Performance optimization of a single-screw extruder with transparent barrel using mixture design method

Abstract

Extrusion is an inexpensive process in terms of production costs used to produce continuous shapes of plastic materials. The mixture design method and regression analysis have been applied to evaluate the performance of the single screw extruder. The performance values of the single-screw extruder system with a glass barrel are calculated by the residence time distribution results of the tracers. Then calculated particle distributions are compared with visual data. Ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA 210W) is used as the polymeric material. In the study, the EVA 210W is studied with various screw configurations and also process conditions. Optimization is fulfilled using the response optimizer to determine the optimum screw configuration. This method is aimed at feeding and metering zones in screw design and focuses on the search for a solution for optimum screw selection. In addition, the robustness of solutions in process conditions has been redefined.