Barrel flow

Improper solids-conveying temperatures for the barrel Flow surging and low specific rates 12.7.4... 

The simulation of extrusion generally includes consideration of the melting of the polymer in the barrel, flow of the melt in the die, and the cooling of the extruded shape. There are several simulation packages on the market, employing different viscosity models to describe the flow characteristics of the polymer melt. The material properties needed for simulation of extrusion process are listed in Table 11.7. 

The temperature of the melt downstream from the breaker plate may exceed the front barrel temperature, because of the mechanical work transmitted to the resin by the screw it varies with screw speed and flow rate. The melt temperature is measured by a thermocouple inserted into the melt downstream from the breaker plate. A hooded exhaust placed over the extmder die and feed hopper removes decomposition products when the extmdate is heated. 

Many initiators attack steels of the AISI 4300 series and the barrels of the intensifiers, which are usually of compound constmction to resist fatigue, have an inner liner of AISI 410 or austenitic stainless steel. The associated small bore pipework and fittings used to transfer the initiator to the sparger are usually made of cold worked austenitic stainless steel. The required pumping capacity varies considerably from one process to another, but an initiator flow rate 0.5 L / min is more than sufficient to supply a single injection point in a reactor nominally rated for 40 t/d of polyethylene. 

The drag flow is most easily visualized by unwrapping the screw and dragging a flattened barrel surface diagonally across the channel (Fig. 3). 

Pipe and Tubing. A typical die for extmding tubular products is shown in Figure 4. It is an in-line design, ie, the center of the extmded pipe is concentric with the extmder barrel. The extmdate is formed into a tube by the male and female die parts. The male die part is supported in the center by a spider mandrel. Melt flows around legs of the mandrel and meets on the downstream side. The position of the female die part can be adjusted with bolts adjustment is requited to obtain a tube with a uniform wall thickness. 

The principal advance ia technology for SASOL I relative to the German Fischer-Tropsch plants was the development of a fluidized-bed reactor/regenerator system designed by M. W. Kellogg for the synthesis reaction. The reactor consists of an entrained-flow reactor ia series with a fluidized-bed regenerator (Fig. 14). Each fluidized-bed reactor processes 80,000 m /h of feed at a temperature of 320 to 330°C and 2.2 MPa (22 atm), and produces approximately 300 m (2000 barrels) per day of Hquid hydrocarbon product with a catalyst circulation rate of over 6000 t/h (49). 

SASOLII a.ndIII. Two additional plants weie built and aie in operation in South Africa near Secunda. The combined annual coal consumption for SASOL II, commissioned in 1980, and SASOL III, in 1983, is 25 x 10 t, and these plants together produce approximately 1.3 x lO" m (80,000 barrels) per day of transportation fuels. A block flow diagram for these processes is shown in Figure 15. The product distribution for SASOL II and III is much narrower in comparison to SASOL I. The later plants use only fluid-bed reactor technology, and extensive use of secondary catalytic processing of intermediates (alkylation, polymerisation, etc) is practiced to maximise the production of transportation fuels. 

The inlet is usually rectangular and sometimes circular. In either case, projection of the flow path should never interfere with the outlet tube. If aveiy heavy sohds loading is anticipated, the barrel diameter should be increased shghtly. 

The standard melt flow index machine is often used for characterising the flow properties of polypropylene and to provide a rough measure of molecular weight. Under the conditions normally employed for polyethylene (2.16 kg load at 190°C) the flow rate is too low for accurate measurement and in practice higher loads, e.g. 10 kg, and/or higher temperatures are used. It has been found that a considerable pressure drop exists in the barrel so that the flow towards the end of a test run is higher than at the beginning. 

A factor is often required in this equation to allow for eccentricity of the screw in the barrel. Typically this increases the leakage flow by about 20%. 

There are several types of nozzle. The simplest is an open nozzle as shown in Fig. 4.34(a). This is used whenever possible because pressure drops can be minimised and there are no hold up points where the melt can stagnate and decompose. However, if the melt viscosity is low then leakage will occur from this type of nozzle particularly if the barrel/nozzle assembly retracts from the mould each cycle. The solution is to use a shut-off nozzle of which there are many types. Fig. 4.34(b) shows a nozzle which is shut off by external means. Fig. 4.34(c) shows a nozzle with a spring loaded needle valve which opens when the melt pressure exceeds a certain value or alternatively when the nozzle is pressed up against the mould. Most of the shut-off nozzles have the disadvantage that they restrict the flow of the material and provide undersirable stagnation sites. For this reason they should not be used with heat sensitive materials such as PVC. 

Nowadays, the injection moulder can be supplied with uniform quality granules which consist of partially polymerised resin, fillers and additives. The formulation of the material is such that it will flow easily in the barrel with a slow rate of polymerisation. The curing is then completed rapidly in the mould. 

In this apparatus the plastic to be tested is heated in a barrel and then forced through a capillary die as shown in Fig. 5.16, Normally the ram moves at a constant velocity to give a constant volume flow rate, Q. From this it is conventional to calculate the shear rate from the Newtonian flow expression. 

---