Proceedings of the Polymer Processing Society 28th Annual Meeting ~ PPS-28 ~ December 11-15, 2012, Pattaya (Thailand)

INVESTIGATION OF THE PLASTIFICATION BEHAVIOR OF POLYMERS

IN HIGH-SPEED TWIN SCREW EXTRUDERS

G. Spohr
1
, A. Knieper
2
, C. Beinert
3
*

1
Mechanical and Process Engineering, Technical University Darmstadt, Germany GuntramSpohr@gmail.com
2
Dutch Polymer Institute (DPI), PO Box 902, 5600 AX Eindhoven, the Netherlands
Alexander.Knieper@lbf.fraunhofer.de
3
Polymer Processing, Div. Plastics, Fraunhofer-Institute LBF, Germany Christian.Beinert@lbf.fraunhofer.de;

Abstract - A test stand to observe movement and deformation of thermoplastic polymers in a cross section of the
plastification zone of a co-rotating twin screw extruder is presented. Multiple experiments to examine the initial melting
processes in dependence of different process parameters such as rotational speed, temperature, kneading disk
configuration, polymeric material, granule size and filling degree were conducted. The focus thereby was the
visualization of underlying effects by high-speed imaging. This allowed gaining insights into the basic energy
dissipation mechanisms and the most significant process parameters for the initial melting process.

Keywords: Twin-screw extruder, plastic energy dissipation, initial melting, visualization


Introduction
Research Objective
Since up to 80% of the energy input in a co-TSE
extruder takes place in the plastification zone [1], the
optimization of the plastification process offers the
highest potential for an increase of the economic
efficiency by energy savings, improvement of material
properties and increase of throughput.
The objective of this work is therefore studying the
process of initial melting by experimental
investigations in the plastification zone of a high-speed
co-TSE. Here the responsible mechanisms for energy
input into the polymer are friction, heat transfer, plastic
and viscous deformation [1]. The mechanisms are
thereby coupled and change throughout the
plastification zone. They are also dependent onto
multiple parameters such as rotational speed,
temperature, kneading disk configuration, material
properties, granule geometry, filling degree, local
pressure, residence time, etc. The differentiation of the
four heating mechanisms is therefore difficult.
In order to have a basis for the development of new
melting models which are suitable for high-speed co-
TSE a visualization of the plastification zone was
conducted. Because the effects especially in a cross
section of the plastification zone have never been
observed, a test-stand that allowed looking at the side
faces of two kneading blocks was designed and built.
High-speed imaging of deformation, movement and
melting of the granules in the cross section of the
plastification zone led to further insights into
underlying effects.
State of the art
First models to describe plastification in extruders were
based on models for single screw extruders [2], [3], [4].
The models are based on the assumption of continuous
solid melting (CSM) which postulates a solid bed of
granules surrounded by a pool of melt. These models
are based on a continuous channel for material flow at
low rpm. Thus they do not describe the melting
processes adequately in twin screw extruders.
Therefore dispersed solid melting models (DSM) were
developed [5], [6], [7]. They assume that granules are
dispersed in melt. The melting of solids is thereby
related to the dissipation of energy in the melt and
conduction of energy from melt to solids. These
models describe the melting process in twin screw
extruders much better and are nowadays mainly used in
commercial extruder software.
The main problem with the DSM models is that the
initial melting is neglected in all these models. They
are only valid for granules surrounded by a polymer
melt matrix. Since at least 25% (for spherical
geometries) of the material must be melted for granules
to be embedded in melt, all energy dissipation
mechanisms up to this point are neglected. But because
plastic energy dissipation is the primary energy
dissipation mechanism for initial melting it plays a
significant role. It cannot be neglected for complete
modeling of the melting process. Thought examination
of plastic energy dissipation in polymers was already
conducted by [8], [9], [10], [11], [12], [13], melting
models still lack accuracy. In order to expand the
knowledge of the underlying mechanisms and process
parameters, experimental investigations on co-TSE
extruders are necessary. This will allow generating
melting models that integrate the initial melting.

Experimental
Experimental Setup
For the experiments a Coperion ZSK32 high-speed co-
TSE was used. The overall length of the extruder was
reduced to an L/D ratio of 21. The shafts protruded the
extruder for approximately 70mm. The partial length of
shaft inside the extruder was equipped with conveying
elements; onto the screw tip kneading disks were
mounted. This allowed positioning the first
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Proceedings of the Polymer Processing Society 28th Annual Meeting ~ PPS-28 ~ December 11-15, 2012, Pattaya (Thailand)
compression zone and thus the plastification zone in
our test stand as seen in Fig. 1 and Fig. 3.

