Simulation based investigations on dissipation reduction in grooved melting zones using a high-speed-extruder

• Published in: AIP conference proceedings Vol. 2065; no. 1
• Main Authors: Janßen, M., Wortberg, J.
• Format: Journal Article Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: Melville American Institute of Physics 05.02.2019
• Subjects: Cavities; Computational fluid dynamics; Computer simulation; Enlargement; Extrusion rate; Fluid flow; High speed; Melt temperature; Product design; Reduction
• ISSN: 0094-243X; 1551-7616
• DOI: 10.1063/1.5088267

The High-Speed-S-Truder (HSST) with floating screw sleeve is an alternative extrusion concept with solid-melt-separation for high speed operations. Inside the screw sleeve, the material is plasticized and then discharged into the outer sleeve by hundreds of radial bores. Due to high rotational screw speeds, the melt between screw sleeve and screw is subject to high shear loads. The resultant dissipation at the inner screw sleeve surface is one of the main sources of material heating in the HSST. For increasing screw speeds, dissipation reduction is necessary to avoid exceedance of the material’s permitted processing temperature. It is expected that the local enlargement of the gap between screw sleeve and screw by profiling the inner sleeve will lead to a decrease of the occurring shear rates. In this paper, concepts with radial, helical and axial grooved inner screw sleeve profiles are investigated with 3D-CFD-simulations. The evaluation of the numerical simulation results pays particular attention to dissipation in combination with the melt temperature development. Furthermore, the effects of varying groove dimensions will be analyzed regarding the melting process and the fluid flow. Based on the results, a promising concept is recommended for experimental studies.