressure invariance can
be achieved.

Screw and die characteristic curves for a conventional (left) and grooved
(right) feed 45 mm diameter extruder for an PE-LD.
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 The melting or transition zone is the portion
of the extruder were the material melts.
 The length of this zone is a function of
material properties, screw geometry, and
processing conditions.
 During melting, the size of the solid bed
shrinks as a melt pool forms at its side.

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 The metering zone is the most important
section in melt extruders and conventional
single screw extruders that rely on it to
generate pressures sufficient for pumping.
 In both the grooved barrel and the
conventional extruder, the diameter of the
screw determines the metering or pumping
capacity of the extruder.

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Figure 3.12: Throughput for
conventional and grooved feed
extruders.

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The extrusion die shapes the polymer melt into
its final profile. It is located at the end of the
extruder and used to extrude
 Flat films and sheets
 Pipes and tubular films for bags
 Filaments and strands
 Hollow profiles for window frames
 Open profiles

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Several rules of thumb can be followed when
designing an extruded plastic profile. These
are:
 Avoid thick sections
 Minimize the number of hollow sections
 Generate profiles with constant wall thickness

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One of the most widely used extrusion dies is
the coat-hanger sheeting die. A sheeting die is
formed by the following elements:
 Manifold: evenly distributes the melt to the
approach or land region
 Approach or land: carries the melt from the
manifold to the die lips
 Die lips: perform the final shaping of the melt
 Flex lips: for fine tuning when generating a
uniform profile

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 When plastic film is heated and stretched in
one direction, its molecules realign
themselves. Orientation is a technique used
to produce high-performance film by
repeatedly stretching the film in both the
machine and transverse directions (biaxial
orientation) in order to improve functions like
transparency, stiffness, strength, and heat
resistance via molecular realignment.

*http://www.mc-tohcello.co.jp/english/technology/key/enshin.html
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*http://www.mc-tohcello.co.jp/english/technology/key/enshin.html
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*http://www.plasticstoday.com/articles/bopp-film-twice-barrier-none-pvdc-coating-062720
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 In a tubular die, the polymer melt exits
through an annulus.
 These dies are used to extrude plastic pipes
and tubular film.

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CR from 2
to 6
 4 to 100 rpm
 0.03 to 0.05 kw/hr/Kg
 Radial clearance to screw diameter
0.001(.01% of the dia)
 L/D ratio
 Lining of barrel
 Barrel and screw wear