Extrusion Film Casting Process Research Articles

A rheology and processing study on controlling material and process defects in polymer melt extrusion film casting using polymer blends

The primary objective of this research paper is to control the material and process defects in polymer melt extrusion film casting (EFC) process for linear chain architecture polyethylene (PE) resins through polymer blending methodology. Extrusion film casting is a well-known industrially important manufacturing process that is used to manufacture thousands of tons of polymer/plastic films/sheets and coated products. In this research, the necking defect in an EFC process has been studied experimentally for a linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) resin and attempts have been made to control its necking by blending in a long chain branched (LCB) low density polyethylene (LDPE) resin. The blending methodology is based on the understanding that a LDPE resin displays enhanced resistance to necking as compared to the LLDPE resin. It is found that added LDPE resin enhances necking resistance for the primary LLDPE resin. Further, as the LDPE concentration increases in the blend formulation, the necking is further reduced as compared to pure LLDPE. Analogous to past studies on EFC of linear and long chain branched architecture containing PEs, it is observed that as the LDPE is increased in the blend formulations, the formulations displayed enhanced melt elasticity and extensional strain hardening in rheological studies. It is concluded from this study that polyethylene resins having linear chain architecture can be made amenable to enhanced resistance to necking using appropriate amount of a long chain branched resins. Finally, process defects such as the draw resonance onset could be shifted to higher draw ratios as the LDPE level is increased in the LLDPE-LDPE blend formulation.

Flow visualization by Matlab® based image analysis of high-speed polymer melt extrusion film casting process for determining necking defect and quantifying surface velocity profiles

Abstract The primary objective of this research paper is to detect and quantify the necking defect and surface velocity profiles in high-speed polymer melt extrusion film casting (EFC) process using Matlab® based image processing techniques. Extrusion film casting is an industrially important manufacturing process and is used on an industrial scale to produce thousands of kilograms of polymer films/sheets and coated products. In this research, the necking defect in an EFC process has been studied experimentally and the effects of macromolecular architecture such as long chain branching (LCB) on the extent of necking have been determined using image processing methodology. The methodology is based on the analysis of a sequence of image frames taken with the help of a commercial CCD camera over a specific target area of the EFC process. The image sequence is then analyzed using Matlab® based image processing toolbox wherein a customized algorithm is written and executed to determine the edges of the extruded molten polymeric film to quantify the necking defect. Alongwith the necking defect, particle tracking velocimetry (PTV) technique is also used in conjunction with the Matlab® software to determine the centerline and transverse velocity profiles in the extruded molten film. It is concluded from this study that image processing techniques provide valuable insights into quantifying both the necking defect and the associated velocity profiles in the molten extruded film.

Controlling draw resonance during extrusion film casting of nanoclay filled linear low-density polyethylene: An experimental study and numerical linear stability analysis

Commercially important extrusion film casting (EFC) processes for manufacturing plastic films or sheets are hampered by several instabilities that severely limits their productivity. In this research we focussed on one important instability: the draw resonance that occurs during the EFC process mainly under extensional flow conditions. Draw resonance is the sustained periodic oscillations in the film dimensions, notably film width and thickness, when the process operates beyond a critical draw ratio (CDR). In this research our goal was to reduce this draw resonance instability by incorporating well dispersed nanoclay fillers in a base polymeric resin (such as a linear low density polyethylene – LLDPE) to determine how these nanocomposite (NC) formulations can prevent or reduce the draw resonance defect. EFC experiments were conducted on the base resin and on the NC formulations under non-isothermal conditions to determine the onset of the draw resonance experimentally. Conventional linear stability analysis was performed to determine the onset of the draw resonance defect numerically. Numerical predictions for the onset of draw resonance were in qualitative agreement with our experimental data. Our results showed that incorporating appropriate nanoclay concentrations in a base polymeric resin indeed enhanced the EFC process stability for those polymer formulations and thus can have important economic implications for processors.

