Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Screw Design
Screw Design
John Christiano
Director Extrusion Process
Technology
Presentation Overview
Single Screw Extrusion
Nomenclature
Primary Functions of a Single Screw Extruder
• Solids Conveying
• Smooth and Groove Feed
• Melting
• Barrier Screw Design
• Mixing
• Distributive and Dispersive
Technical Center Support
Empirical Design Methodology
Testing and Optimization Techniques
Introduction to Plasticating
Extrusion
Plastication - the art of melting plastic
material for subsequent forming operations
Adapter
Heater
Barrel
Die
Screw
Swing
Clamp
D-S
Feed
Base Belt
Spacer
Guard
Feed Screw
The Heart of the Extruder
Origins:
• Irrigation screw designed by
Archimedes to auger water up a
plateau
• Today, screws are far more
sophisticated
Screw Terminology
Channel
Lead
Depth
Helix
Screw Flight
Angle
O.D. Clearance
Flight
Barrel
Width
Bimetallic Liner
Screw Terminology
Flight Length
Overall Length
Important Ratio Terms
L/D = Length/Diameter
CR = Compression Ratio
• CR = Feed Channel Depth No meaning
Meter Channel Depth with Barrier
Screws
PR = Pumping Ratio
• PR = Stage 2 Metering Depth For screws with
vented stages
Stage 1 Metering Depth
Primary Functions of a
Single Screw Extruder
A Closer Look Into the Extrusion Process
F2 F5 F4
F3 F8
F7
F6
F1
H fS D Ws fS Ds
M =2 sin θb( Ks + cot θ ) + sin θb( Ks + cot θs )
Wb fb Db Wb fb Db
cot θ ) ln P1
W H 1 D
+ sinθ ( Ks +
Wb Zb fb Db P2
2.5”, 24L/D Extruder
50RPM, 2500psi, 350/425/375/375F
1MI LLDPE
Solids Conveying for a Smooth Bore
Extruder
Motion of solids
Onset of Melt: dependent on friction
End of Feeding • Friction force of solids
Sintering on barrel must be greater
than friction force of
solids on screw
Solids conveyed from
feed opening and
compact into a solids
bed
Density of solids
increases
Intensively Cooled Groove Feed
Extruder
• Typically 4 L/D feed section including
hardened grooved liner and cooling jacket.
Gear Reducer
Grooved Feed Housing
Single-piece feed section
One-piece Grooved
Liner Insert
Feed Section
• Intensively water-cooling over grooves (highly turbulent flow)
• Air cooling for lower intensity processes
Operating Principle of a Groove
Feed Extruder Remove heat
Frictional forces quickly or solids
between barrel and soften and slip
solid bed
High Frictional
Heat
Solid Bed
Pushes solids
Plug faster than
smooth-bore
High Rates
Low Temp
Transport Mechanisms
Groove Feed
800
700
600
Pressure (BAR)
500
HP Groove
400 High DSB6
Smooth
300
200
100
0
0.00 5.00 10.00 15.00 20.00 25.00 30.00 35.00
L/D
Solid Conveying
Characteristics
Smooth Grooved
Accepts a wide range Specific feedstock
of feed materials geometry required
Accepts irregular Regrind is problematic
shape feed, regrind Narrower operating
Flexible operation window
Nonlinear specific Linear specific output
output vs. Screw vs. screw speed
Speed Higher Outputs
> 40-70%
Screw Cooling
Internal Screw Cooling
Core • Water or oil enters the screw
core via a rotary union
• Carried to the end of the
screw and back via a quill
Quill
Screw Cooling: Pro/Con
Highly viscous polymer in metering zone
• Drops output due to reduced effective channel
depth and delayed melting
• Improves mixing properties
• Reduced occurrence of solid bed breakup
Improved melt quality (more cooling - less
variability in head pressure and melt
temperature)
Melting
High Performance Barrier Screws
Melting
Melting starts once a melt film is produced
at the barrel surface
Heat required to melt polymer comes from
two sources
• Conduction - heat transferred from the barrel
heaters
• Viscous Dissipation - mechanical energy from
motor transferred to the polymer as heat due to
plastic’s high viscosity
Melting
Melt Film
Thickness
V0
Barrel Wall
Melt Solid
