CHARACTERIZING THE MELTING BEHAVIOR OF DIFFERENT SHAPED POLYMER BULK SOLIDS BY UTILIZING A MODEL EXPERIMENT WITH AN OPTICAL MEASURING SYSTEM

摘要

The solids conveying and the melting behavior of polymers in single screw plasticizing units are crucial factors for further processing steps. This work deals with the melting behavior of different shaped polymer bulk solids, which is characterized by a new method that uses a model experiment comparable to Tadmor's "drag induced melt removal" model. The melting behavior is characterized with an optical measuring system. Finally, the results are compared to the temperature development and the mass flow rate of a single screw plasticizing unit. The results show that the shape and size of the granules are important factors for the melting process in single screw plasticizing units. Virgin material melts much faster than cylindrical shaped pellets.