SCREW

• Bring the feedstock into extruder and to move the material along the
barrel and at the same time compressing it and removing volatile gases.
• Soften the melt by heating it thorough internally generated shear
forces.
• Mix the melt to produce homogeneous melt.
• Meter melt into die area
• Facilitate enough pressure built up to force the material through die.

SINGLE SCREW VS TWIN SCREW

• SS- Simple extrusion of pre compounded material. Simply melts and

form the material
• TS – Excellent mixing together with forming. Most common for powder.
 ZONES IN EXTRUDER

(a) Feed zone

• In the first zone, usually termed the “feed” zone, the function is to
preheat the polymer and convey it to the subsequent zones.

• The screw depth is constant and the length of this zone is such as to
ensure a correct rate of feed forward, neither starving it nor overfeeding.

• This varies somewhat for optimum performance with different polymers

(b) Compression zone

• The second zone has decreasing channel depth. There are several
functions for this zone, usually called the “compression” or “transition”
zone.

• It expel air trapped between the original granules

• Heat transfer from the heated barrel walls is improved as the material
thickness decreases.
• Density change during melting is accommodated. Again, there is
.
variation in the ideal design for each polymer type

• For a polymer which melts gradually such as LDPE a screw like shown in
Figure 13.1 with the overall length roughly evenly divided the three zone
is appropriate.

• If the polymer melts relatively sharp – very short compression zone,

usually only one turn of the screw flight.

• Thermoplastic elastomer has unusual frictional properties – one long

compression zone along its entire length, sometimes with the addition
of metering zone.

• Rapid compression is made for semi crystalline polymer such as PP, nylon
and acetal.
(c) Metering zone

• Constant screw depth

• Homogenize the melt to supply to the die – homogenous quality at

constant temperature and pressure.
 FEATURES OF EXTRUDER

(a) Screen Pack

- Consists of breaker plate and sieve mesh

- To sieve extraneous material; ungelled polymer, dirt foreign body
- To allow head pressure to develop by providing a resistance for a
pumping action of metering zone.
- To remove tuning memory from the melt.
 Dutch screen pack – with two size of wires

Traditionally, screen packs are inserted with the coarsest screen against the
breaker plate and the finest screen facing the screw. For instance, the screen
order from breaker plate to screw might go 20 mesh/40 mesh/60 mesh. This
construction keeps screens from breaking and “blowing” contamination through
the breaker-plate holes.
• If the finest screen is 80 mesh or more, a coarse screen
may be placed over it to keep it from being twisted from
the rotating motion of the melt or torn by large
contaminants (e.g., 20/100/60/20 mesh)

• Steel screens rust in storage, so keep them away from

moisture or the rust will end up in your extrudate.

• Screens can suddenly “blind” if they pick up a mass of

contamination, like paper, which causes a quick pressure
spike in the extruder.
• The basic extrusion machine- single screw extruder is used extensively
for profile extrusion and for processes which has extrusion as their
final stage; blow molding and blown film production.

• Other uses need extra modification.

• When extruder is to be used as primary mixer special zones having

screw flight of changed or even reversed pitch is sometimes employed.

• Mixing head beyond the metering zone : smear head – to promote mixing
 Modular design
• Screw adopts modular design, combined by shaft and
screw element one piece by one piece.
• Cavity transfer mixer (CTM)
• An example of a static mixing device which depends on cutting and
mixing
• Redistributing the melt to achieve mixing.

• It has screw, rotating in a cylindrical sleeve, the stator. Rotor and

stator both have hemispherical cavities in them, which are staggered
with respect to one another.

• The cavities fill with polymer as the extruder drives it forward and
stream is repeatedly cut and folded as the cavities exchange material.
• For some applications it is necessary to have provision for venting
volatiles during extrusion.
• Venting - to remove volatile component

• Near the venting port – compress the polymer melt to prevent it from
expelling from the port.
• The screw therefore has decompression region followed by
recompressing on other metering zone.
• Sometimes vacuum assistance is used for venting. If the volatile
material is water – not necessary ?
• Practical opinion varies about the usage of venting. Some prefer
adequate pre-drying.
 FLOW MECHANISM

• As the polymer is conveyed along the screw, a thin film melts at the
barrel wall.
• This is by means of conducted heat from barrel heaters and could be
also due to frictional.

• The screw scrapes off the melted film as it rotates – the molten
polymer moves down the front face of the flight to the core and then
sweeps up again to establish a rotary motion in front the leading edge
of the flight.

• Other solid granules or part of compacted slug of polymer is swept into

the forming melt pool – process progress until all polymer is melted.
• Conveying
-The material sticks to the screw only and slips on the barrel
-The screw and material would simply rotate as a solid cylinder and there
would not be transport.
-The material resists rotation in the barrel and slips on the screw – now will
be transported.
-The friction between barrel and screw leads to principle transport
mechanism – drag flow.
-The dragging along the screw of the melt as the result of the frictional
forces and the viscous drag between stationary and moving plates.
-Determine the output.
-The drag flow is opposed by the pressure flow – caused by pressure
gradient along the extruder,
-High pressure at output end, low at feed end.
-No actual flow due to pressure.
• The final component in the flow pattern is leak flow.
• There is a finite space between screw and barrel through which the
material can leak backwards.
• Pressure driven flow
• Total flow?
 HEATING AND COOLING
• In high speed machine all the heating is due to shearing

• There are also coolers – fans- to remove excess heat

• The whole system is controlled thermostatically to give precise control

of melt temperature.

• The whole machine – divided to ¾ sections to allow variation of

temperature

• The practical running condition - in between adiabatic condition- heat

from viscous dissipation.

• Isothermal running – heat being supplied by heaters and removed by fan

• Real extruders even the adiabatic one will experience heat loss ?