Characteristic Parameters and Process Maps for Fully-Filled Twin-Screw Extruder Elements

The shape and form of twin-screw extruder elements determine the physical conditions under which the material is processed. In this work, we investigated the pressure build-up, power consumption, dissipation and distributive mixing behavior of fully filled extruder elements via Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics simulations, covering a wide range of conveying, kneading and mixing elements used in the ZSE12, ZSE18 and ZSE27 pharma extrusion equipment series.

Highlights

Twin-screw elements were efficiently simulated with SPH flow simulations.

Numerous elements of different shape and form were investigated.

Pressure build-up, power consumption, dissipation and mixing were investigated.

A comprehensive parameter catalogue of characteristic descriptors was computed.

Novel process maps may aid with element selection, process design and scale-up.

As a result, a comprehensive parameter catalogue of characteristic values was computed. These parameters allow studying the pressure build-up, power consumption and mixing behavior for all elements under various operating conditions. Additionally, we show novel process maps which support optimizing the length of a process zone. Properly used, the catalogue can assist a rational selection of screw elements during process design and transfer. More on Characteristic Parameters and Process Maps for Fully-Filled Twin-Screw Extruder Elements