• Journal of the Semiconductor & Display Technology
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.19-25
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• 2013

Extrusion is one of the most important operations in the polymer-processing industry. Balancing the distribution of flow through a die to achieve a uniform velocity distribution is the primary objective and one of the most difficult tasks of extrusion die design. If the manifold in a coat-hanger die is not properly designed, the exit velocity distribution may be not uniform; this can affect the thickness across the width of the die. Yet, no procedure is known to optimize the coat hanger die with respect to an even velocity profile at the exit. While optimizing the exit velocity distribution, the constraint optimization used in this work with allowable pressure drop in the die; according to this constraint we can control the pressure in the die. The computational approach incorporates three-dimensional finite element simulations software STAR-CCM+. These simulations are used with numerical optimization to design polymer coat hanger dies with pressure drop, uniform velocity and temperature variation across the die exit.

• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.55 no.4
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• pp.329-338
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• 2020

In this study, three different die geometries were selected to understand the die characteristics in the film casting extrusion processes. First, large and small-scale T-dies were numerically simulated to observe the scaled-down effect on the flow inside the dies. Second, three different dies-keyhole, linear tapper coat-hanger die (LTCD), and curved tapper coat-hanger die (CTCD)-were numerically observed and discussed according to the mass flow rate. Finally, the die exit velocity profiles and die characteristics were observed and discussed based on the power-law index for the LTCD die. These numerical simulations and numerical data will aid the optimization of the die design in industrial fields.

• Advances in Computational Design
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.111-125
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• 2020

The flow behavior of polymer melts within a slit die is an important consideration when designing a die geometry. The quality of the extruded polymer product can be determined through an evaluation of the flow homogeneity, wall shear rate and pressure drop across the central height of the die. However, mathematical formulations cannot fully determine the behavior of the flow due to the complex nature of fluid dynamics and the nonlinear physical properties of the polymer melts. This paper examines two slit die geometries in terms of outlet velocity uniformity, shear rate uniformity at the walls and pressure drop by using the licensed computational fluid dynamics package, Ansys POLYFLOW, based on the finite element method. The Carreau-Yasuda viscosity model was used for the rheological properties of the polypropylene. Comparative analysis of the simulation results will conclude that the modified die design performs better in all three aspects providing uniform exit velocity, uniform wall shear rates, and lower pressure drop.