Kneading Discs Research Articles

Improving mixing characteristics with a pitched tip in kneading elements in twin‐screw extrusion

In twin‐screw extrusion, the geometry of a mixing element mainly determines the basic flow pattern, which eventually affects the mixing ability as well as the dispersive ability of the mixing element. The effects of geometrical modification, with both forward and backward pitched tips, of a conventional forward kneading disks element (FKD) in the pitched‐tip kneading disks element on the flow pattern and mixing characteristics are discussed. Numerical simulations of fully filled, nonisothermal polymer melt flow in the melt‐mixing zone were performed, and the flow pattern structure and the tracer trajectories were investigated. The pitched tips largely affect the inter‐disk fluid transport, which is mainly responsible for mixing. These changes in the local flow pattern are analyzed by the distribution of the strain‐rate state. The distribution of the finite‐time Lyapunov exponent reveals a large inhomogeneity of the mixing in FKD is suppressed both by the forward and backward tips. By the forward tips on FKD, the mixing ability is relatively suppressed compared to FKD, whereas for the backward tips on FKD, the mixing ability is enhanced while maintaining the same level of dispersion efficiency as FKD. From these results, the pitched tips on the conventional KD turn out to be effective at reducing the inhomogeneity of the mixing and tuning the overall mixing performance. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 64: 1424–1434, 2018

Pilot-Scale Twin Screw Extrusion and Chemical Pretreatment as an Energy-Efficient Method for the Production of Nanofibrillated Cellulose at High Solid Content

Production of nanofibrillated cellulose (CNF) has gained increasing attention during the last decades with its recent industrialization, but such a process consumes still too high of an amount of energy. Here, cellulose nanofibrils at high solid content (20–25 wt %) and consuming 60% less energy compared to conventional processes were produced from enzymatic and TEMPO-oxidized cellulose fibers thanks to a twin screw extruder equipped with kneading disks and fully flighted conveying screws. The morphology and properties of the produced CNF were characterized using optical microscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM), mechanical properties, and light transmittance. CNF with a width in the range of 20–30 nm and mechanical properties close to those obtained with commercial CNF (Young’s modulus around 15 GPa) were produced. However, results from the degree of polymerization and crystallinity showed that twin screw extrusion (TSE) degrades the fibers as far as the supermasscolloider grinder is concerned. TSE appea...

Effects of Pitched Tips of Novel Kneading Disks on Melt Mixing in Twin-Screw Extrusion

In mixing highly viscous materials, like polymers, foods, and rubbers, the geometric structure of the mixing device is a determining factor for the quality of the mixing process. In pitched-tip kneading disks (ptKD), a novel type of mixing element, based on conventional kneading disks (KD), the tip angle is modified to change the channel geometry as well as the drag ability of KD. We discuss the effects of the tip angle in ptKD on mixing characteristics based on numerical simulation of the flow in the melt-mixing zone under different feed rates and a screw rotation speed. It turns out that the passage of fluid through the high-stress regions increases in ptKD compared to conventional KD regardless of the directions and sizes of the tip angle, while the fluctuation in residence time stays at the same level as the conventional KD. Furthermore, pitched tips of backward direction increase the mean applied stress on the fluid elements during its residence in the melt-mixing zone, suggesting the enhancement of dispersive mixing quality in ptKD. These understandings of the role of the tip angle on KD can give a basic guide in selecting and designing suitable angle parameters of ptKD for different mixing purposes.

Evaluations of Flow and Mixing Efficiency in the Kneading Disks of a Novel Tri-Screw Extruder

The forward or backward stagger angles of the kneading disks have great effects on configures of the special center region along axial length in a novel tri-screw extruder. In this paper, the flow and mixing of a nonNewtonian polyethylene in kneading disks of a tri-screw extruder were simulated using three-dimensional finite element modeling based on mesh superposition technique. Three types of kneading disks, neutral stagger, staggered 30° forward and staggered 30° reverse were considered for the tri-screw extruder. The effects of stagger angles of kneading disks on the flow pattern in the tri-screw extruder were investigated. Moreover, at different stagger angles, the dispersive and distributive mixing efficiencies in the kneading disks of the tri-screw extruder and the twin-screw extruder were calculated and compared by means of mean shear rate, stretching rates, maximal stress magnitudes, mixing index, residence time distribution (RTD) and logarithm of area stretch. It is found that increasing the stagger angles decreases the axial velocities of polymer melt in the center region for the tri-screw extruder. The staggered 30° reverse is relatively reasonable for the tri-screw extruder and neutral stagger for the twin-screw extruder for the mixing efficiency. In comparison, the kneading disks in the tri-screw extruder have higher distributive and dispersive mixing efficiencies than those in the twin-screw extruder with the same stagger angles.

