Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Polyflow Extrusion WS03 Cooled Die
Polyflow Extrusion WS03 Cooled Die
Polyflow Extrusion WS03 Cooled Die
3.1. Introduction
This tutorial examines the flow of a polymer melt through a die. The temperature of the melt increases
due to viscous dissipation caused by the shearing taking place in the die. The temperature of the fluid
is critical for the process. The viscosity of the fluid changes with temperature, which leads to the
modification of the shape of the extrudate. The polymer might degrade if the temperature is too high,
so a numerical simulation is of great interest to optimize the operating conditions.
Set material properties and boundary conditions for the contraction flow problem.
3.2. Prerequisites
This tutorial assumes that you are familiar with the menu structure in Polydata and Workbench and
that you have solved or read 2.5D Axisymmetric Extrusion (p. ?). Some steps in the set up procedure
will not be shown explicitly.
In solving for the free surface location, the position variables are also coupled to the temperature, velocity,
and pressure fields. To solve the coupled problem, you will define two sub-tasks: one each for the fluid
(sub-task 1) and the solid (sub-task 2). Each sub-task contains a particular model, domain of definition,
material properties, and boundary conditions, including interface conditions with the other sub-task.
The sub-tasks are coupled because the global solution of the problem depends on the values of the
solution variables at the intersection of the fluid and solid domains.
Release 15.0 - SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 1
Non-Isothermal Flow Through a Cooled Die
The high flow rate introduces strong non-linearity in the problem, which can lead to a loss of convergence
in the iterative scheme. In Polyflow an evolution scheme is available to solve such highly non-linear
problems. In this problem, the evolution scheme is applied to the flow rate, which is increased from a
low value to the desired value. This leads to a simultaneous increase of viscous dissipation and inertia
effects.
Viscous heating is taken into account and the shear-rate dependence of viscosity obeys the Bird-Carreau
law. For the solid region, the thermal conductivity ( ) is 30 W/mK.
Release 15.0 - SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
2 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
Problem Description
The boundary sets for the problem are shown in Figure 3.2: Boundaries and Subdomains (p. 3), and
the flow and thermal conditions for the fluid and the die at the boundaries of the domains are:
boundary 4: free surface with convective heat transfer to surroundings ( = 20 W/m2-C, = 20C)
Release 15.0 - SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 3
Non-Isothermal Flow Through a Cooled Die
3.4. Preparation
To prepare for running this tutorial:
Note
If you do not have a User Name and Password, you can register by clicking Customer
Registration on the Log In page.
4. Narrow the results by using the filter on the left side of the page.
7. Unzip the Non-Iso-Flow_R150.zip file you have downloaded to your working folder.
8. Start Workbench from Start All Programs ANSYS 15.0 Workbench 15.0.
2. Save the ANSYS Workbench project using File Save, entering non-iso-flow as the name of the
project.
When Polydata starts, the Create a new task menu item is highlighted, and the geometry for the
problem is displayed in the Graphics Display window.
Release 15.0 - SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
4 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
Step 3: Definition of the Fluid Sub-Task
F.E.M. task
Evolution problem(s)
2D axisymmetric geometry
The Current setup (above the selected options) is updated to reflect your selections. Since the
problem involves an axisymmetric die, Polyflow uses a 2D cylindrical reference frame (r,z) with r=0
as the axis of symmetry. The use of evolution inputs allows the flow rate to be slowly ramped up to
ensure that the solution converges.
Create a sub-task
Note
Release 15.0 - SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 5
Non-Isothermal Flow Through a Cooled Die
To solve the coupled problem, the computational domain is divided into three subdomains. There are
two sub-tasks in this problem. Define a sub-task with its own model, material properties, and boundary
conditions for the fluid region. Since this problem involves a free surface, the domain for sub-task 1 is
divided into two subdomains: one for the region near the free surface (SUBDOMAIN_2) and the other
for the rest of the fluid domain (SUBDOMAIN_1). In this problem, sub-task 1 applies to SUBDOMAIN_1
and SUBDOMAIN_2.
SUBDOMAIN_3 is moved from the top list to the bottom list, indicating that subtask 1 is defined
on SUBDOMAIN_1 and SUBDOMAIN_2.
b. Click Upper level menu at the top of the Domain of the sub-task menu.
