The effects of the production parameters of the extruded tubes on the buckling strength of cylindrical containers

Abstract

In industries in which polyethylene tubes are used for making bodies for drums, thebuckling strength is an important parameter, which is considered as the resistance against a compressive axial load. This parameter represents the durability of these drums during transportation and storage under various environmental conditions. In this research, the effects of production parameters during the extrusion process such as the temperature of the water entering the vacuum calibrator, the temperature of cooling water in the vacuum tank, the drum wall thickness, the shape of temperature gradient inside the extrusion mould, degreasing, printing, stress relieving, and the time spent after production on the buckling strength of the drums have been experimented. The results of the experiments have been analysed, and finally, also the mentioned parameters have been optimized based on the obtained results.

Keywords

• polymer tubes
• extrusion process
• buckling strength
• tube production
• optimization