MATHEMATICAL MODEL AND NUMERICAL ANALYSIS OF POLYMER MELT FLOW AND HEAT TRANSFER IN A COOLING EXTRUDER

摘要

This paper presents a mathematical model and numerical analysis of momentum transport and heat transfer of polymer melt flow in a standard cooling extruder. The finite element method is used to solve the three-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations based on a moving barrel formulation; a semi-Lagrangian approach based on an operator-splitting technique is used to solve the heat transfer advection-diffusion equation. A periodic boundary condition is applied to model fully developed flow. The effects of polymer properties on melt flow behavior, and the additional effects of considering heat transfer, are presented.