Vous êtes sur la page 1sur 32

Troubleshooting Single-Screw

Extrusion Top 10 List


Mark A. Spalding
The Dow Chemical Company, Midland, MI

Gregory A. Campbell
Castle Research, Jonesport, ME
Goals
Provide a list of practices and skills
that every single-screw extrusion
engineer should know.
Top Ten
List
1. Know how to calculate the expected
rate for a single-screw extruder.
Calculation of the rotational and pressure flows in the
metering channel.

The metering channel controls the rate.

Calculation routines are available from SPE or you can easily
construct a spreadsheet.

Estimate the pressure profile.
Campbell, G.A. and Spalding, M.A., Analyzing and Troubleshooting Single-Screw Extruders,
Hanser Publications, Munich, 2013.
Hopper
Discharge
Cross-sectional
view of the extrudate
Meter
1. Know how to calculate the expected
rate for a single-screw extruder.
0
4
8
12
16
20
0 4 8 12 16 20 24
Axial Position, diameters
P
r
e
s
s
u
r
e
,

M
P
a
Solids
Conveying
Melting Metering
Proper operation
Improper operation
771 kg/h
544 kg/h
152 mm diameter extruder
100 rpm screw speed
2. Channels that are designed to
operate full must be pressurized.
Channels that are only partially filled operate at
zero pressure.

Partially filled channels create stagnation zones.

Stagnation zones will cause some resin to
degrade.

Degradation products will eventually contaminate
the final product.
2. Channels that are designed to
operate full must be pressurized.
Flight Tips
Stagnant and
Degraded Resin
Resin Flow
Region
Flow Direction
Film Sample
Hyun, K.S., Spalding, M.A., and Powers, J., "Elimination of a Restriction at the Entrance of Barrier
Flighted Extruder Screw Sections," SPE-ANTEC Tech. Papers, 41, 293 (1995).
3. The flight radii should be between
0.5 and 2.5 times the channel depth.
Small flight radii create a stagnant region
between the flight edge and the screw root.

The stagnant region will cause the resin to
degrade and result in degradation products
in the final product.
Barrel Interface
Screw Root
Degradation
3. The flight radii should be between
0.5 and 2.5 times the channel depth.
The degradation at the flight radii were caused by low
flow or stagnant regions due to Moffat eddies.



Aspect ratio=2, Top wall moving
x
y

Moffat eddy Enlarged
0.8 0.9 1.0
0.0
0.1
0.2
y
x
3. The flight radii should be between
0.5 and 2.5 times the channel depth.


Injection
Molded Part
Flight radii design.

R
2
H
R
1
0.5 < < 2.5
R
H
Mitigates Moffat Eddies
4. Melting of the resin is the primary
method for mixing.
The best mixing occurs in the melt film between
the solid bed and the barrel wall.

The shear stress is very high in the melt film.

A secondary mixing section is generally needed
for most applications.
Melt film
Melt pool
Barrel side
Screw side Solid bed
4. Melting of the resin is the primary
method for mixing.
100 parts white ABS to
1 part black ABS.

Single-flighted screw.
Benkreira, H., Shales, R.W., and Edwards, M.F., Mixing on Melting in Single-Screw Extrusion, I nt. Polym.
Process., 7, 126 (1992).

Campbell, G.A. and Spalding, M.A., Analyzing and Troubleshooting Single-Screw Extruders, Hanser
Publications, Munich, 2013.
5. All screws will discharge solid resin
if the screw is rotated fast enough.
As a screw is rotated faster, a speed will be reached
where solid resin is discharged with the extrudate.

Solids in the extrudate can look like a poorly
mixed system.

A secondary mixer or a solids trap is needed for
most applications.
5. All screws will discharge solid resin
if the screw is rotated fast enough.
Hopper
Discharge
Cross-sectional
view of the extrudate
Extrude mixture with 99
parts white pellets with 1
part black pellets.

View extrudate sections.
5. All screws will discharge solid resin
if the screw is rotated fast enough.
Mixing Flight
Clearance, (u + )
In Flute
Out Flute
Mixing
Flight
Wiper
Flight
Flow
a) axial mixer
Wiper
Flight
Mixing
Flight
b) mixer cross section
Flow
Maddock-style mixers are
excellent secondary mixers
for trapping and dispersing
solid polymer fragments.
6. High-performance screws use
specially designed channels to trap
and melt solids.
High-performance screws can operate at higher
screw speeds, higher rates, and lower discharge
temperatures as compared to a conventional
screw with a mixer.

High-performance screws have deeper metering
channels.

Several different types of high-performance
screws are available.
6. High-performance screws use
specially designed channels to trap
and melt solids.
Common commercially available high-performance screws that
employ this technology include:

Wave screws.

Energy Transfer (ET) screws.

Fusion screws.

