Ultrasound was used to diagnose the behaviors of a single screw extruder and an internal mixer. It was found that under the same processing conditions, the performance of theinspected processing equipment could vary noticeably. This variation in performance was found to be dependent on the past history of equipment usage. A major contributing factor to this discrepancy in processing performance was believed to be various degree of engagement of the screw or of the mixing blades in the gear box. The ultrasonic technology presented in this work can be applied to inspection of any extruders or internal mixers to help assure that the processing equipment is capable of delivering consistent products.
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