J. agric. Engng Res.
(1997) 67, 277 287
Determination of Specific Mechanical Energy Distribution on a
Twin-Screw Extruder
S. Godavarti; M. V. Karwe*
Department of Food Science, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, P.O. Box 231, New Brunswick, New Jersey 08903-0231, USA
(Receiy ed 30 May 1996; accepted in rey ised form 14 April 1997)
The distribution of specific mechanical energy
(SME) dissipated inside a co-rotating, self-wiping,
twin-screw extruder was estimated by conducting
energy balances on each zone of the extruder. SME
dissipation was studied under three different steady
state conditions in which the zone before the die was
kept adiabatic or under constant cooling or under
constant heating. Infrared temperature probes and
extended thermocouples were used to measure the
bulk temperature of the corn meal. Heat flow sensors
were used to measure the heat loss from the barrel
surfaces. Total SME was calculated by measuring
torque, screw speed, and mass flow rate. Of the total
SME dissipated, 95 98 % was accounted for from
energy balance calculations on each zone. Estimated
maximum SME dissipation was found to occur in the
zone prior to the die for adiabatic and constant
cooling situations. However, in the case of constant
heating, energy balance measurements indicated that
most of the SME was dissipated in the middle zones of
the extruder. The reasons for this are discussed.
1997 Silsoe Research Institute
1. Introduction
Screw extrusion is generally defined as a process to
mix, homogenize, and shape material by forcing it
through a specifically designed opening. Food extru-
sion combines a high-temperature short-time (HTST)
cooking process with several other unit operations,
such as conveying, kneading, heating, mixing, and
forming, in a single unit. This versatile technology is
finding increased applications in the food industry as a
* To whom all correspondence should be addressed.
277
0021-8634 / 97 / 080277 1 11 $25.00 / 0 / ag970172
means of transforming relatively low moisture in-
gredients into intermediate or finished products.1
Ready-to-eat (RTE) breakfast cereals, pasta, snacks,
bread substitutes, and pet foods are some of the
examples of the products manufactured by extrusion.
Energy input into the material during extrusion is
an important parameter because it relates to the
physical and chemical transformations in the product.2
In a typical extrusion operation, the two main sources
of energy associated with enthalpy change of the
extrudate are (1) convection heat transfer between the
hot or cold barrel and the food material and (2)
viscous dissipation of the mechanical energy into heat
inside the material. The rate of convected heat trans-
fer is proportional to the amount of contact area
between the barrel and the flowing material whereas
the heat generated due to viscous dissipation is
proportional to the volume of the material. In a
co-rotating twin-screw extruder, viscous dissipation of
the mechanical energy predominates, especially at low
moisture contents, thus making the extrusion process
highly energy efficient and cost effective.3,4 This rela-
tively high efficiency, coupled with other benefits such
as flexibility and versatility, is the reason for the rapid
growth of extrusion technology in the food industry.
Specific mechanical energy (SME) is the amount of
mechanical energy (work) dissipated as heat inside the
material, expressed per unit mass of the material.
Specifically, it is the work input from the drive motor
into the material being extruded5 and thus provides a
good characterization of the extrusion process.
SME is also an important process parameter in-
fluencing the final product characteristics such as
solubility, extrudate density, expansion index, hard-
ness, etc.48 SME values indicate the extent of
molecular breakdown or degradation the material
undergoes during the extrusion process. It is also one
1997 Silsoe Research Institute
278 S. GODAVARTI, M. V. KARWE

