Start-up
From the operational point of view, we must differentiate between self-feeding and metered screws.
When the material is directly fed in to the screws, for the above stated reasons, the extruder can be handled basically, at start-up, as a single-screw extruder. When, however, the feeding of the material
Is separately controlled, as in corotating and some counterrotating twin-screw machines, the rules of operation are quite different; it must be remembered that after start-up the material can be fed only at a low rate in relation to the screw’ s rpm so that more heat will be available in the barrel per unit of weight of the polymer. To better heat the material during start-up, the residence time, which, as we have seen, is inversely proportional to n, can be kept high by starting at somewhat lower rpm than usual.
This will also increase the filling ratio for the amount of material fed. As for a given
And because - is much higher at start-up than during a regular run, to avoid pressure shock, the feed - has to be kept low, according to the material, and from the die size, to 20-50% of the output. Thus, a well-preheated barrel to temperature slightly higher than the extrusion temperatures, an rpm approximately 20% lower, and feel much lower than the regular extrusion rate will give the machine a smooth start. Only when the operator is fully conversant with this type of machine can the start-up procedure be shortened and start-up at close to normal rpm and feed be achieved without problems.
As soon as the first material exits the die, temperature and rpm can be slowly brought up production speed, and feed can be in creased. Any increase of feed, however, has to be made in very gradual steps.
In these machines, an increase of screw speed produces its effect in three stages. First the machine extrudes a material of viscosity - and an average viscosity - in the screw , therefore having a certain number N of flight filled and using a certain amount of power. After increasing n, the power consumption increases by the square of n as momentarily both – and N remain the same. Then – decreases due to the increased localized shear, and the number of filled turns increases
The power consumption at this stage may show a little increase. Finally , also, the viscosity at the die – decreases, and so does the pressure needed for extrusion as:
And the total number of flights decreases rapidly so that:
And the power used settles at or very slightly higher than the previous mark, almost equal to the one before the increase of prm.
An increase in the amount of material fed affects the power consumption in two stages, and it is sharply felt by the extruder. By increasing the feed, we increase the filling ratio of the screw, and when more material is within the screw, as N=f(Q), there is an increase in the number of filled flights. More power is required for shearing and pumping, and we will have, then, at first a sharp increase of Z. indeed, keeping all other parameters constant, the values of Q and Z would be directly correlated.
Thereafter, as N is also a function of as soon as the effect of the shear is felt and decreases, N is also reduced, and so is, although slightly, the power required.
We have, then, as a first step;