Non-isothermal analysis of extrusion film casting using multi-mode Phan-Thien Tanner constitutive equation and comparison with experiments

Extrusion film casting (EFC) is an industrially important process which produces thousands of tons of polymer films, sheets, and coating used for various industrial as well as household applications. In this paper, we focus on an instability which occurs during certain polymer processing operations operating under predominantly elongational flow, such as extrusion film casting and fiber spinning. This instability, called the draw resonance, occurs in the form of sustained periodic fluctuations in the film dimensions. It appears when the process goes beyond the critical line speed of the EFC process. In this work, a conventional linear stability analysis is carried out for nonisothermal EFC process to determine the onset of the draw resonance. The polymer rheology is modeled by the Phan-Thien Tanner (PTT) multi-mode constitutive equation. For the implementation, a conventional shooting method approach is used. Extrusion film casting experiments were also carried out using a conventional linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) by varying process parameters such as draw ratio and aspect ratio, to observe the effect on the stability of the process. Linear stability analysis results under non-isothermal conditions are compared and validated with existing results from literature and with our own experimental data. This work displays the effect of multiple relaxation modes as well as the temperature influence on the stability of EFC process. Finally, results also indicate that the temperature highly affects the stability of the EFC process and cannot be ignored from modeling of EFC process.

Effect of viscoelastic relaxation modes on stability of extrusion film casting process modeled using multi-mode Phan-Thien-Tanner constitutive equation

• Linear stability analysis of film casting using multimode PTT model. • Addition of faster moving modes to a slower one enhances stability of the process. • Stability regions of multimodes to not match well with the corresponding averaged ones. Extrusion film casting (EFC) is a commercially important process that is used to produce a significant quantity of polymer films, sheets and coatings for both industrial and household applications. Recently, we have demonstrated the influence of polymer chain architecture on the extent of necking under isothermal as well as non-isothermal film casting operation for commercially relevant polyolefin based materials [1] , [2] , [3] , [4] . In the present research, we focus on another instability that frequently occurs in high-speed EFC process called as draw resonance. Draw resonance manifests itself as an instability that causes periodic fluctuations in both the width as well as thickness of the extruded molten film above a critical draw ratio (DR). In this work, we have carried out a linear stability analysis of the isothermal EFC process using a multi-mode Phan-Thien-Tanner (PTT) constitutive equation to determine the onset of draw resonance. We show that as the number of relaxation modes is increased there is a dramatic change in the stability regions. In particular, there is a marked variation in the stability regions obtained by simulating the multi-mode model and those obtained by taking averaged relaxation time of the modes. Additionally, as the number of faster-relaxing modes in a multi-mode spectrum is progressively increased, the process becomes increasingly stable as the level of elasticity in the melt decreases. Finally, the addition of a long relaxation mode in a multi-mode spectrum is akin to adding a long chain branch to a linear polymer that leads to a reduction in film necking and in many cases to enhanced process stability.

Controlling Necking in Extrusion Film Casting Using Polymer Nanocomposites

ABSTRACTThe research described was concerned with the effect of layered-silicate-based organically modified nanoclay fillers on controlling the extent of necking in a polymer melt extrusion film casting (EFC) process. We show that a linear polythylene resin (such as a linear low-density polyethylene—LLDPE) filled with a very low percentage of well-dispersed (or intercalated) nanoclay displays an enhanced resistance to the necking phenomenon. In general, melt-compounded nanoclay-filled LLDPE resin formulations displayed a higher final film width (less necking), thus a lower final film thickness (greater draw down for the same draw ratio), and cooled down faster when compared to the base LLDPE resin. Incorporation of nanoclay filler in the mainly linear chain LLDPE resin led to significant modification of the melt rheological properties that, in turn, affected the melt processability of these formulations. Primarily, the intercalated nanoclay-filled LLDPE formulations displayed the presence of strain-hardening in unaxial extensional rheology. Additionally, the presence of well-dispersed nanoclay in the LLDPE resin led to a display of prominent extrudate swell indicating the presence of melt elasticity in such formulations. The presence of melt elasticity, as shown by shear rheology and strain-hardening, observed by uniaxial extensional rheology, contributed to the LLDPE nanoclay formulations displaying an enhanced resistance to necking for these films. It can be concluded that linear chain polymers susceptible to necking in an EFC process can be made more resistant to such necking by using nanoclay fillers at very low levels of loading.