SME increases with increasing viscosity, increasing

Notation screw speed and decreasing mass flow rate. Both the
extrusion operation and the screw performance can be
A Cross-sectional area of the barrel well characterized by the SME value. It is also an
through which the conduction heat important parameter in extrusion process control
transfer to the adjacent zone occurs systems and provides a measurable parameter which
(1?026 3 1022 m2) can be correlated with the quality characteristics of
Cp Heat capacity (J / kg K) the final product.3
D ZSK-30 twin-screw extruder barrel bore In the studies reported so far,2,68 SME values
diameter (0?03085 m) usually represent the overall SME, i.e., sum total of
E Rate of mechanical energy input (W) mechanical energy dissipated over the entire length of
h Convective heat transfer coefficient the screws or the extruder. However, the distribution
(W / m2 K) of this energy dissipation within the extruder has not
k Thermal conductivity (W / mK) been investigated. Since the screws usually consist of
L Length of extruder (0?878 m) kneading elements, reverse pitch elements, barrel
M Moisture content (wet basis) valves, and other types of screw elements, it cannot be
m Mass flow rate (kg / s) assumed that all of the SME is dissipated in the zone
N Screw speed (rev / min) prior to the die. In addition, to know how local SME
P Prandtl number is affected by screw geometry, so as to design a screw
q Surface heat flux (W / m2) configuration for optimum performance, it is neces-
Q Rate of heat transfer (W) sary to know how individual screw elements or screw
T Temperature of the barrel (8C) sections affect SME. To achieve this object, it is
Dz1 Distance between a zone (z) and the necessary to determine the distribution of SME in
succeeding zone (z 1 1) of the ZSK-30 various zones of the extruder. This study reports the
extruder (m) results of the methodology developed towards achiev-
Dz2 Distance between a zone (z) and the ing this object.
preceding zone (z 2 1) of the ZSK-30
extruder (m)
2. Materials and methods
Suffices
a air All experiments were conducted on a co-rotating,
b barrel self-wiping, twin-screw extruder (ZSK-30, Werner &
cond conduction Pfleiderer Corp., Ramsey, New Jersey, USA). The
f food material flowing inside the extruder has two 30?7 mm diameter screws and a
extruder, i.e., corn meal processing length of 878 mm (L / D of 28?6). The
h heater ZSK-30 extruder barrel consists of a feed zone and
i inlet of a zone five independent zones as shown schematically in Fig.
l evapourative loss 1 . Each zone is made from a separate steel block.
o outlet of a zone Zones 1 to 3 are about 180 mm long each. Zones 4
r chemical reaction and 5 are 90 mm long each. Each one of zones 1 to 5
s surface is equipped with two resistive heaters, separate cool-
w water ing water channels and a thermowell for installing a
z zone control thermocouple. All zones are held together
z 21 preceding zone tightly by four tie rods.
z 11 succeeding zone

of the important parameters used during scale-up of
extruders.
SME is strongly dependent on the process condi-
tions such as screw speed, barrel temperature, mois-
ture content, feed composition, and screw configura-
tion. All of these affect the viscosity of the material
and the flow field inside the screw channels.4,5 Usually
2.1 . Materials
Corn meal (Conolly Calhoun Conolly, Pennsauken,
New Jersey, USA) was the raw material used in all
experiments. The moisture content of corn meal was
determined prior to each run by heating a known mass
of the sample at 1358C for 2 h in an oven.9
A K-Tron twin-screw feeder (Model T-20, K-Tron
 ENERGY DISTRIBUTION ON A TWIN-SCREW EXTRUDER 279

Pressure transducer

Feed port Measuring thermocouples

Die zone

176 mm

Zones Feed 1 2 3 4 5

878 mm

Control thermocouples Measuring thermocouple

Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of ZSK-30 twin-screw extruder showing fiy e zones and thermocouple locations

