OPTIMAL-DESIGN IN PROFILE EXTRUSION CALIBRATION

An optimal design method for the cooling layout of vacuum calibrators used in the extrusion of PVC profiles is described. The method allows the simultaneous determination of the cooling channels diameter and po sition using one or a combination of the following minimization criter ia: Profile average temperature Time integration of the profile temper ature variance Variance of the profile surface temperature The methodo logy is based on the finite element resolution of the heat transfer co nduction problem in the calibrator and the profile coupled to the Flet cher-Reeves optimization algorithm. Tests are carried out in several p roblems drawn from the literature and industrial practice, showing the strong potential of the method.