Finite element analysis of mixing phenomena in tangential twin-screw extruders for non-Newtonian fluids
✍ Scribed by T. Sastrohartono; T. H. Kwon
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1990
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 740 KB
- Volume
- 30
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0029-5981
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✦ Synopsis
A flow analysis of non-Newtonian fluids inside co-rotating tangential twin-screw extruders is presented with the emphasis on mixing phenomena. A new simplified approach was proposed in modelling the flow, i.e. the flow in twin-screw extruders was considered as a sequence of flows in two regions: (i) the translation region (T-region), similar to a single-screw extruder; and (ii) the mixing region (M-region), representing the central part of twin-screw extruders. The flow has been assumed to be isothermal, steady-state and creeping. Furthermore, it was assumed that the velocity field does not change significantly in one co-ordinate (i.e. the down-channel direction in the case of the T-region and the axial direction in the case of the M-region) as compared with the other co-ordinate directions. Accordingly, a quasi-three-dimensional finite element method has been developed to analyse the flows in both regions. The mixing mechanisms inside the Tand M-regions were analysed and the inter-channel mixing in the M-region was quantified. The residence time distribution and performance characteristic of a single screw with a self-wiping profile were also calculated.