Figure 1 Screw and extruder configuration
The test stand allowed positioning of a window 1/10th
of a millimeter away from the side faces of the last
kneading disks and thus allowed observation of the
processes in the plastification zone.
Design of the Test Stand
The test stand (Fig. 2) consists out of three different
parts:
The first part is the "granule removal plate" (green). It
is directly mounted onto the endplate (blue) of the
extruder. It is necessary for running the extruder
continuously, without filling of the "plastification
zone". An opening allows exiting of granules out of the
extruder. By inserting the slider (grey) into the test
stand the experiment is started.
The second part, the "plastification zone plate"
(orange), allows positioning the last kneading disk pair
in plane with the raise (in the middle). Also sliding
rails (red) were welded onto the "plastification zone"
The third part is the "sledge", in which a window is
mounted. The sledge (and thus the window) slides on
the rails (red). With screws (blue) the pressure of the
window onto the raise on the "plastification zone plate"
can be adjusted. This is done by tightening or
loosening springs (not shown) which are mounted onto
the screws (blue). At a predefined pressure inside the
plastification zone the sledge thus moves away from
the "plastification zone plate", allowing granules to exit
the extruder at the end. This prevents brakeage of the
window. For window material a 10mm polycarbonate
plate was used. It was cut to fit into the sledge. Two
holes were milled into the windows to allow the shafts
to protrude the window. The windows were designed
as wear and tear parts.

Figure 2 Cad model of test stand
This setup made it possible to observe movement,
deformation and melting of granules in a cross section
of the plastification zone. The experiments were
recorded by high-speed imaging with 3000 fps. This
allowed recording of around 5 seconds. In this
timespan the observation of the kneading disks from
completely empty to completely filled and partly
melted was possible. A window thereby inhibited any
movement of granules out of the extruder until a
predefined pressure was exceeded. It therefore acted as
"back"-conveying elements.

Figure 3 Test setup (left) and schematic of window
position at the screw tip (right)
A parametric study of the initial melting with variation
of process parameters such as rotational speed,
temperature, kneading disk configuration, polymeric
material, granule size and filling degree inside the
melting zone was conducted.

Results and Discussion
Plastic Energy Dissipation in the Intermeshing Zone
It was shown that the energy required for melting is
primarily dissipated during one heavy, plastic
deformation in the intermeshing zone. Granules get
trapped between the active flanks and the upper or
lower wedge, the intermeshing zone. The granules are
thereby compressed into the void volume (~ 40% of
bulk volume) and the compressed bulk is deformed
(Fig. 4).
Both mechanisms lead to plastic deformation and thus
plastic energy dissipation in approximately 0.005
seconds (@ 1200rpm). High strain rates of the material
occur. Furthermore a hydrostatic stress is existent
because granules are enclosed on all sides while
compression and deformation take place.

Figure 4 Compression of polypropylene granules in
the intermeshing zone
Compression in Front of Active Flank
Compression in front of the active flank (Fig. 5) can be
observed during the experiments. Friction of granules
on the cylinder wall compresses material in front of the
active flank. Energy dissipation due to friction on the
extruder wall was thereby not observed to heat material
significantly. Heating only occurs due to "compression
into the void volume".

Figure 5 Compression of polyamide granules in front
of the active flank
Influence of Granule Size
Granule size has the biggest influence onto heating and
melting of polymer material. Small granules thereby
heat up slower than large granules. Reason for this is
Proceedings of the Polymer Processing Society 28th Annual Meeting ~ PPS-28 ~ December 11-15, 2012, Pattaya (Thailand)
that small granules show an increased tendency to
evade compression and deformation by flowing out of
the intermeshing zone (Fig. 6).

Figure 6 Small granules at low filling degrees
Large granules by contrast tend to get caught between
the kneading disks and the wedge even at low filling
degrees (Fig. 7). Granules that get caught thereby stop
any further movement of other granules through the
intermeshing zone. The amount of material that is
caught in the intermeshing zone is thus higher.
Therefore the material has to undergo heavier
deformation and heats up much faster.

Figure 7 Large granules at low filling degrees
This dependence of plastic energy dissipation onto
granule geometry is a significant scale-up problem for
initial melting. A melting process that is optimized for
one extruder size, may not work for another.
Influence of Filling Degree / Pressure
The second important influence onto melting behavior
of granules is the filling degree inside the plastification
zone. It is observable that flow of (small) granules
through the intermeshing zone decreases with
increasing filling degree: Because all space is already
filled by material, granules cannot evade compression
and deformation. Additionally the melting degree
increase with increasing amount of material used for
experimentation (Fig. 8). While at low filling degrees
and small granule sizes no plastic energy dissipation is
present, it increases rapidly at highest filling degrees.