New insights into the use of multi-mode phenomenological constitutive equations to model extrusion film casting process

This article is concerned with the effect of the individual viscoelastic relaxation modes of a polymer melt on its behavior in polymer melt extrusion film casting process. We compare the predicted versus experimentally obtained film necking or neck-in profile as a function of draw ratio. The predicted necking profile was obtained using well-established one-dimensional isothermal flow kinematics and consisted of using two different phenomenological constitutive equations, upper convected Maxwell and Phan-Thien–Tanner, with a discrete spectrum of relaxation times. The numerical simulations, containing the two different phenomenological constitutive equations, provided an insight into the effect of the slow and the fast relaxing modes on the stresses, strains, and strain/extensional rates that develop in the molten polymer film as it is stretched from the die exit to the chill-roll. The slow relaxing modes follow trends that are directly proportional to strain (similar to Hookean solids), whereas the fast relaxing modes follow trends that are directly proportional to the stretch rate (in accordance with Newton’s law of viscosity). Comparing the numerical predictions with the experiments showed that predictions using the upper convected Maxwell constitutive equation best described the long-chain branched polymers (like low-density polyethylene, which shows extensional strain hardening) in the extrusion film casting process. On the other hand, predictions using the Phan-Thien–Tanner constitutive equation best described the linear polymers (like linear low-density polyethylene, which does not show noticeable extensional strain hardening) in the extrusion film casting process.

Extrusion film casting of long chain branched polypropylene

Extrusion film casting (EFC) is an important melt processing operation which is extensively used to make polypropylene (PP) films. Linear PP shows significant amount of necking and draw resonance during EFC. One of the ways to reduce necking is to introduce long chain branches (LCB) on the polymer backbone. The long branches impart extensional strain hardening behavior thereby stabilizing the melt flow. In this work, we investigate the influence of long chain branching in polypropylene on the extent of necking in the EFC process. Laboratory scale EFC experiments were performed on homopolymer PP of linear and long chain branched architectures. Simulations of the EFC process were carried out using the one-dimensional flow model of Silagy et al., Polym. Eng. Sci., 36, 2614 (1996) into which we incorporate two different multi-mode molecular constitutive equations namely, the ‘eXtended Pom-Pom’ equation (XPP, for long chain branched PP) and the ‘Rolie-Poly’ equation (RP-S, for linear PP). Our experimental data confirm that presence of long chain branching in PP reduces the extent of necking and our numerical predictions show qualitative agreement with experimental data, thereby elucidating the role of chain architecture on the extent of necking. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 55:1977–1987, 2015. © 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers

Nonisothermal analysis of extrusion film casting process using molecular constitutive equations

Extrusion film casting (EFC) is a commercially important process that is used to produce several thousand tons of polymer films and coatings. In a recent work, we demonstrated the influence of polymer chain architecture on the extent of necking in an isothermal film casting operation (Pol et al., J Rheol 57:559–583, 2013). In the present research, we have explored experimentally and theoretically the effects of long-chain branching on the extent of necking during nonisothermal film casting conditions. Polyethylenes of linear and long-chain branched architectures were used for experimental studies. The EFC process was analyzed using the 1-D flow model of Silagy et al. (Polym Eng Sci 36:2614–2625, 1996) in which the energy equation was introduced to model nonisothermal effects, and two multimode constitutive equations, namely the “extended pom-pom” (XPP, for long-chain branched polymer melts) equation and the “Rolie-Poly stretch version” (RP-S, for linear polymer melts) equation, were incorporated to account for the effects of polymer chain architecture. We show that the model does a better job of capturing the qualitative features of the experimental data, thereby elucidating the role of chain architecture and nonisothermal conditions on the extent of necking.

Necking in extrusion film casting: The role of macromolecular architecture

Extrusion film casting (EFC) is used on an industrial scale to produce several thousand tons of polymer films and coatings. While significant research has been carried out on necking of films of viscoelastic melts in EFC, the influence of macromolecular chain architecture on the necking behavior is not yet fully understood. In the present research, we have explored experimentally and theoretically the effects of long chain branching and molecular weight distribution on the extent of necking during EFC. Polyethylenes of essentially linear architecture but having narrow and broad molecular weight distributions, and polyethylenes having long chain branching were used for experimental studies. The EFC process was analyzed using the one-dimensional flow model of Silagy et al. [Polym. Eng. Sci. 36(21), 2614–2625 (1996)] in which multimode molecular constitutive equations namely the “extended pom-pom” equation (for long chain branched polymer melts) and the “Rolie–Poly (Rouse linear entangled polymers)” equation (for linear polymer melts) were incorporated. We show that the model qualitatively captures the salient features of the experimental data thereby elucidating the role of chain architecture on the extent of necking.