SKR 4523 Reologi dan Pemprosesan Polimer

Tutorial Problems

Power Law and Flow Through Uniform Channel

1. Determine the consistency index K and the power law index n, if the
apparent viscosity of PP at 190oC varies with shear stress as follows:

Shear Stress (N/m2) 10 000 105 106

Apparent Viscosity (Ns/m2) 10 000 316 10

2. A power law fluid flows through a slit die that is 5mm wide, 2mm thick and
50mm long. The density of this fluid is 940kg/m 3. The fluid yields the
following data during a capillary test. Determine the power law parameters
K and n for this fluid.

Flow Rate (kg/min) 0.21 0.40 0.58 0.80 1.30 2.30

Pressure Drop (MN/m2) 1.8 3.0 4.0 5.2 7.6 12.0

3. The non-Newtonian viscosity for a polymer melt is given as follows:

Shear rate (s-1) 102 103 104 105

Viscosity (Nsm-2) 596 114 22 4

Show that the behavior of this material can be described using a power
law model with the power law index n = 0.276 and the consistency index
K = 16 711.

4. The following viscosity measurements were obtained at 210 oC using a

capillary rheometer:

Shear Rate (1/s) 5.5 18.3 55.0 183.4 550.0

Viscosity (Pa.s) 4138 2293 1289 661 352

From the above data, determine the power law parameters K and n. What
is the expression for viscosity at 190 oC if the temperature sensitivity factor
b is 0.02 K-1. Parameter K obeys an Arrhenius type relationship as follows:

K = Ko exp [-b (T T0)]

5. A viscous fluid with a viscosity = 19541-0.54 and density = 780kg/m3
flows through a rectangular die of length L = 25cm, width W = 1.75m and
gap H = 1.8mm. Determine the pressure drop in MPa and the mass flow
rate in kg/hr if the wall shear stress is 0.2 MPa.

6. At a small extrusion plant the only equipment available is a melt flow

indexer having standard dimensions: (Die D = 2.095 mm, L = 8 mm; Barrel
D = 9.55 mm). A polymer having viscosity = 5137-0.63 is to be tested
(melt density 800 kg/m3). The standard weight of 2.16 kg is used during
the experiment.
(a) What is the wall shear stress?
(b) What is the wall shear rate?
(c) What is the flow rate in m3/s?
(d) What is the MFI of the polymer in g/10min?

Power Law Fluid Logarithmic Plot + Extrusion

1. The figure below shows viscosity versus shear rate for a

polyethylene melt at two temperatures.
(a) Determine the consistency index K and power law index n at both
temperatures.
(b) Calculate the temperature sensitivity factor, b.
(c) Based on your results in parts (a) and (b), determine the value of K
at 190oC and give the power law expression for viscosity at 190oC.

10000
165C

180C
Viscosity (Pa-s)

1000

100
0.1 1 10 100 1000
-1
Shear rate (s )

(d) A customer would like to know what is the value for MFI for this
polymer at 190oC. You know that the MFI for PE is measured at
190oC using a standard die of L = 8mm and diameter D = 2.095mm.
By using the data you obtained from (c), can you estimate the MFI of
your polyethylene without doing the actual experiment? Note that for
the standard weight used in the experiment (2.16kg), the pressure
drop inside the instrument is about P = 3 x 105. The density of the
molten PE is 800kg/m3.
 (e) An extruder having a diameter D = 125mm, L/D = 12, screw helix
angle = 17.66o and channel depth H = 5mm is used for pumping
this polymer at N = 80rpm at 190oC. Determine the maximum
pressure that would develop in MPa if the outlet is suddenly blocked.

