RHECOMDIE (Modelling Rheological Properties of Compounded Polymeric Materials and Design of a Three-layer Spiral Extrusion Die)

Some properties of polymers can be improved by use of additives. Rheological properties of the polymers are of dominant effect in designing of dies in plastic industry, and therefore are investigated intensively.

In this project, rheological properties of compounded polymer materials will be determined with measurements, thereafter, will be modeled and included into the stress terms of the governing equations of polymer melt flow. The flow of polymer melt in the die will be simulated by use of commercial software that is fed with the output of measurements. Thus, the design process of dies can be guided.  Investigation of the effects of additives and their concentration on the rheological properties of polymers will be an important contribution to the literature.

Spiral dies in polymer extrusion are widely used for producing multi-layered products such as pipes. Currently, this type of dies is under intense investigation for developments. These dies are of several important advantages compared to classical die-heads. Spiral dies have widespread usage in the world; however the design criteria of these type dies are not clear in the literature. At the end of this project, the design methodology of spiral die design was obtained and the technological dependence on that issue was removed.