Quantitative evaluation of extrudate swell from viscoelastic properties of polystyrene

A theory of extrudate swell for short, intermediate or long dies is presented. In our experiment, we consider that the swelling phenomenon is mainly due to the recoverable elongational strain induced by the converging flow at the die entrance, as well as by recoverable shear strain originating within the die. From these concepts, an equation has been derived for the quantitative prediction of extrudate swell from the elastic material properties such as the entrance pressure drop, the relaxation modulus and the recoverable shear strain. Excellent agreement is found between predicted and measured values of extrudate swell obtained on commercial polystyrene melt, using capillaries of length-to-diameter ratios ranging from 1 to 20 and in a wide range of shear rates.     

聚合物熔体三维挤出胀大的数值模拟

采用有限元方法分析K-BKZ本构方程描述的聚合物熔体的三维挤出胀大.对于本构方程中偏应力张量的计算,首先给出质点的运动轨迹,分段求出局部的变形梯度张量,再求出整体的变形梯度、Cauchy-Green应变张量和 Finger应变张量,沿轨迹采用分段高斯积分计算应力.把应力作为方程的右端项,给出迭代方法,求解非线性方程组.并根据自由面处的边界条件,迭代得出出口处自由面的最终位置.对轴对称流道和矩形流道进行分析计算,并把结果与二维分析和实验结果进行了比较,显示方法是可行的.     

Prediction of extrudate swell in polymer melt extrusion using an Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian (ALE) based finite element method

Accurate prediction of extrudate (die) swell in polymer melt extrusion is important as this helps in appropriate die design for profile extrusion applications. Extrudate swell prediction has shown significant difficulties due to two key reasons. The first is the appropriate representation of the constitutive behavior of the polymer melt. The second is regarding the simulation of the free surface, which requires special techniques in the traditionally used Eulerian framework. In this paper we propose a method for simulation of extrudate swell using an Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian (ALE) technique based finite element formulation. The ALE technique provides advantages of both Lagrangian and Eulerian frameworks by allowing the computational mesh to move in an arbitrary manner, independent of the material motion. In the present method, a fractional-step ALE technique is employed in which the Lagrangian phase of material motion and convection arising out of mesh motion are decoupled. In the first step, the relevant flow and constitutive equations are solved in Lagrangian framework. The simpler representation of polymer constitutive equations in a Lagrangian framework avoids the difficulties associated with convective terms thereby resulting in a robust numerical formulation besides allowing for natural evolution of the free surface with the flow. In the second step, mesh is moved in ALE mode and the associated convection of the variables due to relative motion of the mesh is performed using a Godunov type scheme. While the mesh is fixed in space in the die region, the nodal points of the mesh on the extrudate free surface are allowed to move normal to flow direction with special rules to facilitate the simulation of swell. A differential exponential Phan Thien Tanner (PTT) model is used to represent the constitutive behavior of the melt. Using this method we simulate extrudate swell in planar and axisymmetric extrusion with abrupt contraction ahead of the die exit. This geometry allows the extrudate to have significant memory for shorter die lengths and acts as a good test for swell predictions. We demonstrate that our predictions of extrudate swell match well with reported experimental and numerical simulations.     

Numerical study of the combined effects of inertia,slip, and compressibility in extrusion of yield stress fluids

The axisymmetric extrudate swell flow of a compressible Herschel–Bulkley fluid with wall slip is solved numerically. The Papanastasiou-regularized version of the constitutive equation is employed, together with a linear equation of state relating the density of the fluid to the pressure. Wall slip is assumed to obey Navier’s slip law. The combined effects of yield stress, inertia, slip, and compressibility on the extrudate shape and the extrudate swell ratio are analyzed for representative values of the power-law exponent. When the Reynolds number is zero or low, swelling is reduced with the yield stress and eventually the extrudate contracts so that the extrudate swell ratio reaches a minimum beyond which it starts increasing asymptotically to unity. Slip suppresses both swelling and contraction in this regime. For moderate Reynolds numbers, the extrudate may exhibit necking and the extrudate swell ratio initially increases with yield stress reaching a maximum; then, it decreases till a minimum corresponding to contraction, and finally, it converges asymptotically to unity. In this regime, slip tends to eliminate necking and may initially cause further swelling of the extrudate, which is suppressed if slip becomes stronger. Compressibility was found to slightly increase swelling, this effect being more pronounced for moderate yield stress values and wall slip.     

Extrudate swell of linear and branched polyethylenes: ALE simulations and comparison with experiments

Extrudate swell is a common phenomenon observed in the polymer extrusion industry. Accurate prediction of the dimensions of an extrudate is important for appropriate design of dies for profile extrusion applications. Prediction of extrudate swell has been challenging due to (i) difficulties associated with accurate representation of the constitutive behavior of polymer melts, and (ii) difficulties associated with the simulation of free surfaces, which requires special techniques in the traditionally used Eulerian framework. In a previous work we had argued that an Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian (ALE) based finite element formulation may have advantages in simulating free surface deformations such as in extrudate swell. In the present work we reinforce this argument by comparing our ALE simulations with experimental data on the extrudate swell of commercial grades of linear polyethylene (LLDPE) and branched polyethylene (LDPE). Rheological behavior of the polymers was characterized in shear and uniaxial extensional deformations, and the data was modeled using either the Phan–Thien Tanner (PTT) model or the eXtended Pom–Pom (XPP) model. Additionally, flow birefringence and pressure drop measurements were done using a 10:1 contraction–expansion (CE) slit geometry in a MultiPass Rheometer. Simulated pressure drop and contours of the principal stress difference were compared with experimental data and were found to match well. This provided an independent test for the accuracy of the ALE code and the constitutive equations for simulating a processing-like flow. The polymers were extruded from long (L/D = 30) and short (L/D = 10) capillaries dies at 190 °C. ALE simulations were performed for the same extrusion conditions and the simulated extrudate swell showed good agreement with the experimental data.     

Influence of wall slip on extrudate swell: a boundary element investigation

This paper reports a numerical study of the extrudate swell by a transient Boundary Element Method (BEM). Furthermore the fluid, which is modeled by a differential constitutive equation, is allowed to slip at the wall, where the slip velocity is a prescribed function of the wall shear stress. This function is a curve fit of the extensive data of Ramamurthy on linear low density polyethylene which incorporates two parameters: a critical wall shear stress above which slip occurs, and another parameter which governs the shape of the slip velocity versus shear stress curve. The results show that wall slip reduces both the amount of extrudate swell and the critical Weissenberg number above which our numerical scheme no longer converges.     

A comparative study of the thermotropic mesomorphic tendencies and rheological characteristics of three cellulose derivates: Ethylene and propylene oxide ethers and an acetate butyrate ester

Samples of cellulose acetate butyrate (CAB) hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC) and ethyl cellulose (EC) are contrasted with commercial (atactic) polystyrene (PS) and isotactic polypropylene (PP) in studies of (i) differential scanning calorimetry, (ii) quiescent polarized light microscopy (iii) optical retardation variation following an imposed stress field. It is concluced that HPC and EC are thermotropic liquid crystals, while CAB behaves in a manner similar to a vitrifying isotropic melt such as PS. Studies of the shear viscosity and dynamic viscosity indicate HPC and EC exhibit yield values while CAB shows a zero shear viscosity and Vinogradov-Malkin reduced viscosity curve identical to PS. The normal stress and extrudate swell behavior of CAB are also similar to PS. The HPC and EC exhibit substantially reduced extrudate swell. Measurement of the principal normal stress difference behavior of the HPC melt is troubled by the existence of yield values.     

The compressible Newtonian extrudate swell problem

We solve the compressible Newtonian extrudate swell problem in order to investigate the effect of compressiblity on the shape of the extrudate. We employ a first-order equation of state relating the density to the pressure and use finite elements for the numerical solution of the problem. Our results show that the shape of the extrudate and the final extrudate swell ratio are not significanlty affected even at high compressibility values.     

