A miniature extrusion line for small scale processing studies

Abstract

A miniature extrusion line using a micro-extruder was developed and used to produce extrudates with a simple cross-section from a few grams of raw polymer material. Given the difficulty in applying standard design scale-up rules, the definition of the geometry of the screws was based on the predictions provided by plasticating extrusion software developed previously by the authors. The aim was to induce thermo-mechanical environments comparable to those found in bigger machines. Several materials were processed with the device, model predictions were assessed experimentally and the quality of the dispersive mixing achieved was estimated for two more complex polymer systems.