Twin screw extruders are finding increased usage in reacting and devolatilizing applications. Using self‐wiping profiles, the twin screws fulfill the requirement that there be no “dead” or “unmixed” zones. Agitator design must be chosen with care so that a reasonable balance can be obtained between forwarding rate, surface‐generation rate, vapor passageway, power, and axial mixing. Techniques have been developed for measuring residence time distributions and characterizing axial flow behavior. The method also permits direct determination of the holdup in starved barrel applications. Data on residence time distribution are presented for 4‐in. diameter twin screw equipment with a variety of rotor configurations.

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ABSTRACT:The impact of applied processing history and the postprocessing annealing on the rheological properties of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) have been studied employing various kinds of conventional processing machines. Processing by a corotating twin-screw extruder (Co-TSE) and an internal batch mixer depressed the drawdown force, one of the elastic properties of a melt, to a great extent, even though molecular weight and the polydispersity did not change. On the other hand, the sample processed by a two-roll mill exhibited the drawdown force as high as the original pellets, which is owing to the intermittent stress history instead of the relentless one in the Co-TSE and the internal batch mixer. Furthermore, the effect of screw configuration in the Co-TSE has also been investigated. It was found that the processing by conveying screws depressed the drawdown force and melt fracture more than that by kneading blocks as long as the torque and the residence time are the same. The large, abrupt, and frequent RHEOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF LDPE PROCESSED BY CONVENTIONAL PROCESSING MACHINESchange in flow direction in the Co-TSE with kneading blocks prohibits the molecular orientation, which leads to disentanglement associated with long-chain branches.

Melting of plastics in intermeshing co-rotating twin screw extruders is known to occur over very short barrel lengths. The melting phenomenon has been studied for both pellets and powder in a readily opened clam shell barrel. The melting mechanism is attributed mainly to the dissipation of the energy imparted in interparticle friction as a consequence of the unique kneading action of this type extruder.