Determinação experimental e simulação das curvas de distribuição de tempo de residência no processo de extrusão de polímeros.

Abstract

The measurement of Residence Time Distribution (RTD) in real time during the extrusion process allows a comprehensive analysis of equipment performance (extruder), providing a better understanding of the material flow behavior throughout the process. This work developed an optical system (hardware and software) to detect RTD curves in real time during the extrusion of polymers. The efficiency in the detection system was validated. The results obtained suggest that the system it was able to detect the RTD curves with a large number of points, and is sensitive to variations in the concentration and type of tracer used; furthermore, it was possible to confirm the good reproducibility of the measurements which qualify the system for lifting the RTD curves in real time. subsequently, we evaluated the effects of changes in processing variables on the form and parameters of the RTD curves. It was confirmed that the variation in feed rate has a larger influence on cornering RTD than the speed of the screw, a fact corroborated by the literature. It was also found that the change in Melt Index affect the flow of material dispersion (mixing capacity) in the RTD curves. The energy efficiency of the extrusion process was also analyzed by surveying the dissipated mechanical energy and mechanical energy specifies a correlation is presented these energy parameters with the average residence time. This work also used a computational tool (WinTXS ™) to simulate the processing conditions; there after it conducted a comparison between the experimentally measured and simulated data to establish the degree of agreement there between. Results show evidence that measurement of RTD and unidimensinal computer simulation is important tools in the study of polymer extrusion process.