Modeling and Experimental Studies on Polymer Melting and Flow in Injection Molding.

Injection molding, in addition to extrusion, is the most important technology in the polymer processing industry. When modeling injection molding, the global approach is necessary to take into account the solid polymer transport, polymer melting and the polymer melt flow. The model of polymer melting is fundamental for the development of such a global injection molding model. In the paper, the state-of-the-art of modeling and experimentation of the flow and melting in injection molding machines has been presented and discussed. It has been concluded that the existing mathematical models have no strong experimental basis. Therefore, experimentation of the polymer flow and melting in the injection molding machine has been performed, and the effect of processing conditions: the screw speed, the plasticating stroke and the back pressure on the process course has been investigated. Starving in the beginning sections of the screw has been observed, which was not presented in the literature so far. The novel concepts of injection molding modeling have been discussed.

A Computer Model of Starve Fed Single Screw Extrusion of Wood Plastic Composites.

In this study, we present a computer model of starve fed single screw extrusion of wood plastic composites (WPC). Experimental studies have been performed on the extrusion of the polypropylene (PP) based composites with various wood fiber contents (WF). The melting mechanisms of the composites in the extruder have been observed, and melting models have been proposed for partially and fully filled sections of the screw. It was observed that in the partially filled section the material is melted by conduction, as in the case of extrusion of neat polymers. On the other hand, in the fully filled section, the Tadmor melting mechanism appears, which is different compared to the melting mechanism of neat polymers at starve fed extrusion, where dispersed melting is observed. Using the melting models, the global computer model of the process has been developed which makes it possible to predict the process flow, i.e., the polymer melt temperature and pressure, the polymer melting rate, and the degree of screw filling. To build the model, the specific forward/backward procedure was developed, which consists in determining "forward" the melting profile, and "backward" the pressure and screw filling profile. The temperature profile in the melting section is computed "forward", while "backward" in the metering section. This procedure makes it possible to solve the crucial problem of modeling of the starve fed extrusion process, which is to find the location of the point where the screw is fully filled, and the pressure is developed. The model has been tested by pressure measurements in the extruder.

Rheological Basics for Modeling of Extrusion Process of Wood Polymer Composites.

Wood polymer composites are materials with pseudoplastic and viscoelastic properties. They have yield stress and exhibit slip during flow. Studies on extrusion and rheology, as well as on process modeling of these highly filled materials are limited. Extensive rheological and extrusion modeling studies on the wood polymer composite based on the polypropylene matrix were performed. Viscous and slip flow properties were determined (with Rabinowitsch, Bagley, and Mooney corrections) at broad (extrusion) range of shear rate and temperature, using a high-pressure capillary rheometer. Rheological models of Klein and power-law were used for flow modeling, and Navier model was applied for slip modeling. A novel global computer model of WPC extrusion with slip effects has been developed, and process simulations were performed to compute the extrusion parameters (throughput, power consumption, pressure, temperature, etc.), and to study the effect of the material rheological characteristics on the process flow. Simulations were validated experimentally, and were discussed with respect to both rheological and process modeling aspects. It was concluded that the location of the operating point of extrusion process, which defines the thermo-mechanical process conditions, is fundamentally dependent on the rheological materials characteristics, including slip effects.

Fundamentals of Global Modeling for Polymer Extrusion.

A review paper is presented on modeling for polymer extrusion for both single screw and twin-screw extrusion. An issue of global modeling is discussed, which includes modeling for solid conveying, melting, melt flow, and co-operation of the screw/die system. The classical approach to global modeling of the extrusion process, which is based on separate models for each section of the screw, i.e., solid transport section, melting and pre-melting sections, and the melt flow section is presented. In this case, the global model consists of the elementary models. A novel continuous concept of global modeling based on CFD (Computational Fluids Dynamics) computations is also presented, and a concept of using the DEM (Discrete Element Method) computation coupled with CFD computations is discussed.

Computer Modeling for Single-Screw Extrusion of Wood⁻Plastic Composites.

Experimental and theoretical studies have been performed on the single-screw extrusion of wood⁻plastics composites. Experimental research has been carried out on the flow and melting of polypropylene (PP)-based composites with different wood flour (WF) content in the single-screw extruder. Based on these experimental observations, elementary models of the process phenomena have been proposed and a global model of the process has been developed. This global computer model includes the models of solid conveying, melting dependent on the wood flour content, melt flow in the screw, and melt flow in the die. 3-D non-Newtonian finite element method (FEM) screw pumping characteristics have been applied to model the melt flow in the metering section of the screw. The model predicts the extrusion output, pressure and temperature profiles, melting profile, and power consumption. The model has been validated experimentally. An effect of material slip on the extruder operation has been discussed including both slipping in the screw/barrel surfaces and in the extruding die.