Linking granulation performance with residence time and granulation liquid distributions in twin-screw granulation: An experimental investigation

Twin-screw granulation is a promising wet granulation technique for the continuous manufacturing of pharmaceutical solid dosage forms. A twin screw granulator displays a short residence time. Thus, the solid–liquid mixing must be achieved quickly by appropriate arrangement of transport and kneading elements in the granulator screw allowing the production of granules with a size distribution appropriate for tableting. The distribution of residence time and granulation liquid is governed by the field conditions (such as location and length of mixing zones) in the twin-screw granulator, thus contain interesting information on granulation time, mixing and resulting sub-processes such as wetting, aggregation and breakage. In this study, the impact of process (feed rate, screw speed and liquid-to-solid ratio) and equipment parameters (number of kneading discs and stagger angle) on the residence time (distribution), the granulation liquid-powder mixing and the resulting granule size distributions during twin-screw granulation were investigated. Residence time and axial mixing data was extracted from tracer maps and the solid–liquid mixing was quantified from moisture maps, obtained by monitoring the granules at the granulator outlet using near infra-red chemical imaging (NIR-CI). The granule size distribution was measured using the sieving method. An increasing screw speed dominantly reduced the mean residence time. Interaction of material throughput with the screw speed and with the number of kneading discs led to most variation in the studied responses including residence time and mixing capacity. At a high screw speed, granulation yield improved due to high axial mixing. However, increasing material throughput quickly lowers the yield due to insufficient mixing of liquid and powder. Moreover, increasing liquid-to-solid ratio resulted in more oversized granules, and the fraction of oversized granules further increased at higher throughput. Although an increasing number of kneading discs was found to be critical for achieving a uniform distribution of the granulation liquid, the granulation performance was hampered due to insufficient solid–liquid mixing capacity of the current kneading discs which is essential for wet granulation. Thus, a balance between material throughput and screw speed should be strived for in order to achieve a specific granulation time and solid–liquid mixing for high granulation yield. Additionally, more efforts are needed both in modification of the screw configuration as well as the geometry of the mixing elements to improve the mixing capacity of the twin-screw granulator. The results from the current experimental study improved the understanding regarding the interplay between granulation time and the axial and solid–liquid mixing responsible for the granulation performance in twin-screw wet granulation.

Evaluation of an in-line particle imaging tool for monitoring twin-screw granulation performance

Twin-screw granulation is an emerging continuous wet granulation technique in the pharmaceutical industry due to several advantages over batch granulation. However, for the implementation of a fully continuous line in an industrial environment, in-process measurement tools are required to monitor critical process parameters and (intermediate) product quality attributes, and trigger control actions based on such measurements. This study aimed at evaluating the feasibility of implementing an in-line particle imaging technique (Eyecon™) after continuous twin-screw granulation and before the drying system. Off-line sieving was used as reference particle size analysis method. A twin-screw granulator which is part of the Consigma system was used to granulate a placebo formulation composed of lactose and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP; 97.5:2.5% w/w). PVP was dissolved in water, which was used as granulation liquid at liquid-to-solid ratios ranging between 8 and 9%. The performance of the in-line measurement method at heterogeneous process conditions was tested by changing the liquid to solid ratio (8–9%), the material throughput (10–25kg/h) and the screw configuration (1×6 and 2×6 kneading discs). The volumetric size distribution obtained from the in-line measurements of the granules leaving the twin-screw granulator using the Eyecon™ camera was compared with the off-line measurements obtained by sieving of the granule samples collected before and after the drying unit operation. For the intermediate size range (diameter 250–1000μm), the Eyecon™ measurements showed to be promising as they were in agreement with off-line measurement results obtained before the drying unit. However, the image analysis algorithm and data post-processing of the Eyecon™ images for the fines and oversized ranges require modification for improvement in measurement results. In conclusion, the Eyecon™ provides very good in-line images despite a dense moving flow of granules. However, proper analysis of these images is crucial before application as standard in-line particle size monitoring tool and application for control purposes can be realized.