Channel Channel
Melt Film / Barrel Wall
Interface
Conductive Melting
w/ Forced Melt Removal
Mechanical
Deformation
Start of Barrier
Barrier Screw Design
Melt Channel
Increasing Depth and Width
Solids Channel
Decreasing Depth and Width
Mid Barrier
Melt Channel
Solids Channel
Barrier Flight
Barrier Flight
Barrier Screw Design
Melt Channel
Wide and Deep
Solids Channel
Shallow and Narrow
End of Barrier
Melting - Barrier Screw
Melting Instabilities
BARRIER SCREW
CONVENTIONAL
SCREW
Solid Bed Break-up
Classical
Melting
Mechanism
Solid Bed
Break-Up
Flow
Solid Bed Break-up
Integration of the solid particulates and melt pool leads to
encapsulation of the solid
Encapsulated solids may pass through the rest of the
process without being melted if:
• Shear stresses are not high enough to melt the particulates
• Residence times are not long enough for melting to be completed
by conduction
Result:
• “gels” apparent in the extrudate
• Pressure (flow rate) and melt temperature variation
Operation of Screw Zone:
Melting
Davis-Standard Barrier
Screws
• DSB-I
• Increased Main Lead, Barrier
Lead Changes From Greater
Than to Equal to Main Lead
• DSB-II
• Increased Main Lead, Barrier
Lead Greater Than Main Lead
DSB-I
DSB-I Barrier
Unwrapped View
DSB-II
DSB-II Barrier
Metering - Pumping
Single Screw Extruder
Operation of Screw Zone:
Metering
Molten polymer is
conveyed forward by
contributions from drag
flow and by pressure
Drag Pressure flow (normally
Flow Flow opposing)
Motion of Flow
the barrel Resistance WHVBz WH 3 dP
relative to due to Die Q= −
2 12η dz
the screw restriction
Operation of Screw Zone:
Metering
150
Maximum output is
100 usually dictated by
50 acceptable output
0 quality
3 /4 "
1"
1 1 /4 "
1 1 /2 "
2"
2 1 /2 "
Ext r u d e r Size
LD P E LLD P E HDPE
Venting (Devolatilization)
Removal of volatiles
to atmosphere or vacuum
Die End
• DISPERSIVE
– Shear induced particle size reduction of immiscible components
Mixing and Quality
! "# #
Mixing Sections
DISTRIBUTIVE DISPERSIVE
Pineapple Mixer Union Carbide Mixer
Saxton Mixer Helical UCC
Dulmage Mixer Egan
Mixing Pins Cavity Transfer Mixer
Pineapple Mixing Section
! "# #
Distributive Mixer
Saxton Mixer
Distributive Mixer
Pineapple Mixer
Small pressure drop
Extensive re-
orientation of flow
Good homogeneity of
product
Wipes barrel surface,
avoiding stagnancy
Distributive Mixer
Helical Union Carbide Mixing
Flow Pattern
Dispersive/Distributive
Mixer
Cavity Transfer Mixer (CTM)
Cavity Transfer Mixer (CTM)
Rotor/Stator combination
Cavity-to-cavity transfer
provides intensive
distributive and
dispersive mixing
Expensive, needs screw
tip and barrel extension
Dispersive/Distributive
Mixer
Screw Optimization
Optimize screw pressure
profile
WHVBZ WH 3 dP • Adjust Screw Parameter
Q= −
2 12η dZ • Start of Barrier, Solids and Melt
Channel Depths
τ = ηγ&
Optimize Using Barrel Heat
dP dP
P=x
dx
+z
dz
+ Po
Flux
E = m&C P (T − To ) + ∆H f + ηγ&2 Analytical Calculations
• Empirical Equations for Drag
and Pressure Flow
• Melting Rate
DAVIS-STANDARD
SCREW DESIGN
OPTIMIZATION USING
ADVANCED
ENGINEERING
TECHNIQUES
High Speed Data Acquisition
• Davis-Standard
Customized Computer
Interface
• 8 Pressure
Transducers
• 4 J-Type
Thermocouples
• Data Acquisition
Rates Up To 1000 Hz
Extruder Instrumentation
• Extruder Barrel Equipped with Multiple
Pressure Ports
– Typical Transducer Locations For Barrier Screws:
• End Of Feed Section • Metering Section
• Start Of Barrier • Breaker Plate
• Middle Of Barrier • Adapter Pipe
• End Of Barrier
• Exposed Junction Thermocouple in Adapter T
P P P P P P
High Speed Data Analysis
• Pressure Variation (in adapter)
– Design criteria to be 1-2% total
• Pressure stability throughout the screw
– Observance of solid bed breakup
