TY - JOUR
T1 - Melt-mixing by novel pitched-tip kneading disks in a co-rotating twin-screw extruder
AU - Nakayama, Yasuya
AU - Takeda, Eiji
AU - Shigeishi, Takashi
AU - Tomiyama, Hideki
AU - Kajiwara, Toshihisa
N1 - Funding Information:
The computation was partly carried out using the computer facilities at the Research Institute for Information Technology in Kyushu University and the Supercomputing Division of Information Technology Center at the University of Tokyo. This work was partly supported by KAKENHI ( 22740275 ).
PY - 2011
Y1 - 2011
N2 - Melt-mixing in twin-screw extruders is a key process in the development of polymer composites. Quantifying the mixing performance of kneading elements based on their internal physical processes is a challenging problem. We discuss melt-mixing by novel kneading elements called "pitched-tip kneading disk (ptKD)". The disk-stagger angle and tip angle are the main geometric parameters of the ptKDs. We investigated four typical arrangements of the ptKDs, which are forward and backward disk-staggers combined with forward and backward tips. Numerical simulations under a certain feed rate and screw revolution speed were performed, and the mixing process was investigated using Lagrangian statistics. It was found that the four types had different mixing characteristics, and their mixing processes were explained by the coupling effect of drag flow with the disk staggering and pitched-tip and pressure flows, which are controlled by operational conditions. The use of a pitched-tip effectively controls the balance of the pressurization and mixing ability.
AB - Melt-mixing in twin-screw extruders is a key process in the development of polymer composites. Quantifying the mixing performance of kneading elements based on their internal physical processes is a challenging problem. We discuss melt-mixing by novel kneading elements called "pitched-tip kneading disk (ptKD)". The disk-stagger angle and tip angle are the main geometric parameters of the ptKDs. We investigated four typical arrangements of the ptKDs, which are forward and backward disk-staggers combined with forward and backward tips. Numerical simulations under a certain feed rate and screw revolution speed were performed, and the mixing process was investigated using Lagrangian statistics. It was found that the four types had different mixing characteristics, and their mixing processes were explained by the coupling effect of drag flow with the disk staggering and pitched-tip and pressure flows, which are controlled by operational conditions. The use of a pitched-tip effectively controls the balance of the pressurization and mixing ability.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.ces.2010.10.022
DO - 10.1016/j.ces.2010.10.022
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:78149470522
SN - 0009-2509
VL - 66
SP - 103
EP - 110
JO - Chemical Engineering Science
JF - Chemical Engineering Science
IS - 1
ER -