Corporation, Pitman, New Jersey, USA), was used to 3. There is a negligible effect of viscous dissipation
meter corn meal into the feed section of the extruder. at the tip of the extended thermocouple probes.
It is equipped with a hopper and a rotary agitator to 4. There is a negligible axial temperature gradient
prevent bridging of corn meal. The feeder was cali- in the barrel of a zone, for a given set tempera-
brated prior to extrusion runs to determine the set ture. The barrels are made up of carbon steel.
points for required mass flow rates of corn meal. There is a finite but unknown contact resistance
Water was injected into the feeding section immedi- between the adjacent barrel zones.
ately after the feed port using a triple action piston 5. The temperature of corn meal varies piecewise
pump with adjustable frequency and stroke (U.S. linearly along the extruder axis.
Electric Co., Milford, Connecticut, USA). Air in the
water line from the pump was purged and the water Figure 2 shows a schematic diagram of a zone of the
pump calibrated before each run. Set points for feeder extruder and the various energy flow rates. Each zone
and water pump were obtained from the calibration of the extruder has electric heaters clamped on the
curves, for a given moisture content of corn meal, for barrel surface. The barrel has channels to circulate
desired process moisture content (M ) and total mass cold water. The exact path of the channels is not
flow rate (mf ). known, however it is not needed to perform an energy
balance. An energy balance carried out for unit time
on the zone gives:
2.2. Methodology for energy balance on a zone
Qh 5 Qb 1 Qa (1)
In order to estimate SME in each zone of the
extruder, an energy balance was conducted across Qb 5 Qf 1 Qw 1 Qcond (2)
each of the five zones. The following assumptions
Qf 5 Qh 2 Qw 2 Qcond 2 Qa (3)
were made in developing the energy balance
equations. Tz 2 T(z11) Tz 2 T(z 21)
Qcond 5 kb A 1 kb A (4)
1. Steady state conditions exist in the control Dz1 Dz2
volume.
2. There is negligible heat transfer to screw shafts. Qw 5 mw Cpw (Tow 2 Tiw ) (5)
280 S. GODAVARTI, M. V. KARWE
Heater
Qcond
Qb
E Qf
mf , Ti f
Barrel
Heater
Fig. 2 . Schematic diagram showing side y iew of a zone of an extruder and y arious energy flows
Here, Qh is the rate of heat generation by the electric
heaters. A in Eqn (4) refers to the cross-sectional area
of the barrel through which conduction of heat to the
next barrel zone occurs. The value for the thermal
conductivity of the barrel material (carbon steel) was
provided by the manufacturer of the extruder as
40 W / mK. Tiw and Tow in Eqn (5) refer to the inlet and
outlet temperatures of the circulating cooling water
for a given zone.
An energy balance for the food in a zone of the
extruder results in the following equation:
mf CpifTif 1 Qf 1 Ez 5 mf CpofTof 1 Qr1 Ql (6)
Here, mf is the mass flow rate of the material, Ez
refers to the rate of viscous dissipation of the mechan-
ical energy in the zone, Qr refers to the rate of
enthalpy change for the chemical reactions and Ql
refers to the rate of evaporative losses. Both Qr and
Ql were assumed to be negligible in this study. Ql can
be neglected when temperature of the flowing mate-
rial is below the boiling point of water. Ql can also be
neglected when the pressure in the screw channels is
high enough to prevent evaporation of water. In a
simplistic way, Ql can be calculated if the local
pressure gradient and permeability of the material to
water vapour at the local conditions are known.
However, this information was not available.
Qa
Qh
Qcond
mf , To f
Cooling water
channels
Qw
From Eqns (3) and (6), Ez the rate of mechanical
energy dissipation in the zone can be calculated. SME
can then be calculated, knowing the mass flow rate as
Ez
SMEz 5 (7)
mf
Tif and Tof are the inlet and outlet temperatures of the
food material for a zone. These were obtained by
measuring temperatures of corn meal flowing in the
screw channels at five axial locations in the middle of
the zones. Temperatures of corn meal entering and
leaving the zone were obtained by interpolation at the
interfaces between the zones assuming piecewise li-
near temperature variation.
The heat-capacity of corn meal was calculated using
the following equation10
Cp 5 1056 1 5?8(T ) 1 37?1(M ) 2 0?2234(M )2 1 6?2(P )
(8)
where, Cp is the heat capacity in J / kgK, M is the %
moisture content (w.b.), T is the temperature in 8C
and P is the % protein content by weight which was
assumed to be 9% for corn meal.3
The SME dissipated was studied under three
different steady state conditions as described below.
 ENERGY DISTRIBUTION ON A TWIN-SCREW EXTRUDER
2.2 .1 . Adiabatic
In this case, no external heating or cooling was
provided to any zone of the ZSK-30 extruder. Even
