Mechanism for effect of ultrasound on polymer melt in extrusion

This paper explores the rheological characteristic and molecular mechanism of the polymer melts during extrusion when ultrasound is applied to them at the entrance of the die. Applying of ultrasound disturbs the convergent flow of polymer melt in the entry zone and changes the stream patterns, which leads to lesser elastic tensile strains happen. It also activates the molecular chains, so that the elastic tensile strains can be recovered very quickly. That is why the Delta P measured is reduced. These conclusions are made based not only on rheological calculations but also on looking-inside characterizations of the molecular conformations. Ultrasound irradiation increases the free volume of PS, reduces the molecular entanglements of polymer melt. All these effects of ultrasound contribute to the productivity raising and product quality improvement of extrusion processing. (c) 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.