Effects of Roller Speed,Die Temperature,Volumetric Flow Rate,and Multiple Extrusions on Mechanical Strength of Molten and Solidified LDPE under Tensile Deformation

An experimental rig coupled with a high speed data-logging and recording system and a personal computer was specially designed and constructed for the real-time measurement of mechanical strength (in terms of drawdown force) as a function of volumetric flow rate and roller speed for virgin low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and reprocessed LDPE during a filament stretching process. The effect of the number of extrusion passes for the reprocessed LDPE was our main interest. The experimental rig was connected to the end of a single-screw extruder, which was used to melt and extrude the polymers. The LDPE filaments were then solidified and collected for studying the mechanical properties. The mechanical strength of the virgin LDPE and reprocessed LDPE were investigated in both molten and solidified states. The mechanical strengths of the virgin and reprocessed LDPEs under these two states are discussed and compared in terms of change in magnitude under a wide range of processing conditions (volumetric flow rate, die temperature, and roller speed). The results suggested that in the molten state the drawdown force for LDPE melts was dependent on volumetric flow rate, die temperature, roller speed, and the number of reprocessing passes. The drawdown force being affected by the number of reprocessing passes could be explained by molecular degradation and gelation effects when using high volumetric flow rates. In the solidified state, the tensile properties of the solidified LDPE increased with roller speed. The effect of the number of extrusion passes for the solidified LDPE was similar to that for the molten LDPE. In the case of volumetric flow rates, the mechanical properties of the solidified LDPE decreased with increasing volumetric flow rate, whereas those of the molten LDPE exhibited the opposite effect. Thus, the mechanical strength of the molten LDPE could not always be used to assess the mechanical properties of the solidified LDPE.