Polydata indicates the material properties that are relevant for your sub-task by graying out the irrelevant
properties. In this sub-task, Polyflow solves energy, incompressibility, and momentum equations. Hence,
define viscosity, density, thermal conductivity, and heat capacity per unit mass. For a non-isothermal
Release 15.0 - SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
6 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
Step 3: Definition of the Fluid Sub-Task
generalized Newtonian fluid, the viscosity depends on the shear rate and the temperature. Hence, define
the shear-rate dependence of viscosity and the temperature dependence of viscosity.
Material data
where is the viscosity at zero shear rate, is the shear rate, is the Bird-Carreau law
index, and is the natural time.
ii. Specify the value , referred to as fac in the graphical user interface (compare the equation
at the top of the Shear-rate dependence of viscosity menu to Equation 3.1 (p. 7)).
Modify fac
iii. Specify the value , referred to as tnat in the graphical user interface.
Modify tnat
iv. Specify the value for , referred to as expo in the graphical user interface.
Modify expo
When you click Upper level menu, Polydata displays the following warning message:
Release 15.0 - SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 7
Non-Isothermal Flow Through a Cooled Die
For this tutorial, use an evolution function for the flow rate (the third recommended method).
vii. Click Upper level menu again to continue with the Material Data specification.
For this problem, assume that the dependence of viscosity on temperature follows the Arrhenius
law.
where is the ratio of the activation energy to the thermodynamic constant and is a ref-
erence temperature for which = 1. The parameter denotes the absolute 0 temperature
in your selected temperature scale. It is set to 0, when and are absolute temperatures.
In this example, specify the temperatures in Celsius, so enter a value of -273 for .
ii. Specify the value for , referred to as alfa in the graphical user interface (compare the
equation at the top of the Temperature dependence of viscosity menu to Equa-
tion 3.2 (p. 8)).
Modify alfa
Release 15.0 - SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
8 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
Step 3: Definition of the Fluid Sub-Task
iii. Specify the value for , referred to as talfa by the graphical user interface.
Modify talfa
iv. Specify the value for , referred to as t0 by the graphical user interface.
Modify t0
v. Click Upper level menu two times to continue with the Material Data specification.
c. Click Density.
Modification of density
ii. Click Upper level menu to continue with the Material Data specification.
For this problem, the thermal conductivity of the fluid is assumed to be a constant. So only the
constant coefficient is modified.
Modify a
ii. Click Upper level menu to continue with the Material Data specification.
The heat capacity per unit mass is defined as a non-linear function of temeprature:
(3.4)
The temperature variation of depends on the nature of the polymer melt. For this problem,
is assumed to be constant, so only the constant coefficient is modified.
Modify a
ii. Click Upper level menu to continue with the Material Data specification.
Release 15.0 - SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 9
Non-Isothermal Flow Through a Cooled Die
When shearing occurs in a flow, the friction of the different fluid layers generates heat. When the
fluid is highly viscous and/or the shear rate is high, the heating of the fluid caused by this phe-
nomenon must be taken into account.
ii. Click Upper level menu to return to the Material Data specification.
a. Retain the default condition Zero wall velocity (vn=vs=0) along SUBDOMAIN_3 at the intersection
of SUBDOMAIN_1 and SUBDOMAIN_3.
The liquid is assumed to stick to the wall, since at a solid-liquid interface the velocity of the liquid
is that of the solid surface. This is known as the no-slip assumption because the liquid is assumed
to adhere to the wall, and hence, has no velocity relative to the wall.
By default, Polydata imposes = = 0 along all boundaries. No action is required to accept the
default condition.
i. Select Zero wall velocity (vn=vs=0) along BOUNDARY_1 and click Modify.
ii. Click EVOL at the top of the Polydata menu to enable the evolution inputs for the flow rate.
For information on non-linearity and evolution, see Appendix: Non-Linearity and Evolu-
tion (p. 32).
Polydata prompts for the new value of the volumetric /mass flow rate.
When the Automatic option is selected, Polydata automatically chooses the most appropriate
method to compute the inflow condition.
vii. Click Upper level menu. Polydata prompts for the evolution function .
