Development of Mixing Indexes for Scale-Up of Polymer Processing Equipment

混合几乎是每一个聚合物加工操作的重要组成部分。混合质量对材料的加工性能和产品性能影响很大。将混合机制的基础研究成果应用于复杂的工业混合装置（如内混机或双螺杆挤出机）内的过程是一个巨大的挑战。制定将小型实验室混合器实验结果转化为工业设备的放大规则是实践中遇到的另一个典型问题。本研究项目旨在确定重要的设计和加工参数，以提高各种加工设备中混合过程的实现。将进行研究以确定过程控制和优化以及设备放大的混合标准。这项工作将与特拉华州威尔明顿杜邦实验站的研究人员密切合作进行。将在凯斯西储大学进行各种混合设备的流动模拟和混合标准的制定。流动可视化和复合实验将在杜邦实验站进行。该交互程序可以提供有价值的发现，以进一步了解混合机制和材料在加工过程中的行为。反过来，对所使用的设备和正在处理的材料的行为的深入了解将为流程优化和规模扩大规则的发展提供关键。这项研究的结果将有助于提高聚合物加工工业中现有制造工艺的效率。然而，通过这项工作产生的信息库也将对设备制造产生影响。理解设备设计和工艺效率之间的联系可以引导未来几代机器加工先进材料。

DMI-9812969Manas-Zloczower Mixing is an important component of practically every polymer processing operation. Material processability and product properties are highly influenced by mixing quality. Applying the findings of fundamental research on mixing mechanisms to processes taking place inside complex industrial mixing devices, such as internal mixers or twin screw extruders, poses a big challenge. Developing scale-up rules for translating the results of experiments on small laboratory mixers to industrial equipment is another typical problem encountered in practice. This research project is aimed at identifying the important design and processing parameters enhancing realization of the mixing process in various processing equipment. Research will be conducted to define mixing criteria for process control and optimization and for equipment scale-up. The work will be conducted in close cooperation with researchers at DuPont Experimental Station in Wilmington, Delaware. Flow simulations of various mixing equipment and development of mixing criteria will be conducted at Case Western Reserve University. Flow visualization and compounding experiments will be performed at DuPont Experimental Station. This interactive program could provide valuable findings to gain further insight and understanding into the mixing mechanisms and material behavior during processing. In turn, an in-depth knowledge of the equipment used and the behavior of the materials being processed will render the key for process optimization and the development of scale-up rules. The results of this research will far and foremost help enhancing the efficiency of existing manufacturing processes in the polymer processing industry. However, the information base generated through this work will impact also on equipment manufacturing. Comprehension of the links between equipment design and process efficiency can lead to future generations of machines for processing of advanced materials.