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The extrusion of EPDM using an external gear pump: experiments and simulations

  • Vincent G. de Bie , Michelle M.A. Spanjaards , Martien A. Hulsen and Patrick D. Anderson EMAIL logo
Published/Copyright: August 2, 2022
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International Polymer Processing
From the journal International Polymer Processing Volume 37 Issue 4

Abstract

External gear pumps are used in fluid transport systems because of their tight clearances and accurate flow control. These tight clearances are a challenge for numerical studies in terms of spatial discretization. In earlier work, the flow of a viscous fluid in an external gear pump is computed using the finite element method (FEM). An element size based on the respective distance between boundaries is proposed. In this study, results based on the earlier work are compared to extrusion experiments of EPDM. The aim of this study is not only to validate the numerical simulations, but also to determine what material characteristics need to be taken into account for an accurate output prediction of the external gear pump. Especially the introduction of shear-thinning behavior results in an improvement of the amplitude of the pressure difference fluctuation. Taking into account compressibility, alters the torque fluctuation in such a way that it mimics the experiments. Unfortunately, the fluctuation in torque still has a too high amplitude. Eventually, simulations are performed including shear-thinning behavior, a temperature- and pressure-dependent viscosity, and compressibility. The effect of measuring the material behavior using oscillatory or shear experiments is shown. Furthermore, the simulations are applied to a second EPDM. Finally, different processing conditions are tested. For the simulations, only qualitative agreement is found, possibly as a result of the no slip boundary condition.

Keywords: experiments; finite element method; gear pump; polymer; rubber
Corresponding author: Patrick D. Anderson, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands, E-mail:

  1. Author contributions: All the authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this submitted manuscript and approved submission.

  2. Research funding: None declared.

  3. Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest regarding this article.

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Received: 2022-05-20
Accepted: 2022-06-29
Published Online: 2022-08-02
Published in Print: 2022-09-27

© 2022 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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https://doi.org/10.1515/ipp-2022-4240
Keywords for this article
experiments; finite element method; gear pump; polymer; rubber

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Editorial
  3. Special issue for John Vlachopoulos
  4. Review Article
  5. Calendering of thermoplastics: models and computations
  6. Special Issue Contributions
  7. Film casting of polycarbonate/multi-walled carbon nanotubes composites using ultrasound-assisted twin-screw extruder: experiment and simulation
  8. Effect of mixing conditions and polymer particle size on the properties of polypropylene/graphite nanoplatelets micromoldings
  9. Extrusion foaming of linear and branched polypropylenes – input of the thermomechanical analysis of pressure drop in the die
  10. Improving the thickness distribution of parts with hybrid thermoforming
  11. Synergistic material extrusion 3D-printing using core–shell filaments containing polycarbonate-based material with different glass transition temperatures and viscosities
  12. TPU-based porous heterostructures by combined techniques
  13. Surfactant-free oil-in-oil emulsion-templating of polyimide aerogel foams
  14. Factors determining the flow erosion/part deformation of film insert molded thermoplastic products
  15. The extrusion of EPDM using an external gear pump: experiments and simulations
  16. News
  17. PPS News
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