Numerical and experimental studies on extrudate swell of branched polyethylene through axisymmetric and planar dies

TitleNumerical and experimental studies on extrudate swell of branched polyethylene through axisymmetric and planar dies
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2011
AuthorsGanvir, V, Gautham, BP, Thaokar, R, Lele, AK, Pol, H
JournalJournal of Polymer Engineering
Volume31
Issue2-3
Pagination217-221
Date PublishedJUL
ISSN0334-6447
KeywordsALE-FEM, extrudate swell, polymer flow simulations, XPP
Abstract

Extrudate swell is simulated using an Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian (ALE) technique based finite element formulation and the same has been validated by comparing the results with reported numerical and experimental studies. In the present work we compare our ALE simulations with our own experimental data on the extrudate swell of commercial grade low density polyethylene (LDPE) resin. The resins were characterized for their rheological behavior in both shear and uniaxial extension. The polymers were extruded from a capillary under isothermal conditions and the extrudates were observed on-line using a video camera. ALE simulations were performed using molecular constitutive model like eXtended Pom-Pom (XPP) for branched (LDPE). The simulated extrudate swell was a good match with the experimental data. It was found that the swell values of LPDE through planar die are higher than the axisymmetric die.

DOI10.1515/POLYENG.2011.046
Type of Journal (Indian or Foreign)Foreign
Impact Factor (IF)0.35
Divison category: 
Polymer Science & Engineering