Development of Polymer Blend Morphology along an Extruder with Different Screw Geometries

Abstract

Abstract The morphology development of an immiscible polymer blend along a single screw extruder was investigated, concentrating on the effect of screw geometry. Three different screw geometries were evaluated: one with conventional screw elements; the other two with a fluted and Pineapple mixing element, respectively. The experiments were conducted using a polypropylene/polyamide-6 (PP/PA 6) blend. The blend samples were collected from four different positions using specially designed sampling device along the extruder online during blending and were then examined using scanning electron microscopy. The experimentally observed morphology evolution was evaluated both qualitatively, in terms of spatial distribution of dispersed phase, as well as quantitatively, by analysis for the size of the dispersed phase. The morphology development was interpreted with the aid of the flow fields occurring along screw elements. The results showed that the screw with conventional screw elements produce the coarsest and most non-uniform morphology whereas the screw with a fluted mixing element appears to produce the finest and most uniform morphology at the end of the extruder. The Pineapple mixing element, with a characteristic of chaotic mixing, facilitates to form thinner laminar layers of dispersed phase. The experimentally observed morphology difference between the conventional and fluted mixing element was demonstrated by the simulation.