though some heat loss may have occurred owing to
the natural convection from the external surface of the
barrel, this situation was approximated as adiabatic.
Under this condition, the temperature rise of corn
meal was solely due to the viscous dissipation of the
mechanical energy. Snack foods such as corn curls are
an example of products manufactured under this
condition.3
2.2.2. Constant cooling
Under this condition, the first four zones of the
extruder barrel were maintained under adiabatic con-
ditions and only zone five was cooled continuously by
the circulating cooling water at a known flow rate. The
barrel heaters were turned off for all five zones and no
cooling water was provided to the other (1 4) zones.
This condition occurs when the heat generated by
viscous dissipation in the material is excessive which
results in high material temperatures and cooling is
necessary to prevent temperature overshoot or burn-
ing of the material. This occurs usually in large
extruders, wherein owing to the high viscous dissipa-
tion of mechanical energy, the material needs to be
cooled continuously. Also, as the size of extruder
increases, the ratio of surface area to volume de-
creases, i.e., ratio of contact surface to mass decreases.
Since heat generation due to SME is proportional to
volume, it is the predominant source of energy for
extruders with larger diameters, which results in
temperature change of the material. Owing to reduced
contact surface area, cooling of the material becomes
increasingly difficult. Temperatures of 160 1808C are
attained without the use of external heaters and the
material, if not cooled, can get burnt or overcooked
resulting in undesirable product characteristics.
2.2.3. Constant heating
In this case the first four zones of the extruder
barrel were maintained under adiabatic condition and
only zone five was heated continuously by means of
the external heaters located on the extruder barrel.
The barrel heaters were turned off for all other zones
and no cooling water was provided to any zone.
This condition is encountered in high-moisture-high
temperature extrusion. Owing to the high moisture
content, the material is less viscous and the viscous
dissipation alone is not sufficient to achieve the
necessary final product temperature and external heat
needs to be provided to help attain the desired
product temperature. Pet foods and fish feed are
281
examples of products manufactured under this
condition.
In practice, situations may be encountered where a
combination of the three steady state conditions
described above exists. In order to simplify the
experimental and measurement procedures and to
understand each case independently, the three special
cases described above were considered.
2.3 . Measurements
Measurements of various quantities appearing in
Eqns (1) to (7) were made as follows.
2.3 .1. Heat input from barrel heaters (Qh)
Each zone of the extruder was provided with two
500 W resistive heaters (as specified by manufacturer).
Elapsed timers (Mitchell Instruments Co., San Mar-
cos, California, USA) were installed on the control
panel in conjunction with the heaters. These timers
record the duration heaters were on. From the length
of time and the wattage, the total amount of heat
provided by the heaters and the average rate of heat
input from the heaters can be calculated.
2.3 .2. Heat loss to air by cony ection and radiation (Qa)
Heat flow sensors (RdF Corp., Hudson, New
Hampshire, USA) were used to measure heat loss
(flux) from the barrel surface. These heat flow sensors
consist of a thin film of material of known thermal
conductivity. Temperature drop across the thickness
of this film is measured using several thermocouples
and converted to heat flux value. The error owing to
the interference of the heat flow by the sensor
depends mainly on the ratio of thermal conductivities
of the material of the heat flow sensor to that of the
material on the surface of which the sensor is
mounted. Using the data supplied by the manufac-
turer of the sensor, this ratio was calculated to be
about 0.015 which results in an error in the value of
the heat flux of about 15% In general, this error is
negligible if the heat flow sensor is mounted on the
surface of a material having a low value of thermal
conductivity.
The heat flow sensors were mounted on all sides of
the extruder surface as shown in Fig. 3 . As shown in
Fig. 3 , the extruder barrel surface is covered by
heaters on the side and the bottom. The top surface
has no heater on it. Therefore, two of the three heat
flow sensors, namely no. 2 and no. 3, were mounted
on the side and bottom surfaces of the heater,
respectively. The heat flow sensors give a millivolt
output which is converted to heat flux values from a
282 S. GODAVARTI, M. V. KARWE