Twin screw wet granulation: The study of a continuous twin screw granulator using Positron Emission Particle Tracking (PEPT) technique

In this paper, Positron Emission Particle Tracking (PEPT) techniques are utilised to track the trajectory of single particles through the mixing and conveying zones of a Twin Screw Granulator (TSG). A TSG consisting of conveying zones and mixing zones is used in this study. The mixing zones are arranged with kneading discs at an angle of 30°, 60° or 90°. Experiments were carried out using different mixing configurations with various screw speed and total mass flow rate. The PEPT data obtained were then utilised to obtain the residence time distribution (RTD) and the Peclet number in an attempt to gain some insight into the mixing of the process. The fill level of the granulator was also estimated to study the mechanism of granulation. As might be expected, it was shown that the residence time of the granulation process increases with decreasing screw speed. It also increases with increasing angle of the arrangement of kneading blocks in the mixing zones, but will decreases when powder feed rate is increased. The fill level of the mixing zone in particular increases when the screw speed decreases or when powder feed rate increases. Furthermore, the fill level of the granulator will increase when the mixing zone configuration changes from 30° to 90°. It is shown that the granulator is never fully filled, even using 90° mixer elements implying limited compaction which may explain why the granules produced are porous compared with those from a high shear mixer. Interestingly, the RTD analysis reveals that the extent of axial mixing in the mixing zone of the granulator does not change significantly for different configurations and process conditions. There is evidence of a tail in the RTD which implies some material hold up and channelling.

Melt-mixing by novel pitched-tip kneading disks in a co-rotating twin-screw extruder

Melt-mixing in twin-screw extruders is a key process in the development of polymer composites. Quantifying the mixing performance of kneading elements based on their internal physical processes is a challenging problem. We discuss melt-mixing by novel kneading elements called “pitched-tip kneading disk (ptKD)”. The disk-stagger angle and tip angle are the main geometric parameters of the ptKDs. We investigated four typical arrangements of the ptKDs, which are forward and backward disk-staggers combined with forward and backward tips. Numerical simulations under a certain feed rate and screw revolution speed were performed, and the mixing process was investigated using Lagrangian statistics. It was found that the four types had different mixing characteristics, and their mixing processes were explained by the coupling effect of drag flow with the disk staggering and pitched-tip and pressure flows, which are controlled by operational conditions. The use of a pitched-tip effectively controls the balance of the pressurization and mixing ability.

Influence of the process parameters of an intermeshing co-rotating twin screw extruder on the morphology and notched Izod impact strength of PBT/ABS/MGE blends

In this research, it was studied the effects of the processing parameters applied to a twin screw extruder on the morphology and impact strength of poly(butylene terephthalate)/acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene blends with and without a reactive compatibilizer. It was found that the increase of the feed rate highly decreased the ductile brittle transition temperature (DBTT) and slightly increased the room temperature impact strength (RTIS) of the compatibilized blends. Besides the influence of the feed rate, it was also found that the compatibilized blends could reach high RTIS and low DBTT values by an appropriate combination of the compatibilizer feeding position in the extruder, the screw rotation speed and the width of the kneading discs of the screw. The DBTT was found to be at least partially controlled by the spatial distribution of the rubbery particles, which was quantified by finite body tessellation, a method applied for the first time in polymer blends. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2010. © 2010 Society of Plastics Engineers

Numerical simulation and experimental validation of mixing performance of kneading discs in a twin screw extruder

AbstractThis work aims at simulation by particle tracking the local residence time distributions (RTDs) of a co‐rotating twin‐screw extruder using computational fluid dynamics. Simulated results follow reasonably well the trend of experimental results obtained by an in‐line measuring instrument for different screw configurations and feed rates. To analyze the distributive mixing performance and overall efficiency of different types of kneading discs (KDs), mixing parameters such as area stretch ratio, instantaneous efficiency, and time‐average efficiency are calculated. Among KDs with stagger angles 45°, 60°, and 90°, the 90/10/64 with disc gaps is most efficient in terms of distributive mixing. The effects of the disc width and disc gap on the local RTD and distributive mixing are also discussed. This provides a numerical tool for assessing point‐by‐point information on the local RTD, flow, and mixing along the screw extruder. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2009. © 2009 Society of Plastics Engineers

An Integrated Approach for Numerical Analysis of Coupled Flow and Heat Transfer in Co-rotating Twin Screw Extruders

Abstract The co-rotating twin screw extrusion process is widely employed in chemical industries for the processing of complex fluids including various polymers, suspensions, emulsions and gels. Here we propose a new integrated modeling strategy that is based on the numerical analysis of pressure-generating extrusion elements concomitantly with the pressure-losing extrusion elements of the co-rotating twin screw extrusion process for non-Newtonian fluids under nonisothermal conditions. The numerical analysis undertakes three-dimensional (3-D) finite element simulations of any multiple combinations of forwarding and reversing fully-flighted screw elements with other types of elements including kneading discs staggered in the forward or reverse configurations and the die. The abilities of the methodologies in simulating the coupled flow and heat transfer in industrially-relevant mixing sections or pressurization/die shaping are demonstrated with predictions of the degree of fill and typical velocity, deformation rate, stress magnitude, pressure distributions as functions of various operating parameters and basic twin screw extrusion geometries for a viscoplastic type generalized Newtonian fluid.

