Screw-melt temperature

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. 

Prior to blending, the LCP was dried at 155°C for 5 h. The melt blending of the materials was carried out with a Berstorff ZE 25 x 33D corotating twin-screw extruder at a melt temperature of 290°C, with a screw speed of 200 rpm, and an output of 6.4 kg/h. The extrudate was immediately quenched in a water bath and repelletized. 

In preliminary tests, melt mixed blends of PP and LCP were processed at six different temperatures (Tcyi 230, 240, 250, 260, 270, and 280°C) with a Brabender Plasti-Corder PLE 651 laboratory single-screw extruder. The measured melt temperatures were about 10°C higher than the cylinder temperatures (Tcyi). The objective was to study the influence of temperature on the size and shape of the dispersed LCP phase. Two different polypropylenes were used to ascertain the effect of the viscosity of the matrix on the final morphology. Different draw ratios were obtained by varying the speed of the take-up machine. 

Figure 2 Optical micrographs of melt mixed PP-LCP blends single-screw extruded at melt temperatures of (a) 250°C, and (b) 260°C.

Figure 3 Twin-screw extruded PP-LCP blend processed at a melt temperature of 290°C with low- (left) and high-draw ratio (right). Upper micrographs are taken from the core and lower ones from the skin region.

Shear viscosities of the twin-screw blended materials were measured at 190°C and 290°C (Fig. 6), the same temperatures as the melt temperatures during processing 190°C for the composites and 290°C for the melt blends. 

A distinction should be made between machine conditions and processing variables. Machine conditions are basically temperature, pressure, and processing time (such as screw rotation/rpm, and so on) in the case of a screw plasticator, die and mold temperature and pressure, machine output rate (lb./hr), and the like. Processing variables are more specific such as the melt temperature in the die or mold, melt flow rate, and pressure used. 

Time, pressure, and temperature controls indicate whether the performance requirements of a molded product are being met. The time factors include the rate of injection, duration of ram pressure, time of cooling, time of piastication, and screw RPM. Pressure requirement factors relate to injection high and low pressure cycles, back pressure on the extruder screw, and pressure loss before the plastic enters the cavity which can be caused by a variety of restrictions in the mold. The temperature control factors are in the mold (cavity and core), barrel, and nozzle, as well as the melt temperature from back pressure, screw speed, frictional heat, and so on in the plasticator. 

Most of the compounds were extrusion compounded in a conical, partially intermeshing, counter rotating twin screw extruder (Haake Reomix TW-lOO). The extruder speed was set at 50 rpm and the barrel temperature profile was set to produce a melt temperature of 260°C at the die. Samples were injection molded in a 31.8 MT Battenfeld press with a 59 cc shot size. Where noted, samples were compounded in a 60 cc Brabender internal mixer and compression molded. 

Experimental and simulation results presented below will demonstrate that barrel rotation, the physics used in most texts and the classical extrusion literature, is not equivalent to screw rotation, the physics involved in actual extruders and used as the basis for modeling and simulation in this book. By changing the physics of the problem the dissipation and thus adiabatic temperature increase can be 50% in error for Newtonian fluids. For example, the temperature increase for screw and barrel rotation experiments for a polypropylene glycol fluid is shown in Fig. 7.30. As shown in this figure, the barrel rotation experiments caused the temperature to increase to a higher level as compared to the screw rotation experiments. The analysis presented here focuses on screw rotation analysis, in contrast to the historical analysis using barrel rotation [15-17]. It was pointed out recently by Campbell et al. [59] that the theory for barrel and screw rotation predicts different adiabatic melt temperature increases. 

As indicated by Eig. 7.37 and Table 7.7 and as expected, the increase in melt temperature for a PC resin was always higher for the barrel rotation case as compared to screw rotation. If a very high die pressure was needed and the rate is reduced to 10 % of the rotational rate (T) = 0.9), the difference between discharge temperatures for the rotation cases was predicted at about 18 °C. In other terms, the temperature increase (47°C) for screw rotation was about 72% of the temperature increase (65 °C) for barrel rotation. The discharge temperature difference for the two rotation cases decreases to about 4 °C fora low die pressure case where the rate is 90% of the rotational flow rate (T) = 0.1). For this case, the melt temperature increase (6 °C) for screw rotation was about 60% of the temperature increase (10 °C) for barrel rotation. 

The predictions for a typical highly shear-thinning PS resin are shown in Fig. 7.38. The difference in predicted discharge temperature was not as dramatic for the different rotation cases. Like the PC resin and as expected, the melt temperature increase for the PS resin was always higher for the barrel rotation case. As shown by Fig. 7.38, the melt temperature increased by 22 °C for barrel rotation while it increased 19 °C for the screw rotation case. Thus, the melt temperature Increase for screw rotation was about 86% of the temperature increase for barrei... 

Flow surging can occur if the temperature of the screw becomes too high in the solids-conveying section. In general, the temperature of the screw in this section needs to be less than the Tg for amorphous resins or less than the melting temperature for semicrystalline resins. Small-diameter screws will typically operate at feed... 

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