Release 15.0 - SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
10 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
Step 3: Definition of the Fluid Sub-Task
The Current choice (at the top of the menu) is updated to reflect your selection.
ix. Click EVOL at the top of the Polydata menu to disable the evolution inputs.
x. Click Upper level menu to return to the Flow boundary conditions menu.
For axisymmetric models, Polydata recognizes the axis of symmetry from the mesh file, and auto-
matically imposes the symmetry condition along the line = 0. This condition imposes a zero surface
normal velocity ( ) and zero tangential force ( ) along this boundary.
It is assumed that a uniform velocity profile is reached at the exit. The melt is not subjected to any
externally applied stress at the exit, so the condition of zero normal and tangential forces is selected.
i. Select Zero wall velocity (vn=vs=0) along BOUNDARY_3 and click Modify.
iii. Click Upper level menu to accept the default value of 0 for .
iv. Click Upper level menu to accept the default value of 0 for .
In a steady-state problem, the velocity field must be tangential to a free surface, since no fluid
particles leave the domain through the free surface. This constraint is called the kinematic condition,
= 0. This equation requires an initial condition, which is the starting line of the free surface. In
this problem, the starting line of the free surface is the intersection of BOUNDARY_4 and SUBDO-
MAIN_3 (see Figure 3.2: Boundaries and Subdomains (p. 3)).
i. Select Zero wall velocity (vn=vs=0) along BOUNDARY_4 and click Modify.
vii. Click Upper level menu to return to the Kinematic condition menu.
Release 15.0 - SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 11
Non-Isothermal Flow Through a Cooled Die
Polydata prompts for the new value of the Y-component of the direction-of-displacement
vector.
xiv. Click Upper level menu to return to the Kinematic condition menu.
xv. Click Upper level menu to return to the Flow boundary condition menu.
For non-isothermal problems, specify either the temperature or the heat flux on each boundary set.
Release 15.0 - SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
12 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
Step 3: Definition of the Fluid Sub-Task
Set an interface condition at the intersection of SUBDOMAIN_1 and SUBDOMAIN_3. This condition
ensures the continuity of the temperature field and the heat flux along the interface. Since the
problem is coupled, the condition of continuity is essential for the global solution of the temperature
and heat flux variables.
iii. Click Upper level menu to accept the default setting (continuous heat flux along the interface).
For an interface condition, both the heat flux and temperature are usually continuous along
the interface. It is possible to specify a non-zero value for the heat flux jump ( ), but this is
mainly used in problems where internal radiation is simulated. Accept the default value for
the definition of heat flux discontinuity ( =0).
Release 15.0 - SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 13
Non-Isothermal Flow Through a Cooled Die
v. Click Upper level menu to return to the Thermal boundary conditions menu.
If the heat transfer from radiation is neglected, the heat flux can be written as
(3.5)
where is the heat convection coefficient and is the reference temperature (in this case,
the temperature of the air surrounding the extrudate).
Modification of alpha
Modification of Talpha
v. Click Upper level menu to return to the Thermal boundary conditions menu.
This model involves a free surface for which the position is unknown. A portion of the mesh is affected
by the relocation of this boundary. Hence, a remeshing technique is applied on this part of the mesh.
The free surface is entirely contained within SUBDOMAIN_2 and hence, only SUBDOMAIN_2 is affected
by the relocation of the free surface.
Global remeshing
Release 15.0 - SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
14 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
Step 3: Definition of the Fluid Sub-Task
SUBDOMAIN_1 is moved from the top list to the bottom list, indicating that only SUBDOMAIN_2
will be remeshed.
The purpose of the remeshing technique is to relocate internal nodes according to the displacement
of boundary nodes due to the motion of the free surface. Mesh nodes are organized along lines of
remeshing (spines), which are collections of nodes logically arranged in a one-dimensional manner.
Polydata requires the specification of the first and last spines (inlet and outlet) that the fluid en-
counters In this case, the inlet of spines is the intersection of SUBDOMAIN_2 with SUBDOMAIN_1,
and the outlet of spines is the intersection of SUBDOMAIN_2 with the flow exit (BOUNDARY_3).
Method of Spines
i. Specify the inlet for the system of spines by selecting Intersection with SUBDOMAIN_1 and
clicking Confirm.
Release 15.0 - SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 15
Non-Isothermal Flow Through a Cooled Die
ii. Specify the outlet for the system of spines by selecting Intersection with BOUNDARY_3 and
clicking Confirm.
iii. Click Accept the current setup in the Element distortion check menu.