Study of particle trajectories, residence times and flow behavior in kneading discs of intermeshing co‐rotating twin‐screw extruders

AbstractA three‐dimensional finite element model was implemented for the solution of mass and momentum conservation equations in the kneading disc section of an intermeshing co‐rotating twin‐screw extruder. The polymer melt was modeled with a Carreau constitutive equation. The particle tracking technique was used to obtain residence times and analyze distributive mixing for different length to diameter ratios (L/D) of kneading discs. Previous studies from Kalyon et al. (1) and Cheng and Manas‐Zloczower (2) have shown that the mixing performance of intermeshing co‐rotating twin‐screw extruders is highly dependent on the combination of screw configuration and operating conditions. The complexity of the geometry and the transient character of the flow demand powerful computational tools to characterize the flow and to develop a prediction tool for the analysis of relative performance between different configurations. Difficulties arise in the particle tracking technique because of the time discretization and the presence of moving boundaries. Results show the importance of particle history on the evaluation of the relative performance of different configurations of kneading blocks and suggest a reevaluation of the use of average flow characteristics for the analysis of mixing. Results also confirm the importance of an accurate description of the geometry and clearances in order to obtain information about relative mixing performance. Polym. Eng. Sci. 44:779–793, 2004. © 2004 Society of Plastics Engineers.

Velocity Distributions and Mixing in the Translational Region of a Kneading Section in a Co-rotating Twin-screw Extruder

Velocity distributions in the kneading section of a co-rotating, self-wiping, twin-screw extruder were determined using laser Doppler anemometry to understand flow field and elucidate the mixing effectiveness of kneading blocks. Velocity profiles in the translational region were measured at three screw speeds using a Newtonian fluid. Effects of pitch and thickness of individual kneading disks, on the flow field, were also investigated. From the measured flow field, the total shear rate distribution and flow number were calculated. It was found that kneading blocks have substantial leakage flow, which increased with its pitch and rotational speed. Also, the flow number values indicated that there was more dispersive mixing than distributive mixing in the translational region of a kneading section.

Visualisation and Analysis of the Flow along the Kneading Block of a Twin-screw Extruder

Abstract The flow of a silicone oil of high viscosity along a block of staggered kneading discs of a co-rotating twin screw extruder was investigated with the use of an acrylic transparent barrel. A digital video camera recorded the flow path of a red dye, dispersed in the silicone oil, along the screws and in the intermeshing zone. Different geometrical configurations were studied, namely various staggering angles (+30°, 90° and −30 °) and thicknesses (7.5, 15.0 and 22.5 mm) of kneading blocks. The effects of these geometrical parameters on the pressure generation and filling ratio were investigated. It was observed that, even for negative staggering, the filling ratio of the kneading block was lower than one. Based upon these experiments, analytical expressions describing the filling ratio as function of geometry (staggering angle, thickness and number of discs) and operating conditions (feed rate and screw speed) were derived.

Relationship between local residence time and distributive mixing in sections of a twin‐screw extruder

AbstractLocal residence time and distributive mixing were measured in conveying sections and kneading blocks of a twin screw‐extruder. The residence time measurements were completed using carbon black as the tracer and an infrared temperature probe to detect the temperature decrease caused by the changing surface emissivity. The validity of this experimental technique was extensively evaluated. A mixing limited interfacial reaction between polymer tracers was used to directly measure the distributive mixing in the twin‐screw extruder. Possible relationships between mixing and residence time in the sections of the twin‐screw extruder were investigated by combining these two measurements. Distributive mixing in conveying sections was related to the local average residence time and the fill. In contrast, distributive mixing in kneading blocks was related to the local average number of screw revolutions experienced by the polymer. Forward stagger kneading discs achieved the greatest amount of distributive mixing, which was attributed to a combination of local stagnant flow regions and more frequent interfacial reorientation.

Experimental validation of numerical simulations of the kneading disc section in a twin screw extruder

AbstractA comparison of the results of a 3D model for the simulation of flow in the kneading disc region of a fully intermeshing twin screw extruder has been done against particle image velocimetry (PIV) experimental data. Experimental results using a geometry with an extended first and last kneading disc to capture the simplified inlet and outlet boundary conditions, are in good qualitative agreement for low flow rates. The results showed good agreement at flow rates less than 5 mL/s and rotation speeds of 60 rpm, while above that there was poor agreement. These results highlight the importance of the use of appropriate boundary conditions for the accurate prediction of the flow field. The flow field within the kneading discs with forward conveying elements placed before and after the kneading discs was also measured. For a flow rate of 8.5 mL/s and 60 rpm, results showed good agreement when conveying elements were deployed before and after the kneading blocks whereas for lower flow rates there was poor agreement.

