Helical Flow of Polymer Melts in Extruders, Part II: Model Simulation and Validation

This paper is a sequel to the development of the mathematical model carried out in Part I of this work. The model describes the flow of a polymer melt inside the helical channel of an injection-molding machine. In this initiative, we develop an iterative computational algorithm based on shooting Newton-Raphson method to simulate the mathematical model. The simulation results are validated against experimental data obtained from 10 different runs of an industrial injection molding machine processing two different polymers-high-density polyethylene and polyethylene terephthalate. It is observed that the simulation results are in good agreement with experimental data. This outcome demonstrates the utility of the developed mathematical model and simulation approach. From the standpoint of industrial practice, the direct benefit of this work is the ability to effectively calculate adequate shot size, recovery rate, and various state variables throughout the extent of the machine. (C) 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Adv Polym Techn 29: 261-279, 2010; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com. DOI 10.1002/adv.20193