The finite-element mesh can undergo great deformations. The Element distortion check
menu deals with the detection of all possible distortions of the elements.
For this problem, accept the default options and proceed to the next step.
Interpolation
You can expect important temperature gradients in the calculation. Therefore, you can retain the
quadratic interpolation (9 unknowns per element) for velocity and the linear interpolation (4 unknowns
per element) for pressure, but it is recommended that you select the 4x4 interpolation for temperature.
In the 4x4 discretization scheme, each finite element is divided into 16 sub-elements, with the temper-
ature being linearly interpolated over each sub-element. This leads to 25 temperature unknowns per
element.
a. Scroll down to select 4x4 element for temperature in the Interpolation menu.
The Current setup (at the top of the menu) is updated to reflect your selection.
b. Click Upper level menu two times to return to the F.E.M. Task 1 menu.
Create a sub-task
Release 15.0 - SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
16 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
Step 4: Definition of the Solid Sub-Task
b. Click No, since this sub-task has different parameters associated with it.
c. Click Upper level menu at the top of the Domain of the sub-task menu.
For this problem, specify a constant value for the thermal conductivity .
Material data
For this problem, thermal conductivity is assumed to be a constant, so only the constant coefficient
is modified.
b. Select Modify a.
d. Click Upper level menu two times to return to the solid menu.
Set the conditions at each of the boundaries of the domain. The selected boundary set will be highlighted
(in red) in the graphics window as you select them..
Release 15.0 - SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 17
Non-Isothermal Flow Through a Cooled Die
iii. Click Upper level menu to accept the default option for continuity of temperature and heat
flux.
Take only the heat convection into account: see Equation 3.5 (p. 14).
Modification of alpha
Modification of Talpha
v. Click Upper level menu to return to the Thermal boundary conditions menu.
Modification of alpha
Modification of Talpha
v. Click Upper level menu to return to the Thermal boundary conditions menu.
5. Click Upper level menu twice to return to the F.E.M. Task 1 menu.
Release 15.0 - SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
18 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
Step 7: Save the Data and Exit Polydata
Numerical parameters
b. Define the starting solution for the iterative scheme in the calculation of the inflow condition.
2. Click Upper level menu three times to return to the top-level Polydata menu.
Outputs
Set to metric_MKSA+Celsius
2. Click Upper level menu three times to return to the top-level Polydata menu.
Release 15.0 - SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 19
Non-Isothermal Flow Through a Cooled Die
Click No, as you have already defined an evolution strategy on the flow rate.
1. Click Accept.
2. Click Continue.
This accepts the default names for graphical output files (cfx.res) that are to be saved for postpro-
cessing, and for the Polyflow format results file (res).
1. Run Polyflow by right-clicking the Solution cell of the simulation and selecting Update.
This executes Polyflow using the data file as standard input, and writes information about the problem
description, calculations, and convergence to a listing file (polyflow.lst).
Ten CFD-Post files are created, corresponding to the thirteen evolution steps in the problem.
Workbench opens the View listing file panel, which displays the listing file.
b. It is a common practice to confirm that the solution proceeded as expected by looking for the
following printed at the bottom of the listing file:
The computation succeeded.
1. Double-click the Results cell in the Workbench analysis and read the results files saved by Polyflow.
Release 15.0 - SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
20 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
Step 9: Postprocessing
CFD-Post reads the solution fields that were saved to the results file.
In the graphical window, right-click, and select the option Predefined Camera.
a. Right-click in the graphical window and select View from +Z under Predefined Camera.
The central-mouse button allows you to zoom in and zoom out. The left-mouse button allows ro-
tating the image. The right-mouse button allows you to translate the image.
b. To remove the ruler right-click in the graphical window, select Viewer Options, and disable Ruler
Visibility.
a. Click the Insert menu and select Contour or click the button.
b. In the panel that opens, click OK to accept the default name (Contour 1) display the details view
below the Outline tab.
c. Perform the following steps In the Geometry tab of the details view for Contour 1:
i. Next to Locations, click the ellipsis button ( ) on the right and select SUBDOMAIN_1_surf
and SUBDOMAIN_2_surf (use Ctrl to select multiple items).