Polypropylene-polyethylene blends

Summary Die swell behaviour and morphology of melt blends of isotactic polypropylene (PP) and high density polyethylene for pure polymers and blends with 25, 50 and 75 weight % PP are described in the present study. A light interference contrast microscopy technique was used for the morphological characterization of melt blends and extrudate samples of the blends obtained with an Instron capillary rheometer. The results indicate that the domains from blends where the dispersed phase has higher viscosity than the continuous phase remain as continuous domains in the extrudate whereas domain destruction takes place when blends where the continuous phase has the higher viscosity are extruded.The die swell behaviour as well as the fiber forming properties of extrudates of melts having unstable domains extruded at high shear stresses resemble the behaviour of homopolymers, whereas samples with stable domains are significantly different, die swell increases with temperature at constant shear stress and stable fibers cannot be obtained after necking.With 10 figures and 1 table     

Extrudate swell of Boger fluids

Boger fluids are dilute polymer solutions exhibiting high elasticity at low apparent shear rates, which leads to high extrudate swell. Numerical simulations have been undertaken for the flow of three Boger fluids (including benchmark Fluid M1), obeying an integral constitutive equation of the K-BKZ type, capable of describing the behavior of dilute polymer solutions. Their rheology is well captured by the integral model. The flow simulations are performed for planar and axisymmetric geometries without or with gravity. The results provide the extrudate swell and the excess pressure losses (exit correction), as well as the shape and extent of the free surface. All these quantities increase rapidly and monotonically with increasing elasticity level measured by the stress ratio, S_R. It was found that the main reason for the high extrudate swelling is high normal stresses exhibited in shear flow (namely, the first normal-stress difference, N₁). Surprisingly, the elongational parameter of the model or a second normal-stress difference N₂ do not affect the results appreciably. Gravity serves to lower the swelling considerably, and makes the simulations easier and in overall agreement with previous experiments.     

A finite element method for computing the flow of multi-mode viscoelastic fluids: comparison with experiments

The numerical computation of viscoelastic fluid flows with differential constitutive equations presents various difficulties. The first one lies in the numerical convergence of the complex numerical scheme solving the non-linear set of equations. Due to the hybrid type of these equations (elliptic and hyperbolic), geometrical singularities such as reentrant corner or die induce stress singularities and hence numerical problems. Another difficulty is the choice of an appropriate constitutive equation and the determination of rheological constants. In this paper, a quasi-Newton method is developed for a fluid obeying a multi-mode Phan-Thien and Tanner constitutive equation. A confined convergent geometry followed by the extrudate swell has been considered. Numerical results obtained for two-dimensional or axisymmetric flows are compared to experimental results (birefringence patterns or extrudate swell) for a linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) and a low density polyethylene (LDPE).     

黏弹流体挤出胀大的数值模拟研究进展

主要介绍了黏弹流体挤出胀大的数值模拟研究进展.给出了黏弹流体挤出胀大的数学模型,回顾了近20多年以来挤出胀大的主要数值模拟研究工作,然后对主要模拟方法的计算过程、方法特点和形成的结果进行了一定的总结.最后提出了作者对挤出胀大研究的一些看法,包括目前研究中存在的问题和相关研究的发展趋势.      

Free (open) boundary condition: some experiences with viscous flow simulations

The free (or open) boundary condition (FBC, OBC) was proposed by Papanastasiou et al. (A new outflow boundary condition, International Journal for Numerical Methods in Fluids, 1992; 14:587–608) to handle truncated domains with synthetic boundaries where the outflow conditions are unknown. In the present work, implementation of the FBC has been tested in several benchmark problems of viscous flow in fluid mechanics. The FEM is used to provide numerical results for both cases of planar and axisymmetric domains under laminar, isothermal or non‐isothermal, steady‐state conditions, for Newtonian fluids. The effects of inertia, gravity, compressibility, pressure dependence of the viscosity, slip at the wall, and surface tension are all considered individually in the extrudate‐swell benchmark problem for a wide range of the relevant parameters. The present results extend previous ones regarding the applicability of the FBC and show cases where the FBC is inappropriate, namely in the extrudate‐swell problem with gravity or surface‐tension effects. Particular emphasis has been given to the pressure at the outflow, which is the most sensitive quantity of the computations. In all cases where FBC is appropriate, excellent agreement has been found in comparisons with results from very long domains. The formulation for Picard‐type iterations is given in some detail, and the differences with the Newton–Raphson formulation are highlighted regarding some computational aspects. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Analysis of extrudate swell behaviour of rubber compounds using laser scan detector