Figure 8 Small granules at highest filling degrees
Only 10 to 14 compression and deformation cycles in a
fully filled plastification zone are then needed to
dissipate enough energy to partially melt all granules.
This equals 5 to 7 rotations.
With increasing amount of material used during
experimentation the pressure inside the plastification
zone as well as the melting degree increased. It
therefore seems reasonable that the hydrostatic stress,
which increases the compressive strength, is relevant
for increasing the amount of dissipated energy.
Influence of Rotational Speed on Granules
Experiments with two different rotational speeds (120
rpm & 1200rpm) were conducted. No dependence of
plastic and frictional energy dissipation onto the
rotational speed could be observed for granules. So
although the compressive strength increases at high
strain rates, no significant change of the amount of
energy that was dissipated per rotation resulted.
The experiments were also conducted with white PA12
powder (diameter: 80-120m) mixed with soot
coagulates. Here a significant change of effects in
dependence of the rotational speeds took place:
At lower rpm (120rpm) the soot coagulates were not
destroyed. No significant amount of plastic or frictional
energy was dissipated (Fig. 9).

Figure 9 Polyamide Powder mixed with soot
coagulates at 120rpm
At 1200rpm however some coagulates were already
ground in the conveying section (Fig. 10). High
relative speeds of the screws lead to frictional
destruction. In the plastification zone itself the powder
turned black within only few rotations and the powder
melted together. Plastic energy dissipation was not
observed and is known to decrease with decreasing
particle size. Therefore only friction remains as main
energy dissipation mechanism.

Figure 10 Polyamide Powder mixed with soot
coagulates at 1200rpm
Melting
It can be observed that the bulk of granules does not
heat up evenly; but that a heated (transparent) partial
quantity of granules is transported in front of the active
flank of the kneading disk (similar to the continuous
melting model of [4]). The energy is only dissipated
during the compression and deformation cycles in front
of the active flanks. The partial quantity of heated
granules grows with each rotation until all material is
transparent (Fig. 11).

Figure 11 Melting inside a fully filled kneading zone
with small PP granules
Melting of the bulk of granules starts in front of the
active flanks (highlighted in Fig. 11 on the right).
During around 10 to 14 compression / deformation
cycles (around 5-7 rotations) enough energy is
dissipated for melting.
Proceedings of the Polymer Processing Society 28th Annual Meeting ~ PPS-28 ~ December 11-15, 2012, Pattaya (Thailand)
Furthermore it is observable that, the granules are
embedded in a molten polymer matrix. In contrast to
the side faces of the kneading disks one can
distinctively see granules and melt (Fig. 12).

Figure 12 Melting behavior of small PP granules at
1200rpm and heated extruder wall (120C)
The partially melted mass thereby behaves at first like
granular material. The bulk of granules is pushed in
front of the active flank, it does not flow around the
kneading disks.
After few further rotations the material starts to flow
around the kneading disks.
Due to plastic and viscous energy dissipation the
melting degree increases: The viscosity of the melt-
granules mixture decreases and the mixture starts to
behave like a liquid. The bulk (granular material) does
not exist anymore. From this point on the melting
behavior stands in very good comparison with the
dispersed melting models (DSM).
Because material can flow around the kneading disks,
material can also flow out of the intermeshing zone
during the compression cycles. This results in receding
plastic energy dissipation. Therefore all further energy
can only be dissipated by viscous energy dissipation in
the melt or by heat transfer from heated extruder wall.

Conclusions
It was shown that most energy is dissipated by plastic
energy dissipation during one heavy deformation in the
intermeshing zone. Here granules get trapped between
the wedge and the two kneading disks and have to
undergo compression as well as deformation. It was
confirmed that plastic energy dissipation is the
dominant mechanism for initial melting. The other
energy dissipation mechanisms (friction, heat transfer)
play only a secondary role for initial melting; viscous
energy dissipation can only occur when melt is present.
The rate of energy dissipation was thereby primarily
dependent from the granule size. Large granules were
compressed and deformed heavily and thus heated
quickly, whereas small granules evaded compression
and deformation by flowing out of the intermeshing
zone. Significant heating of small granules occurred
thereby only at highest filling degrees, which lead to
higher hydrostatic stresses.
The rotational speed of the extruder did not have an
observable effect onto the amount of plastic energy
dissipation per rotation. Frictional energy dissipation
increased due to higher relative speeds, but was
thereby only significant for very small particle sizes
(powder) and at high rpm.
The experiments allowed observation of filling of the
plastification zone. The following plastic energy
dissipation led to the initial melting. Observation of
change from granular behavior to liquid behavior was
possible. Therefore the complete initial melting process
was visualized up to the point where the DSM models
describe the further melting process.

Acknowledgements
This work is part of the Research Program of the Dutch
Polymer Institute (DPI), Eindhoven, the Netherlands,
project nr. #671.
The support from the Dutch Polymer Institute, Bayer
Material Science, Bayer Technology Services and
DSM is gratefully acknowledged.

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