Numerical simulation of pressure and velocity profiles in kneading elements of a co‐rotating twin screw extruder

AbstractThe objective of this work is to validate, via comparison with available experimental data, the results obtained from the numerical simulation of polymer melt flow in the kneading disc section of an intermeshing co‐rotating twin screw extruder. A quasi‐steady state 3‐D solution of the conservation equations via the finite element method was obtained, and comparisons were made with experimental pressure profiles measured by McCullough and Hilton (1) on various kneading block elements. These measurements helped provide understanding of the flow patterns developed within the unit and provided a comprehensive approach of validating the numerical model. Results confirm the importance of a fully 3‐D model for this type of geometry, where the model predicts the development of flow patterns in the radial directions and within the intermeshing region. The influence of inlet and outlet boundary conditions was studied and it was determined that they play an important role in the physical significance of the model solution. Comparisons of the simulation results with experimental data by McCullough and Hilton (1) for two different configurations of kneading discs showed good agreement, with some differences in the peaks of pressure produced at the narrow clearances encountered in intermeshing co‐rotating twin screw extruders. Differences between simulation and experiments are attributed to a number of factors. It is difficult to measure the very steep pressure gradients generated over small lengths. The assumptions of isothermal flow and quasi‐steady state may cause an over‐prediction of the pressure peaks. Simulation results describe the general trends and produce good quantitative agreement in most of the kneading disc region.

3‐D numerical simulations of nonisothermal flow in co‐rotating twin screw extruders

AbstractThree‐dimensional nonisothermal flow simulations in the kneading disc regions of co‐rotating twin screw extruders were performed using a finite element method. The standard Galerkin method and penalty function scheme were applied to the flow field. The streamline‐upwind/Petrov‐Galerkin scheme was used in the temperature field to reduce numerical oscillation. The simulations were carried out under the operational conditions of The Japan Steel Works TEX30 machine for various rotational speeds. The configuration was ten 2‐lobe kneading discs with a 90° stagger angle. Experimental observations were also performed to validate the numerical simulations under the same operational conditions. The pressure in front of the tip in the rotation direction was higher than behind the tip, and the region behind the tip sometimes had a negative value. Since variation of the pressure gradient in the axial direction causes forward and backward flows in the disc gap regions, the disc gap regions play an important role for mixing. The temperature becomes higher with increasing rotation speed due to high viscous dissipation. A high temperature was observed on the disc surface, in the disc gap, and in the intermeshing regions. The numerical results of pressure profiles with the rotation and the temperature in the axial direction were in good agreement with the experimental observations.

Study of mixing efficiency in kneading discs of co‐rotating twin‐screw extruders

AbstractCo‐rotating twin‐screw extruders are widely used for compounding and blending in polymer processing. In a modular machine, the dominant elements determining dispersive mixing efficiency are the kneading discs. A fluid dynamics analysis package ‐ FIDAP, using the finite element method was implemented to simulate the 3‐D isothermal flow patterns in the kneading disc region of a Werner & Pfleiderer ZSK‐53 co‐rotating twin‐screw extruder. The kneading discs simulated are three‐lobe discs. The flow field characteristics relevant for dispersive mixing are shear stresses generated and elongational flow components. We compare these flow characteristics for the three‐lobe kneading discs of the ZSK‐53 with the two‐lobe discs of a ZSK‐30 machine. We also discuss the influence of processing parameters on the flow field mixing efficiency.

Simulation of intensity of segregation distributions using three‐dimensional fem analysis: Application to corotating twin screw extrusion processing

AbstractThe corotating twin screw extrusion flow is simulated to generate the distributions of intensity of segregation and integral measures of mixing and forwarding. The simulation focused on the lenticular kneading disk elements that necessitated the application of a three‐dimensional finite element method to solve the conservation equations. The intensity of segregation distributions were determined by introducing a tracer blob numerically and tracking the concentration of the tracer particles as a function of location and time. In spite of the chaotic nature of the dynamics of this flow, the analyses provided the broad features of twin extrusion flow and its ability to mix. The processing characteristics of kneading disks were found to depend on the stagger angle and complemented earlier numerical and experimental results on residence time distributions and color incorporated tracer analyses. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.