Summary Classical extrudate swell measurements such as the gravimetric or the shrinkage techniques, are difficult, complex and time consuming methods. Using laser scan detector, new instruments have been recently developed which allow the extrudate swell behaviour of rubber compounds to be analysed in a quick and reliable manner.This paper discusses the requirements for suitable analysis of the extrudate swell of rubber compounds. Due to the specific elastic response of rubbers, these requirements differ from those for thermoplastics. Recent results obtained using typical industrial formulations, such as natural rubber/polybutadiene blends, are presented and their practical significance is discussed.Paper presented at the VIIIth International Congress on Rheology, Naples, Sept. 1–5, 1980.With 3 figures     

A boundary element investigation of extrudate swell

Numerical studies of die swell have until now dealt perimarily with the Maxwell or Oldroyd-B viscoelastic models. However, these models exhibit features that often make them unsuitable for numerical work. Furthermore, they are not realistic representations of actual viscoelastic fluids. In this report a comparison is made between the behaviour of a variety of different viscoelastic models when applied to the die swell problem. A wide range of elongational and shear behaviour is exhibited by the models examined. Both types of behaviour are shown to be important in the die swell problem, and the observed swelling is related to these characteristics of the models.     

Relation between extrudate swelling of polypropylene and molecular weight

Six samples of polypropylene produced by Montepolimeri were carefully characterized in dilute solution and studied, with a capillary extrusion rheometer, in large ranges of shear and temperature. The extrudate swelling behaviour is found to be regular as far as its shear stress and temperature dependence is concerned, but the influence of molecular weight is abnormal. With increasing molecular weight the amount of elastic recovery (as measured by the extrudate swell) decreases markedly and the shear modulusG (obtained from the data by making use of simplifying assumptions) appears to be an increasing function ofM _w at all the shear stress investigated. No similar results appear to be reported in the literature.Presented in part at the VIIIth Intern. Congress on Rheology, Naples, September 1–5, 1980.     

A study of viscoelasticity and extrudate distortions of wood polymer composites

Natural fiber composites exhibit a characteristic surface tearing and extrudate distortions upon exiting from extrusion dies. This type of defect is characterized by highly rough, cracked, and distorted extrudate surface. In this study, the extrudate distortions and viscoelastic nature of metallocene-catalyzed polyethylene (mPE)/wood flour composites have been investigated. As the wood flour loading increases the region of linear viscoelasticity shortens. The first normal stress difference decreases, while the storage modulus increases. It was observed that increasing the wood flour loading up to 50 wt% aggravated the surface tearing; however, 60 wt% wood flour in mPE completely eliminated the surface defect. It was also found that increasing the shear rate improved the surface appearance of the filled compounds. This is due to the increased wall slip velocity of the composites at high shear rates and wood filler loadings. Increasing the diameter of the die at the same aspect ratio generally provides more severe surface tearing. This paper was presented at the 3rd Annual Rheology Conference, AERC 2006, April 27–29, 2006, Crete, Greece.     

Extrusion of a compressible Newtonian fluid with periodic inflow and slip at the wall

We explore a mechanism of extrusion instability, based on the combination of nonlinear slip and compressibility. We consider the time-dependent compressible Newtonian extrudate swell problem with slip at the wall. Steady-state solutions are unstable in regimes where the shear stress is a decreasing function of the velocity at the wall. Compressibility provides the means for the alternate storage and release of elastic energy, and, consequently, gives rise to periodic solutions. The added novelty in the present work is the assumption of periodic volumetric flow rate at the inlet of the die. This leads to more involved periodic responses and to free surface oscillations similar to those observed experimentally with the stick-slip instability. To numerically simulate the flow, we use finite elements in space and a fully-implicit scheme in time.Dedicated to the memory of Prof. Tasos Papanastasiou