DM2 screws.
Campbell, G.A. and Spalding, M.A., Analyzing and Troubleshooting Single-Screw Extruders,
Hanser Publications, Munich, 2013.
6. High-performance screws use
specially designed channels to trap
and melt solids.
Feed Transition ET Section
The Energy Transfer (ET) screw is constructed by
positioning an ET section in the metering section of a
conventional screw.
6. High-performance screws use
specially designed channels to trap
and melt solids.
A B A
B
A
B
A
B
A
B
Flow
Flight Undercuts
Channel Peaks
a) ET Section
b) Channel Cross
Section
Barrel
Screw
V
bx
V
bz
Barrel
Screw
Barrel
Screw
V
bx
V
bz
6. High-performance screws use
specially designed channels to trap
and melt solids.
30 rpm
33 kg/h
60 rpm
62 kg/h
90 rpm
85 kg/h
120 rpm
110 kg/h
150 rpm
135 kg/h
30 rpm
33 kg/h
60 rpm
62 kg/h
90 rpm
85 kg/h
120 rpm
110 kg/h
150 rpm
135 kg/h
ET
Screw
Conventional
Screw
7. Injection molding screws use the
same design principles as screws
for extruders.
All channels must operate full and under
pressure.

Operational rate is calculated using the mass of
the parts and runner system, the plasticating
time, and the screw speed.

Rotational and pressure flow rates are calculated just
like the procedure for extruders.
8. Flow surging is most often caused
by a temperature control problem in
the feed section.
Proper solids conveying occurs with specific
temperatures at the barrel wall and screw surfaces.

Forwarding forces at the barrel wall must be
maximized and the retarding forces at the screw
must be minimized.

Forces depend on temperature.

Other root causes downstream of solids conveying are known
to cause flow surging.
8. Flow surging is most often caused
by a temperature control problem in
the feed section.
203.2 mm
diameter
extruder.

HIPS resin

Two-stage
screw.
0
5
10
15
20
25
0 200 400 600 800 1000
Time, minutes
P
r
e
s
s
u
r
e
,


M
P
a
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
M
o
t
o
r


C
u
r
r
e
n
t
,


A
Current
Current
P1
P1
P2
Extruder Discharge
Pump Inlet
8. Flow surging is most often caused
by a temperature control problem in
the feed section.
Instability was
caused by a high
temperature at the
screw surface.
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Time, minutes
M
o
t
o
r


C
u
r
r
e
n
t
,


A
80
120
160
200
240
280
320
360
S
c
r
e
w


S
p
e
e
d
,


r
p
m
Screw Speed
Motor Current
Cooling On
Cooling
Off
Cooling On
9. The first-stage metering section of a
two-stage screw must control the rate.
Two-stage extruders typically operate at a rate that is 1.1 to
1.3 times the rotational flow rate of the first-stage meter.

A negative pressure profile exists in the first-stage
meter.

Vent flow will occur if the second stage limits rate.

Vent flow can also occur if the vent diverter is not
designed properly.
9. The first-stage metering section of a
two-stage screw must control the rate.
0
4
8
12
16
0 6 12 18 24 30 36
P
r
e
s
s
u
r
e
,

M
P
a
Axial Position, diameters
Vent Opening
Proper operation,
no vent flow.



9. The first-stage metering section of a
two-stage screw must control the rate.
0
4
8
12
16
0 6 12 18 24 30 36
P
r
e
s
s
u
r
e
,

M
P
a
Axial Position, diameters
Vent Opening
Proper operation,
no vent flow.


Vent Flow
9. The first-stage metering section of a
two-stage screw must control the rate.
A vent diverter is positioned in the vent opening to tuck
molten resin back into the screw channel.

If the diverter is not installed, installed improperly, or
not designed properly, then flow of resin out the vent
opening is likely.
9. The first-stage metering section of a
two-stage screw must control the rate.
Vent diverter
Recessed area
a) b)
This edge is flush with the inside barrel wall
9. The first-stage metering section of a
two-stage screw must control the rate.
Vent diverter
Barrel
Vent
Diverter
Vent
Opening
Screw
10. The first time a screw is installed
into an extruder, both the screw and
barrel should be at room temperature.
If the screw has the correct outside diameter and
it is not bent, then it should slide easily into the
barrel.

Never force a screw into a barrel.

Never install for the first time a cold screw into a
hot barrel the hot barrel is oversize (thermal
expansion) the screw may slide in easily, but
could expand to bind with the barrel.
Summary
A list of ten top practices and skills
were presented.

Single-screw extrusion engineers
should be aware of these practices
and skills.
Campbell, G.A. and Spalding, M.A., Analyzing and Troubleshooting Single-
Screw Extruders, Hanser Publications, Munich, 2013.

Vous aimerez peut-être aussi