Expanded probe

Heat flow sensor (3)

Heater
1

Cooling water channel

Extruder barrel

Spacer
Screw
root

Food

Barrel
thermocouple

Cooling water Cooling water 3

inlet outlet
Fig. 3 . Schematic diagram of cross-section of a zone of ZSK-30 extruder showing the heat flow sensor locations

calibration curve. The variation in heat flux values as a
function of surface temperature as measured by the
three heat flow sensors mounted on the barrel of the
extruder was reported recently11 and is reproduced in
Fig. 4 . Correlations for the heat flux from the three
sides were given11 as follows
Top surface:
q 5 4?94(Ts 2 Ta )1?25 r 2 5 0?9957
Side surface:
q 5 3?77(Ts 2 Ta )) 1?26
r 5 0?9919
2
Bottom surface:
q 5 4?22(Ts 2 Ta ))1?33 r 2 5 0?9987
The correlations given by Eqns (9) (11) are in good
agreement with results reported in the literature for
natural convection heat transfer from external flat
surfaces12 where it has been shown that the surface
heat flux q is proportional to (Ts 2 Ta )1?25. Once the
heat flux was known, the heat loss from all surfaces of
a barrel zone was calculated, by multiplying the heat
flux value by the surface area.
2.3 .3 . Heat remoy ed by cooling water (Qw)
Thermocouples (type J) were installed in the cool-
ing water lines (Fig. 3 ) to measure the inlet and outlet
temperatures of the zone. By measuring the mass flow
rate (mw) of cooling water and temperature rise (DT )
between the inlet and outlet, Qw was calculated using
Eqn (5). The flow rate of water was adjusted such that
(DT ) was at least 38C.
(9)
2.3 .4. Heat loss to adjacent zones by conduction
(10) (Qcond)
The temperature of each barrel zone was measured
by the thermocouples located inside the extruder
(11) barrel as shown in Figs 1 and 3 . Assuming linear
temperature variation between the barrels, the con-
duction heat loss was calculated using Eqn (4).
2.3 .5. Bulk temperature of the corn meal
An infrared temperature probe (Vanzetti Systems,
Stoughton, Massachusetts, USA), and extended
probes (SERP-(J)-2, Omega Engineering, Stanford,
Connecticut, USA), were used to measure the bulk
 ENERGY DISTRIBUTION ON A TWIN-SCREW EXTRUDER 283

Heat flow sensors (3) IR probe

5000
1

4000
2
Food
Surface heat flux q(W/m2)

3000
3

2000

1000

0
0 50 100 150 200
Ts Ta (C)
Fig. 4 . Surface heat loss (flux) from barrel surfaces. d Top (1); h Bottom (3); n Side (2); Cury e fit

temperature of corn meal for more accurate measure- screw elements with no flights. Figure 3 shows the
ment of the extrudate temperature,11 as compared cross-section of a zone of ZSK - 30 extruder barrel
with standard flush thermocouple probes. An infrared where a spacer element is inserted and Fig. 5 shows
probe was used at the die while extended probes were the location of the spacer elements in the modified
placed at various locations along the length of the screw configuration. It was found that when the
screw by modifying the screw configuration to accom- infrared probe and the extended probe were used to
modate spacer elements. Spacer elements are special measure the bulk temperature of corn meal at the

Hopper Water Extended

probes
IR Probe

Zone 1 Zone 2 Zone 3 Zone 4 Zone 5

Die
Spacer

Spacer
Mild mixing

Kneading

Kneading
Conveying

Conveying

Conveying

Conveying

Conveying

Conveying

Flush probe
Mild mixing

Fig. 5. Schematic diagram of screw configuration used in the experiments

284 S. GODAVARTI, M. V. KARWE

200 measured torque readings as follows

SME (kJ / kg)
180 (Total torque 2 Friction torque) 3 N 3 (9?1)
5 (12)
(172) 3 (500) 3 mf
IR probe temperature (C)

