Enhanced Monitoring of Polymer Processing Operations via Infrared Pyrometry

9313318 Rietveld在聚合物加工操作过程中，准确和精确地测量过程流温度通常是一个有问题的程序。在典型的制造操作期间(在工业和学术环境中)，当前测量过程流温度的技术要么被忽视、被误用，要么严重不足，因此非常需要推进重要过程流变量(如聚合物温度)的现场测量背后的科学和技术。在生产过程中，温度是最重要的工艺参数，因为它直接影响塑料产品的加工性、性能和性能。研究工作的一个主要目标是开发一种可靠的方法，将红外高温计应用于塑料树脂和塑料制品制造过程中的聚合物温度测量，从而使这种测量可以用于优化制造操作。该方法将提供一种非侵入性的程序，以获得批量温度信息以及有关工艺流程的详细温度信息。与传统测温技术相比，红外高温计的几个关键优势是：响应时间在毫秒量级，能够进行现场实时测量，以及以非侵入性方式检测地下温度的潜力。该研究计划将利用安装在注塑机、挤出机和校准设备上的商用仪器，以便收集和分析来自复杂和受控温度环境的数据。与工业合作伙伴的合作将提供一个论坛，说明在哪里以及如何将这些发现应用于塑料加工和制造的优化。该研究项目可能会改善对注塑和挤出等聚合物工艺的控制，从而使这些工艺的产品具有高质量、更快的加工速度和更可预测的性能。

9313318 Rietveld The accurate and precise measurement of process stream temperatures during polymer processing operations is generally a problematic procedure. Current techniques to measure process stream temperatures during a typical manufacturing operation (in both industrial and academic settings) are either ignored, misused, or highly deficient, and there is a great need to advance the science and technology behind the in situ measurement of an important process stream variable such as the polymer temperature. In terms of the manufacturing process, temperature is the most important process parameter as it directly influences the processability, properties, and performance of the plastic product. A primary objective of the research work is to develop a reliable methodology for applying infrared pyrometers to the measurement of polymer temperature during the manufacture of plastics resins and plastic articles, whereby such a measurement could then be used to optimize the manufacturing operation. The methodology will provide for an non-invasive procedure to obtain bulk temperature information as well as detailed temperature information about the process stream. Several key advantages that IR pyrometers have over conventional thermometry techniques are: response times on the order of milliseconds, capacity for in situ real-time measurements, and potential for detecting subsurface temperatures in a non-invasive fashion. The research plan will utilize commercially available instrumentation installed on an injection molding machine, an extruder, and in a calibration apparatus so that data will be collected and analyzed data from both complex and controlled temperature environments. Collaborations with industrial partners will provide a forum for where and how the findings can be applied to the optimization of plastics processing and manufacturing. The research project may lead to improved control of polymer processes, such as injection molding and extrusion, which will allow high quality, faster processing and more predictable properties for the products of these processes.