DISTRIBUTIVE MIXING IN EXTRUDERS

David I. Bigio
Polymer Processing Laboratory
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742

1. Introduction

Distributive laminar mixing refers to the physical process of two fluids being blended such that the
physical separation distances are reduced to a scale where diffusion, or chemical reaction, can
occur. The mathematics and nature of distributive mixing have been expressed in terms of the
kinematics of the flow - Spencer and Wiley [1] and Erwin [2, 3] - and the continuum mechanics -
Aref [4] and Ottino [5,6] Each approach describes "mixing" as the growth of an interfacial line or
interface; each approach offers a unique view. The kinematic approach provides an overall view to
the mixing process and an understanding as to the nature of mixing. This approach allows one to
directly see whether a mixer is "linear" (i.e.; the growth of interfacial area is linear with the applied
shear strain) or whether it is "exponential." In spite of the limitations of the two-dimensional
assumptions required in the theoretical development, this approach enables the practitioner insight
into the nature of the flow, even for complex three-dimensional flows. The advantage of
continuum mechanics is that it provides the mathematics necessary to examine the details of the
flow. Given the current computational power readily available and given the current requirements
for very tight product properties, knowledge of every aspect of the flow provides the wherewithal
to relate the flow dynamics with the product properties. For example, a concern which has become
very large is the 1-5% of product that is not acceptable in a process. Continuum mechanics can
determine the aspects of the flow which could be causing that result, which can lead to appropriate
changes in the flow geometry or operating conditions.

Specific throughput has often been used for developing reactive extrusion processes for controlling
the melting process. This chapter examines specific throughput as an operating parameter for the
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J. A. Covas et al. (eds.), Rheological Fundamentals of Polymer Processing, 247-264.
© 1995 Kluwer Academic Publishers.
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degree of distributive mixing in a twin screw extruder, where specific throughput is dermed as the
ratio of volumetric flow rate to screw speed, Q/N. Previous experiments on bench-scale extruders
have shown a strong effect of percent channel fill both on the rate of mixing and the flow paths
through the machine [7, 8]. In the situation where all elements in the machine are positive
conveying, the specific throughput is analogous to percent channel fill. This variable will be
shown to be a key operational parameter. The applicability of specific throughput to scale-up will
also be shown.

2. Background

Numerous measures and indices have been proposed to characterize a mixture's state of
"mixedness". Many of these are indirect measures, such as the mixture's bulk electrical
conductivity, the resistance of cured material to solvent or ultraviolet penetration, or some other
gross property of the mixture. These measures are often directly applicable to the perfonnance of a
particular product, but while they may have direct technological application, they offer little insight
into the mechanisms of mixing.

Mixing in polymer melt processing is primarily the reduction of scales of segregation between
immiscible fluids. The scale of a polymer mixture is typically described by either an average
striation thickness or the amount of interfacial area. Interfacial area generation was recognized by
Brothman [9] as a primary mechanism for mixing. Mohr [10] introduced the striation thickness
(proportional to the inverse of the interfacial area), to characterize mixing due to laminar shear
flow. The interfacial area, now accomplished by detenninistic considerations, appeared later in the
work of Spencer and Wiley [1]. Many indices have been proposed in recent years to quantify the
mixed state; most of these are simply related to interfacial area or striation thickness distributions.

2.1 LAMINAR MIXING

The first fundamental study of mixing in laminar flow was based on interfacial area growth in
simple shear. Spencer and Wiley {I] considered the defonnation of an arbitrary oriented element
of interface within a fluid undergoing simple shear. They found the growth of interfacial area to be
a function of the magnitude of the shear and the initial orientation of the element: