Abstract
A finite element model for the flow of thermoplastic elastomers in extrusion dies has been developed. The rheological behaviour of the polymer melt is assumed to be described by the generalised Newtonian models and as a special case, the well known, power law equation was selected. Owing to the very low variation of the temperature field, the flow regime was considered to be isothermal. The set of governing equations are solved using the finite element method in a cylindrical (r, z) coordinate system. Slip–stick of the polymer melt on the solid wall, encountered in the flow of highly viscous fluids, is incorporated into the model by the use of Navier's slip condition. A new method based on a technique developed previously is described for the inclusion of this condition in the working equations. The applicability of the model was verified by a comparison between the results of the simulation of a polypropylene–nitrile/butadiene rubber thermoplastic elastomer with experimentally measured data. These comparisons show that there are very good agreements between the model predictions and actual data, provided that the slip of the polymer melt during the flow in extrusion die has been taken into consideration.
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