Numerical Studies of the Effect of Constitutive Model Parameters as Reflecting Polymer Molecular Structure on Extrudate Swell

Abstract

PolyFlow, a software package based on the finite element method was employed to simulate the extrudate swell for polybutadiene of various molecular weight (Mw) and molecular weight distribution (MWD). We calculated the relaxation spectra for the different samples and then inserted the spectra into a standard K-BKZ constitutive model used in the numerical simulations. Accurate predictions of MWD confirm the completeness of frequency range in the oscillatory shear experimental data. In turn, the wholeness of relaxation spectra as substantiated by MWD predictions, sustain the level of confidence when using constitutive models based on these spectra. We demonstrate the importance of using the full range of relaxation spectrum rather than a short range around typical shear rates for the accuracy of the numerical predictions. We found extrudate swell ratio (ESR) to be strongly dependent on MWD and stress conditions at the die exit.

Keywords

• k-bkz constitutive model
• extrudate swell
• numerical simulation
• finite element method
• relaxation time spectrum
• molecular weight distribution