2. The figure below shows shear stress versus apparent shear rate for a
polypropylene melt obtained using a capillary rheometer at 190oC.
(a) For this PP, determine the power law parameters K and n.
(b) The figure below shows a preliminary design of a mold intended for
the production of buttons. The weight of each button is 2g and the
melt density of the polymer is 780kg/m 3. The cavity filling must
be accomplished in 5 sec. The runner is cylindrical, with length L =
50mm and diameter D = 3mm. Assume that pressure drop occurs
only inside the runner (which means you can ignore the pressure
drop inside the cavity), determine the pressure required to fill the
cavity in the required time. Use the material properties of PP
obtained in part (a).

1000000

100000
Shear stress (Pa)

10000

1000
1 10 100 1000 10000
-1
Apparent shear rate (s )

(If you cannot estimate the constants in part a), assume reasonable values
and proceed to part b).

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Melt from
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Polymer Processing Extrusion

1. Polymer pellets are made by extruding strands of melt through a

pelletizing die and then passing the strands through a pelletizer. For your
process you need a new pelletizing die, which can produce pellets
approximately 1.5mm in diameter, so you ask your machinist to make one.
He has available a rectangular piece of stainless steel metal, 6.35mm long
and he asks you how many holes he should drill.

The desired flow rate is 70kg/hr and your extruder can achieve a pressure
of 2.73MPa for this flow rate. Based on this information, can you tell your
machinist how many holes he should drill? (The viscosity is = 12 000-0.68
and the melt density is 750kg/m3)

2. A single screw extruder is used to produce a PMMA rectangular

profile (20mm x 5mm). The extruder operates at a rotational speed of 60
revolutions per min. Neglecting die swell and leakage flow, and assuming
Newtonian flow conditions throughout, calculate the operating pressure and
output rate in m3/s.

Assume the polymer melt has a Newtonian viscosity of 1000 Ns/m 2.

Geometric parameters for the metering zone and die are as follows:

Metering zone Die

Zone Length: L = 600mm Length: L = 80mm
Diameter: D = 150mm Width: W = 20mm
Channel Depth: H = 4mm Thickness: H = 5mm
Flight angle: = 17o

3. 31/2-inch diameter screws (L/D = 26) are common. Nominal screw diameter is
90mm. The compression ratio of such screw is 3. This means that the
channel depth in the feed zone is 3 times larger than in the metering zone.
The relative lengths of the feed/transition/metering zones are 8D/8D/10D.
The channel depth in the metering zone is 4.4mm. The helix angle is 17.66 o.
The material extruded has a melt density of 780kg/m 3, viscosity at 190oC
= 7000 -0.45. The screw rotates at 80rpm. (NO DIE GEOMETRY IS GIVEN).
a) Calculate the maximum possible output from the extruder if no die is
attached to it.
b) Determine the maximum pressure that would develop in atm (MPa) if
the outlet were suddenly blocked.

4. Design an extrusion process for the production of cast film. The material is
LDPE having a viscosity of = 6585-0.60. An extruder with the following
specifications is available: barrel diameter D = 50 mm, channel depth H =
3 mm, L/D = 10, helix angle = 17.65. This extruder cannot handle
pressures above 15 MPa.

Noting that the normal operating range for a single screw extruder is
between 60-120 rpm, specify the operating parameters, such as screw
rotation speed and flow throughput. A flat die will be used having a gap of
1.62 mm and width of 250 cm. You should ensure that no sharkskin or
other extrudate instabilities are present, meaning that the wall shear stress
 inside the die should not exceed 0.14 MPa. If you cannot provide actual
numerical answers, present a detailed explanation about how the operating
parameters can be determined.

Polymer Processing Injection Molding

5. The figure below shows a preliminary design of a mold intended for the
production of buttons. The weight of each button is 2g and the melt
density of the polypropylene used is 780kg/m 3. The cavity filling must be
accomplished in 5 sec. The runner is cylindrical, with length L = 50mm
and diameter D = 3mm. Assuming that pressure drop occurs only inside
the runner (which means you can ignore the pressure drop inside the
cavity), determine the pressure required to fill the cavity in the required
time. The viscosity of PP is = 1500-0.35 and solid density is 915kg/m3.

D
Melt from
injection
molding
machine Cavity
Runner