160 where N is the screw speed (rev / min), and mf is the

140
120
100
100
Fig. 6. Comparison of temperatures measured by IR and
extended probes at the die for corn meal at screw speed (N)
of 500 rey / min , mass flow rate of 0?005 kg / s and moisture
content (M) of 40% (w.b.) . ideal relation
same axial location on the extruder, they were in good
agreement with each other.11 This is shown in Fig. 6 .
The only reason infrared probes were not used at all
locations is because they are expensive.
2.3.6. Total specific mechanical energy (SME)
The ZSK -30 extruder is equipped with a torque
indicator which shows % torque which is proportional
to the current drawn by the drive motor (d.c.). A
reading of 100% torque corresponds to the maximum
allowable torque of 172 Nm.
The total SME for all zones was calculated from the
30
Mean friction torque (Nm)
total mass flow rate (kg / s) through the extruder
barrel. The drive motor has a rated power of 9?1 kW
at a rated screw speed of 500 rev / min.
The friction torque was measured by (1) running
the extruder motor and drive without the screws
attached, (2) with screws attached to the drive and the
barrel empty, and (3) with screws attached to the
drive and running water through the extruder barrel.
120 140 160 180 200 In all three cases, the values of the measured torque
were within 5% of each other indicating that most of
Extended probe temperature (C)
the energy loss due to friction occurred in the drive
train. Only the values pertaining to case (3) are
reported here and the variation of friction torque with
screw speed is shown in Fig. 7 . As shown in equation
(12) the friction torque was subtracted from the total
torque measured during a run, to obtain the net
torque. The total measured torque ranged from 50 to
110 Nm. It can be seen that at high screw speed,
frictional torque is substantial. However, this friction
torque is required to overcome the frictional forces
mainly in the drive train of the extruder, as evident
from the three cases described above, and is not an
indicator of viscous dissipation in the material being
extruded.
3. Results and discussion
All of the results reported here are for the following
extrusion conditions:
Screw speed (N ): 250 rev / min
Mass flow rate (mf ): 0.00458 kg / s
Moisture content (M ): 30% w.b.
In the extruder, the conversion of the mechanical
energy into heat takes place over the entire length of

the screws in different zones. The sum total of the

20 SME dissipated in different zones obtained from local
energy balance on each zone must equal the total
SME dissipated as calculated from the net torque on
10 the screws using Eqn (12). The relative distribution of
SME dissipated in different zones as calculated from
the local energy balance on each zone is shown by bar
charts in Figs 8 to 10 for adiabatic, constant cooling
0
0 100 200 300 400 500 and constant heating, respectively. In Figs 8 to 10 , the
Screw speed (rev/min) SME values (kJ / kg) in each zone are also shown on
Fig. 7. Mean friction torque as a function of screw speed each bar. The range of values obtained from three
(rey / min) replications for each zone is shown by small error
 ENERGY DISTRIBUTION ON A TWIN-SCREW EXTRUDER 285

110 110
100 100
90 90
80 80
SME (kJ/kg)

SME (kJ/kg)
70 70
60 60
50 94 50
40 40 75
30 30 71
20 20 42
10 18 10 24 27
14 15 12
0 0
Zone 1 Zone 2 Zone 3 Zone 4 Zone 5 Zone 1 Zone 2 Zone 3 Zone 4 Zone 5
Fig. 8. SME distribution under adiabatic condition. Actual Fig. 10. SME distribution under constant heating condition.
barrel temperatures: zone 1 to 5: 22 , 28 , 31 , 38 , 49 (8C); Total Actual barrel temperatures: zone 1 to 5: 21 , 93 , 104 , 110 , 154
SME from local measurement: 153 kJ / kg; Total SME from (8C); Total SME from local measurement: 239 kJ / kg; Total
power measurements: 156 kJ / kg SME from power measurements: 244 kJ / kg

bars. The barrel and corn meal temperatures in each
zone for the three conditions are shown in Table 1
along with the SME values.
3.1. Adiabatic condition
Figure 8 shows the SME distribution under adiaba-
tic condition. Here, the SME dissipated in zone 5 was
the highest. This is expected because of the restriction
provided by the die to the flow of material, which
causes the screw channels to fill completely (i.e.,
degree of fill is 1). Hence the contact area between the
material and the barrel surface, where shear drag is
exerted, is maximum. Of the total mechanical energy
dissipated, as calculated from torque measurements,
98% was accounted for from the local energy balance
measurements.
It must be pointed out that the shear viscosity of
corn meal containing 30% (w.b.) water, at the low
temperatures (less that 1008C) is not known. This is
perhaps due the fact that corn meal does not behave
like fluid at low temperatures but rather behaves as a
compacted powdery mass.
110
100
90
80
SME (kJ/kg)
3.2 . Constant cooling condition
Figure 9 shows the SME distribution under constant
cooling condition. The SME distribution is similar to
that of the adiabatic condition, i.e., maximum SME
dissipation occurs in zone 5. However, the total SME
dissipated, calculated from torque measurements, is
higher compared with the adiabatic condition. This is
expected since the corn meal is at a lower temperature
(see Table 1) and has more resistance to flow. Under
this condition 95% of the total SME dissipated was
accounted from the local energy balance calculations.
3.3 . Constant heating condition
Figure 10 shows the distribution of SME under
constant heating condition. Calculated SME
distribution indicated that SME dissipation was high-
est in zones 2 and 3 and not in zone 5 as expected.
This unexpected distribution of SME may be the
result of the energy balance procedure which is solely
based on the temperature rise of corn meal in the
individual zones. It is speculated that because the
temperature of corn meal in zone 5 is high (close to
1508C) in comparison with all the other zones (see
Table 1), the increase in food temperature in zones 2
and 3 may not be owing to SME dissipation but owing
to water vapour migration and condensation effects.

