| Abstract: | A unique capillary die was designed which made possible the measurement of extrusion pressure at various locations along the capillary length. Entrance pressure drops, exit pressures, and other rheological characteristics were determined for the flow of poly(ethylene terephthalate) through this extrusion apparatus. The effect of die entrance angle, extrusion temperature, throughput rate and polymer molecular weight were considered. Two samples differing in molecular weight exhibited power-law behavior at shear rates below 1000s?1. The entrance pressure drops and exit pressures were observed to increase with increasing molecular weight; furthermore, at a specific temperature, both-increased with increasing shear rate. The values for entrance pressure drop obtained using Bagley analysis were consistently higher than those obtained from direct measurements. |
