Process of extrusion in the unit of special design

Abstract

Extrusion of paste materials is a means of processing powder materials to a granulated form. A powder material is mixed with a liquid and transformed to the form of paste. The paste has to have the appropriate flow properties to be able to be extruded. This is very important especially in the area of reduction between the barrel and die. There is the place where the paste has to deform itself and to flow into the holes of die that have a smaller cross section than is in the barrel. It is the zone where the rheology properties of paste and its speed have the biggest influence on the extrusion pressure. It can even happen that the paste can be dewatered under the pressure gradient in this place. If the rotor with blades is situated in this zone it has a positive influence on the process of extrusion. This element has an influence on the rate of shear strain and decreasing of the apparent viscosity with a following drop in the extrusion pressure. This paper describes research of the process of extrusion in equipment with separated drives of the screw and a rotor that is placed in the input zone in the hole of matrix. First influence of the operating speeds of screw and rotor on extrusion pressure is studied here, then it is compared with the torque that is needed for the drive of the rotor. According to the results it is evident that the extrusion pressure increases with the accrual of the speed of flowing paste and decreases with the increase of the rotor’s operating speed. The influence of flowing paste on the torque is complicated. There is an interval where the torque goes up and then an interval in which the torque decreases. The results of experiments confirmed that the rotor has a positive influence on the process of extrusion.