70
60 Since the pressure increases towards the die end,
50 93
40 water vapour generated in zone 5 has a tendency to
30 flow back and escape in the direction of lower
20
10 15
24
13 14 pressure and condense in earlier zones where the
0 temperature is lower than that in zone 5 and below
Zone 1 Zone 2 Zone 3 Zone 4 Zone 5
1008C. Most of the water vapour generated would
Fig. 9. SME distribution under constant cooling condition.
Actual barrel temperatures: zone 1 to 5: 23 , 30 , 34 , 40 , 32 condense in zone 2 due to the presence of mild mixing
(8C); Total SME from local measurement: 159 kJ / kg; Total elements in this zone (see Fig. 5 ). These mixing
SME from power measurements: 166 kJ / kg elements have no conveying action and become com-
286 S. GODAVARTI, M. V. KARWE

Table 1
Barrel temperature, corn meal temperature and SME values in five zones under three
steady state conditions

Steady state condition Zone 1 Zone 2 Zone 3 Zone 4 Zone 5

Adiabatic
Barrel temperature (8C) 22 28 31 38 49
Corn meal temperature (8C) 23 28 34 36 44
SME (kJ / kg) 14 18 15 12 94
Constant cooling
Barrel temperature (8C) 23 30 33 39 33
Corn meal temperature (8C) 25 30 37 38 36
SME (kJ / kg) 15 24 13 14 93
Constant heating
Barrel temperature (8C) 21 93 104 110 154
Corn meal temperature (8C) 28 83 107 110 122
SME (kJ / kg) 24 75 71 27 42

pletely filled with corn meal. The migrating water
vapour encounters this low temperature barrier of
uniformly mixed corn meal and condenses, thus re-
leasing the latent heat and increasing the barrel
temperature. If the amount of water vapour migrating
from zone 5 can be quantified, a more accurate
reflection of SME dissipation values can be obtained.
However, it needs knowledge of porosity distribution
and permeability of corn meal to water vapour flow
which are not known. Further research on porosity
measurements as related to extrusion processes and
migration of water vapour needs to be carried out.
The total mechanical energy dissipated as obtained
from torque measurements was within 98% of the sum
total obtained from energy balance conducted on
individual zones.
of zone 5, water vapour generated in this zone
migrated and condensed in other zones increasing the
barrel and food temperatures of those zones. The high
food temperature in these earlier zones may not be
due to SME dissipation but due to water vapour
condensation effects.
Acknowledgements
This is publication no. D10544-3-96 of the New Jersey
Agricultural Experimental Station supported by state funds
and the Center for Advanced Food Technology, (CAFT).
The Center for Advanced Food Technology is a New Jersey
Commission on science and Technology Center. The authors
would like to thank Professors Y. Jaluria and V. Sernas for
their comments and suggestions.

References
4. Conclusions
The amount of SME dissipated in the five zones of a
twin-screw extruder was determined using localized
energy measurements. An overall energy balance,
involving an independent measurement of the power
required by the extruder showed that 95 98% of the
total SME dissipated could be accounted for. Under
adiabatic and constant cooling conditions in all zones,
the major portion of the total SME dissipated was
seen to occur in zone 5. However, in the case of
constant heating in zone 5 which was the zone
immediately before the die, the energy balance
measurements indicated that maximum SME dissipa-
tion occurred in zones 2 and 3 of the extruder. It is
speculated that owing to the high barrel temperature
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