– Fully filled melt and solids channels
– Second stage balancing
• Melt Temperature Variation
– Design criteria to be under 1°F
Screw Optimization Using
Empirical Techniques
• Balance Feeding, Melting, Pumping
• Adjust Start of Barrier, Solids and Melt Channel
Depths
• Evaluate Barrel Heat Flux
• Cooling Requirements (Air of Water)
Temperature Control
Considerations
• Water
• Air
• Dual Thermocouple
A
Process Analysis - DSBM-T
Feeding
Cross Channel Pressure
Gradient
2300
2100
1900
1700
1500
1300
0 20 40 60 80 100
1430
1410
1390
1370
1350
0 20 40 60 80 100
2200
2100
2000
1900
1800
0 50 100 150
3100
3000
2900
0 50 100 150
P1 (psi) 350
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
2400
1600
P2 (psi) 800
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
2800
2200
P3 (psi) 1600
1000
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Time (seconds)
Typical Pressure Trace
DSB-I LDPE
3600
2900
P4 (psi) 2200
1500
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
3300
P5 (psi) 3200
3100
3000
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Time (seconds)
Typical Pressure Trace
DSB-I LDPE
2820
Head 2800
Pressure 2780
2760
(psi) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
398
Melt 397
396
Temp 395
(F) 394
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Time (seconds)
Process Analysis
Screw Push-Outs
• Investigate Screw Design Using Screw
Push-Outs of a DSBM-T and a SSMM-T
• Compare Pressure Traces With Screw
Carcass
– Feeding Stability
– Melting Stability
– Plastication Stability
– Pumping Stability
Melting Instabilities
• Maintaining the integrity of the solid bed
until melting is complete is critical
– Solid bed break-up is inherent with
conventional designs
– Solid bed break-up is also possible on poorly
designed barrier screws
Solid Bed Break-up
• Integration of the solid particulates and melt pool leads to
encapsulation of the solid
• Encapsulated solids may pass through the rest of the
process without being melted if:
– Shear stresses are not high enough to melt the particulates
– Residence times are not long enough for melting to be completed
by conduction
• Result:
– “gels” apparent in the extrudate
– Pressure (flow rate) and melt temperature variation
MELTING MECHANISM SEEN IN SCREW
PUSH-OUTS
BARRIER SCREW
CONVENTIONAL
SCREW
Solid Bed Break-Up
Solid Bed Break-Up
1800
Cyclic variation in pressure profile
1600
1400
1200
Pressure (PSI)
1000
800
600
Movement of solid bed
400
200
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Time (seconds)
Solid Bed Break-Up
Solid Bed Break-Up
1800
Movement of Solid Bed
1600
1400
1200
Pressure (PSI)
1000
800
600
Solid bed in solids channel Full melt in solids channel
400
200
0
12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
Time (seconds)
Melt Temperature
COMPUTATIONAL
ANALYSIS
Computational Analysis
Actual vs. Predicted
• Melting Rate
• Pressure Generation
• Heat Flux
• Power Consumption
• Residence Time
Materials of Construction
Standard
• AISI 4140 Cr Alloy Steel, Rc 28-32
• AISI 4340 Cr Alloy Steel, Rc 32-37
High Corrosion Resistance
• Hastelloy C-276 - Ni Alloy Steel
• Inconel 625, 718 - Ni-Cr Alloy Steel
• PH Stainless Steel
High Wear Resistance
• CPM 9V/10V
• Nitralloy 135M Cr-Al Alloy Steel for Nitriding (Case
depth 0.017”)
• Reiloy R123 PM-HIP Fe Alloy Steel
Flight Hardening
Arc-welding Inlay
Metal for Flight-
Hardening
Prepared billet
with welded flights
ready for machining
Screw Manufacturing
Cutting the Screw
• Whirler - Rapid cutting
technology with 6 deg.
Of Freedom
• Milling - CNC guided
ball- or end-milling
tooling
Screw Polish
Cut Shank & Keyway
Screw Wear
Screw is designed to
Mic
wear before barrel
Gradual loss in output
rate
Gradual increase in melt
temperature at set output
rate
Mic Bar