Yes / Polymer extrusion, in which a polymer is melted and conveyed to a mould or die, forms the basis of most polymer processing techniques. Extruders frequently run at non-optimised conditions and can account for 15-20% of overall process energy losses. In times of increasing energy efficiency such losses are a major concern for the industry. Product quality, which depends on the homogeneity and stability of the melt flow which in turn depends on melt temperature and screw speed, is also an issue of concern of processors. Gear pumps can be used to improve the stability of the production line, but the cost is usually high. Likewise it is possible to introduce energy meters but they also add to the capital cost of the machine. Advanced control incorporating soft sensing capabilities offers opportunities to this industry to improve both quality and energy efficiency. Due to strong correlations between the critical variables, such as the melt temperature and melt pressure, traditional decentralized PID (Proportional-Integral-Derivative) control is incapable of handling such processes if stricter product specifications are imposed or the material is changed from one batch to another. In this paper, new real-time energy monitoring methods have been introduced without the need to install power meters or develop data-driven models. The effects of process settings on energy efficiency and melt quality are then studied based on developed monitoring methods. Process variables include barrel heating temperature, water cooling temperature, and screw speed. Finally, a fuzzy logic controller is developed for a single screw extruder to achieve high melt quality. The resultant performance of the developed controller has shown it to be a satisfactory alternative to the expensive gear pump. Energy efficiency of the extruder can further be achieved by optimising the temperature settings. Experimental results from open-loop control and fuzzy control on a Killion 25 mm single screw extruder are presented to confirm the efficacy of the proposed approach. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

No / Experimental observations of melt temperature profiles and melting performance of extruder screws are reported. A novel temperature sensor consisting of a grid of thermocouple junctions was used to take multiple temperature readings in real time across melt flow in a single screw extruder. Melt pressure in the die and power consumption were also monitored. Three extruder screws at a range of screw speeds were examined for a commercial grade of low density polyethylene. Results showed melt temperature fields at low throughputs to be relatively independent of screw geometry with a flat-shaped temperature profile dominated by conduction. At high throughputs, melting performance and measured temperature fields were highly dependent upon screw geometry. A barrier-flighted screw with Maddock mixer achieved significantly better melting than single flighted screws. Low temperature "shoulder" regions were observed in the temperature profiles of single-flighted screws at high throughput, due to late melting of the solid bed. Stability of the melt flow was also dependent upon screw geometry and the barrier-flighted screw achieving flow with lower variation in melt pressure and temperature. Dimensionless numbers were used to analyze the relative importance of conduction, convection, and viscous shear to the state of the melt at a range of extrusion conditions.

Neste trabalho, compósitos de PET sob a forma de flake e pós-condensado foram preparados com teores diferenciados de fibra de vidro (0, 20, 30 e 40%). Dois tipos de fibra foram utilizados: uma fibra com tratamento superficial a base de amino-silano e outra com tratamento a base de epóxi-silano. Os compósitos foram extrusados em extrusora mono-rosca, utilizando uma rosca de filete duplo com barreira, e em extrusora dupla-rosca interpenetrante co-rotacional. Após extrusão, os compósitos foram injetados a 120 ºC que, após várias temperaturas testadas, foi a temperatura que conferiu maior grau de cristalinidade do artefato final (acima de 30%). Os compósitos foram caracterizados quanto às propriedades mecânicas, térmicas e morfológicas. Os resultados mostraram que com a utilização de uma mono-rosca apropriada ao processamento de PET com fibra de vidro foi possível produzir compósitos com boas propriedades, comparáveis aos obtidos em extrusora dupla-rosca. Em relação aos tipos de PET utilizados, verificou-se que a massa molar da matriz polimérica, maior para o PET pós-condensado, teve uma pequena influência no desempenho das propriedades analisadas. Porém foi observado que os resultados foram indiferentes ao tratamento superficial das fibras testadas. Através da determinação do comprimento das fibras por análise óptica, e dos resultados experimentais do módulo de tração dos compósitos, pode-se constatar que nos compósitos injetados as fibras estão orientadas no sentido longitudinal à deformação. Com a microscopia eletrônica de varredura verificou-se que há sempre uma melhor distribuição e dispersão das fibras, com menores vazios à medida que aumenta o teor de fibras, corroborando os resultados mecânicos, sempre crescentes com o teor incorporado. A cristalinidade obtida nos corpos de prova moldados por injeção com o molde a uma temperatura de 120 ºC, aliada à presença da fibra de vidro, leva a um aumento na temperatura de distorção térmica (HDT). As análises de raios-X mostraram que com o aumento da quantidade da fibra, os picos cristalinos característicos do PET perdem definição, o que está associado à característica amorfa da fibra. / Submitted by Marcelo Teixeira (mvteixeira@ucs.br) on 2014-05-15T17:17:43Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Nilcea Mondadori.pdf: 5475607 bytes, checksum: 3b5580025f75099d47502055cd80fde5 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2014-05-15T17:17:43Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Nilcea Mondadori.pdf: 5475607 bytes, checksum: 3b5580025f75099d47502055cd80fde5 (MD5) / In this work, flake and post-condensed PET composites of different glass fiber contents (0, 20, 30 and 40%) were prepared. Tow kinds of fibers were employed: one fiber having an amino silane-based surface treatment and another one having an epoxi silane-based surface treatment. The composites were extruded in a single-screw extruder with a barrier double-flight screw, and in a co-rotating interpenetrating twin-screw extruder. After extrusion the composites were injected at 120°C, this temperature being chosen after several tests indicating that it could promote the highest possible degree of crystallinity of the final product (higher than 30%). The composites were characterized as for mechanical, thermal and morphological features. Data indicate that by using a single-screw extruder proper to the processing of PET and fiber glass the properties of the obtained composites are fairly good, being comparable to those obtained from a twin-screw extruder. As for the types of PET utilized, it could be found that the molar mass of the polymeric matrix, larger for the post-condensed PET had some influence on the performance of the tested properties. On the other hand it could be observed that the surface treatment of the fibers does not influence the obtained data. Based on the optical analysis of the fiber length and the elastic modulus data it is possible to determine that the fibers of the injected composites are oriented longitudinally to the strain direction. With the aid of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), improvements in the distribution and dispersion of the fibers were always observed, with smaller voids as the fiber content increases, backing higher mechanical data as the incorporated fiber content is increased. Crystallinity resulting from injection-molded test specimens processed at 120°C, together with the presence of the glass fiber leads to a synergism in the heat distortion temperature (HDT). X-rays analyses indicate that at higher fiber content the composites show lower definition of the crystalline peaks, this being associated to the amorphous feature of the fiber.