Release 15.0 - SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 21
Non-Isothermal Flow Through a Cooled Die
ii. Select PRESSURE from the Variable drop-down list, or click the ellipsis button ( ) on the
right and select PRESSURE.
Release 15.0 - SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
22 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
Step 9: Postprocessing
a. In the details view of Contour 1, select VELOCITIES from the Variable drop-down list.
b. Click Apply.
Release 15.0 - SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 23
Non-Isothermal Flow Through a Cooled Die
The fluid experiences high velocity gradients in the narrow section of the die. This leads to important
viscous dissipation effects that cause the temperature of the melt to increase.
a. In the Outline tab under User Locations and Plots, disable Contour 1.
b. Click the Insert menu and select Vector or click the button.
c. Click OK to accept the default name (Vector 1) and open the details view below the Outline tab.
Release 15.0 - SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
24 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
Step 9: Postprocessing
i. In the Geometry tab, click the button next to Locations to open the Location Selector
dialog box.
ii. Select SUBDOMAIN_1_surf and SUBDOMAIN_2_surf (use Ctrl to select multiple items).
iii. In the Symbol tab, select Arrow3D and retain the default Symbol Size of 1.0.
Release 15.0 - SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 25
Non-Isothermal Flow Through a Cooled Die
The velocity vectors in the wide section of the die are very small compared to those in the narrow section
of the die (Figure 3.5: Velocity Vectors (p. 26)). Also, the important velocity re-arrangement takes place
at the die exit. This leads to the swelling of the extrudate.
6. Display the temperature distribution in the solid and the fluid regions.
a. In the Outline tab, under User Locations and Plots, disable Vector 1 and enable and double-click
Contour 1.
Release 15.0 - SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
26 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
Step 9: Postprocessing
i. Next to Locations, click the ellipsis button ( ) on the right and select SUBDOMAIN_1_surf,
SUBDOMAIN_2_surf and SUBDOMAIN_3_surf (use Ctrl to select multiple items).
Release 15.0 - SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 27
Non-Isothermal Flow Through a Cooled Die
Release 15.0 - SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
28 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
Step 9: Postprocessing
Figure 3.7: Temperature Profile Near the Die Exit (p. 29) shows a magnified view of the temperature
contours near the die exit. The high velocity gradients near the die exit lead to an important viscous
dissipation effect. The temperature of the polymer melt increases from the converging zone to the die
lip. This increase in temperature must be monitored to avoid melt degradation. The simulation helps
optimize the geometry of the die, the flow section for the cooling fluid, and other conditions in order
to maximize the flow rate and the extrudate speed.
a. Verify that you have millimeters selected as your units for length in CFD-Post.
b. Define the line for the plot with the points (0, 1, 0) and (15, 1, 0).
Release 15.0 - SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 29
Non-Isothermal Flow Through a Cooled Die
ii. Click OK to accept the default name (Line 1) and display the details view below the Outline
tab.
v. Click Apply.
c. Create a plot.
ii. Click OK to accept the default name (Chart 1) and display the details view below the Outline
tab.
Release 15.0 - SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
30 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
Step 9: Postprocessing
iii. In the General tab of the details view, select XY for the chart Type and disable Display Title.
iv. In the Data Series tab, select Line 1 from the Locations drop-down list for Series 1.
vi. In the Y Axis tab, select TEMPERATURE from the Variable drop-down list.
vii. With Series 1 (Line 1) enabled under the Line Display tab, select Rectangle from the Symbols
drop-down list. Retain the default Symbol Color (green).
Release 15.0 - SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 31
Non-Isothermal Flow Through a Cooled Die
3.14. Summary
In this tutorial, you solved the non-isothermal flow of a polymer melt through a cooled die. You set the
material properties for the melt and supplied suitable boundary conditions. A specific interpolation
scheme was used for the temperature in order to cope with the important gradients. You applied an
evolution scheme to solve the convergence problems caused by the viscous dissipation coupled with
the temperature-dependent viscosity law.
In Polyflow, this procedure is fully automated. The increments are automatically adapted according to
the results of previous calculations. Polyflow uses an evolution variable ( ) that is incremented during
the evolution scheme. starts at an initial value of and is increased up to a final value of . Each
parameter that you evolve is defined as .
Release 15.0 - SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
32 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.