A SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO SCREW DESIGN

Screw design technology is considered to be empirical and secretive. T he production rate of single-screw extruders is often limited by the m elting capacity. The melting capacity of a screw depends on the polyme r properties, the processing conditions and the particular geometry of the screw. Once the melting capacity is predicted, the screw can be d esigned to match the melting capacity. This paper presents a scientifi c approach to screw design based on an analytical melting model, with an example.