Neste trabalho, compósitos de PET sob a forma de flake e pós-condensado foram preparados com teores diferenciados de fibra de vidro (0, 20, 30 e 40%). Dois tipos de fibra foram utilizados: uma fibra com tratamento superficial a base de amino-silano e outra com tratamento a base de epóxi-silano. Os compósitos foram extrusados em extrusora mono-rosca, utilizando uma rosca de filete duplo com barreira, e em extrusora dupla-rosca interpenetrante co-rotacional. Após extrusão, os compósitos foram injetados a 120 ºC que, após várias temperaturas testadas, foi a temperatura que conferiu maior grau de cristalinidade do artefato final (acima de 30%). Os compósitos foram caracterizados quanto às propriedades mecânicas, térmicas e morfológicas. Os resultados mostraram que com a utilização de uma mono-rosca apropriada ao processamento de PET com fibra de vidro foi possível produzir compósitos com boas propriedades, comparáveis aos obtidos em extrusora dupla-rosca. Em relação aos tipos de PET utilizados, verificou-se que a massa molar da matriz polimérica, maior para o PET pós-condensado, teve uma pequena influência no desempenho das propriedades analisadas. Porém foi observado que os resultados foram indiferentes ao tratamento superficial das fibras testadas. Através da determinação do comprimento das fibras por análise óptica, e dos resultados experimentais do módulo de tração dos compósitos, pode-se constatar que nos compósitos injetados as fibras estão orientadas no sentido longitudinal à deformação. Com a microscopia eletrônica de varredura verificou-se que há sempre uma melhor distribuição e dispersão das fibras, com menores vazios à medida que aumenta o teor de fibras, corroborando os resultados mecânicos, sempre crescentes com o teor incorporado. A cristalinidade obtida nos corpos de prova moldados por injeção com o molde a uma temperatura de 120 ºC, aliada à presença da fibra de vidro, leva a um aumento na temperatura de distorção térmica (HDT). As análises de raios-X mostraram que com o aumento da quantidade da fibra, os picos cristalinos característicos do PET perdem definição, o que está associado à característica amorfa da fibra. / In this work, flake and post-condensed PET composites of different glass fiber contents (0, 20, 30 and 40%) were prepared. Tow kinds of fibers were employed: one fiber having an amino silane-based surface treatment and another one having an epoxi silane-based surface treatment. The composites were extruded in a single-screw extruder with a barrier double-flight screw, and in a co-rotating interpenetrating twin-screw extruder. After extrusion the composites were injected at 120°C, this temperature being chosen after several tests indicating that it could promote the highest possible degree of crystallinity of the final product (higher than 30%). The composites were characterized as for mechanical, thermal and morphological features. Data indicate that by using a single-screw extruder proper to the processing of PET and fiber glass the properties of the obtained composites are fairly good, being comparable to those obtained from a twin-screw extruder. As for the types of PET utilized, it could be found that the molar mass of the polymeric matrix, larger for the post-condensed PET had some influence on the performance of the tested properties. On the other hand it could be observed that the surface treatment of the fibers does not influence the obtained data. Based on the optical analysis of the fiber length and the elastic modulus data it is possible to determine that the fibers of the injected composites are oriented longitudinally to the strain direction. With the aid of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), improvements in the distribution and dispersion of the fibers were always observed, with smaller voids as the fiber content increases, backing higher mechanical data as the incorporated fiber content is increased. Crystallinity resulting from injection-molded test specimens processed at 120°C, together with the presence of the glass fiber leads to a synergism in the heat distortion temperature (HDT). X-rays analyses indicate that at higher fiber content the composites show lower definition of the crystalline peaks, this being associated to the amorphous feature of the fiber.

No / Methods of recycling unplasticized polyvinyl chloride (uPVC) window frame waste were investigated. The quality of untreated granular waste was compared to that of waste treated by a range of contaminant removal processes including melt filtration and dissolution. Processability of each recyclate was evaluated by using a highly instrumented single screw extruder that enabled melt viscosity and process variation to be monitored in real time. Product quality measurements such as mechanical properties and surface defects were made on extruded strip, and the nature of the stabilizers present was determined. The mechanical properties of recyclates were found to be comparable to or better than those of virgin material in all cases and conformed to industry standards for window profile. Contaminant removal stages significantly reduced the amount of large surface defects detected in extrudate. Processability was comparable to that of virgin compounds, but melt viscosity varied among different batches of recyclate, depending on the source and composition of the original PVC formulation.