Example 38

EXAMPLE 38
TWIN SCREW EXTRUDER

DESCRIPTION

In this example we determine the flow rate generated by a conveying element in a co-rotating
twin screw extruder whose dimensions are given in Table 1. The flow domain is limited to
one pitch. We added small entry and exit sections to surround the conveying element. The
fluid is Newtonian and isothermal. The mesh superposition technique (MST) is used to
simplify the mesh generation of the flow domain (see fig. 1). In order to calculate the
"natural" flow produced by the rotation of the screws, we impose their angular velocity. At
inflow and outflow, we impose vanishing forces. Along the barrel wall, the velocity vanishes.

Screw pitch: 40.0 mm

Centre distance of screws: 33.9 mm
Barrel bore diameter: 42.0 mm
Flight depth: 7.3 mm
Clearance 1.0 mm

Table 1.- Dimensions of screws and barrel.

Fig. 1. Mesh of the flow domain and the two screws.

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KEYWORDS

mesh superposition technique (MST), natural flow rate, twin screw extruder, volume of
liquid.

FILENAMES

twin.msh, twin.dat, twin.cons, twin.lst, twin.res, ...

NEW CONCEPT

Mesh superposition technique

We use the mesh superposition technique (MST) to simplify the mesh generation of the flow
domain. In Fig. 1 one can see the mesh of each part: the barrel and the two screws. In order
to calculate the flow, we solve the Navier-Stokes equations modified by the addition of a
penalty term: this term imposes the velocity of the screws to nodes of the flow domain
included in the screws. Moreover, in order to avoid pressure peaks in regions were a large
number of geometrical constraints exist, we modify the mass conservation equation so that
the fluid becomes slightly compressible (see User’s Manual for more information).

SYSTEM OF UNITS

Millimetre-gram-second.

MATERIAL PROPERTIES

Model: Gen. Newtonian isothermal flow problem.

- Viscosity: 50000 Pa.s

- Density, inertia and volume forces are neglected

OPERATING CONDITIONS

Assumptions

- steady-state flow;
- inertia not taken into account;
- one angular position of the screw only.

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Boundary conditions for the flow domain:

- BS1: normal and tangential forces vanish (exit)

- BS2: normal and tangential forces vanish (entry)
- BS3:  = 10 rpm, same angular velocity and axis than moving part #1
- BS4:  = 10 rpm, same angular velocity and axis than moving part #2
- BS5: normal and tangential velocities vanish (barrel wall)

Boundary conditions for the moving parts:

- Moving part #1: subdomain S2,

centre of rotation = (0, 0, 0),
axis of rotation = (0, 0, 1),
angular velocity = 10 rpm.
- Moving part #2: subdomain S3,
centre of rotation = (33.9, 0, 0),
axis of rotation = (0, 0, 1),
angular velocity = 10 rpm.

SPECIAL COMMENTS

Caveat

As the mesh superposition technique modifies locally the velocity field, the mass conservation
principle can not be satisfied exactly. Moreover, pressure peaks and velocity perturbations
can appear.

The mesh refinement will improve this situation. However, as the size of the problem will
then grow, it then becomes more and more important to use the mesh decomposition and
optimisation techniques as documented in the User’s Manual (see § 5.5 for more information).

Interpolation

In the context of 3D flows with the mesh superposition technique (MST), the coordinates field
must be linearly interpolated. For the velocities, we select a linear interpolation in order to
reduce the simulation cost (memory and speed). The pressure then becomes constant per
element.

Remark for boundaries overlapped by moving parts

It is essential to avoid incompatibilities between the motion of the moving parts and the
boundary conditions imposed on the boundaries of the flow domain: in this example, almost
all of boundaries BS3 and BS4 are included in the moving parts. In this case, we impose the
same angular rotation on BS3, BS4 and the screws. Do not forget that in the flow boundary

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conditions menu, the angular velocity is given in rad/s while in the ‘motion’ menu of the
moving parts, the angular velocity must be entered in rpm.

Remark on mesh refinement in clearances

In this example, we take into account the clearance between the screws and between the
barrel wall and the screws. In order to obtain a good calculation of the pressure, it is
important to mesh correctly the clearance area. In this case, we put 2 elements between the
barrel wall and the screws. However, between the screws, the meshing is more difficult: we
do not follow the guidelines (2 elements in the clearance) in order to limit the size of this
example. We will see later the consequences of this choice. In order to have more
information on meshing, see the User's Manual (in § 20.5) for more information.

Volume occupied by the fluid

In this example, we add a new post-processor to evaluate the volume occupied by the fluid in
the extruder section : the part of the flow domain overlapped by the screws is not taken into
account. The resulting volume can be read in the listing file generated by the Polyflow solver.

POLYDATA SESSION

- Read a mesh file: twin.msh

- Create a new task: 3D, steady state
- Create a subtask: Generalized Newtonian isothermal flow problem
Domain: S1
Material Data:
Viscosity:
Constant law: fac = 50000
no density, no inertia, no gravity.
Flow Boundary Conditions:
BS1: (fn, fs) = (0, 0)
BS2: (fn, fs) = (0, 0)
BS3: Cartesian Velocity imposed: Vxyz imposed
point 1 = (0, 0, 0)
point 2 = (0, 0, 1)
angular velocity,  = 1.0472 rad/s.
BS4: Cartesian Velocity imposed: Vxyz imposed
point 1 = (33.9, 0, 0)
point 2 = (33.9, 0, 1)
angular velocity,  = 1.0472 rad/s.
BS5: (vn, vs) = (0, 0)

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Define moving parts:

Moving part #1:
Domain: S2
Motion:
point of rotation axis: (0, 0, 0)
orientation of axis: (0, 0, 1)
angular velocity: 10 rpm.
Superposition technique:
default values are OK !
Flow boundary conditions:
Stick condition
Moving part #2:
Domain: S3
Motion:
point of rotation axis: (33.9, 0, 0)
orientation of axis: (0, 0, 1)
angular velocity: 10 rpm.
Superposition technique:
default values are OK !
Flow boundary conditions:
Stick condition
Interpolation:
Coordinates: linear
Velocities: linear
Pressure: constant
- Create a subtask: Post-processor:
type: local shear rate
domain: S1
- Create a subtask: Post-processor:
type: volume of liquid
domain: S1
- Ouputs:
- Default output : CFD-Post
- System of units for CFD-POST: metric_mm/g/s/mA+Celsius
- Max. listing
- Save and Exit:
- Polyflow datafile: twin.dat
- Polyflow resultfile: twin.res
- CFD-Post: twin.cfx.res

POLYFLOW RUN

polyflow < twin.dat > twin.lst &

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GRAPHIC POST-PROCESSING

The flow rates at entry and exit are 2865.1 mm3/s. and 2865.5 mm3/s respectively. As noticed
above, this small discrepancy is due to the small compressibility added to the system. The
volume really occupied by the liquid is equal to 60248 mm3.

In the listing file, we can find also the resulting force and torque applied on each screw:
Moving part #1:
Force: (-71, -149, 547) N
Torque: (2.6, 0.4, -48.8) Nm
Moving part #2:
Force: (76, 332, 515) N
Torque: (-6.4, 0.5, -48.5) Nm

In Fig. 2, we can see the velocity field in a cutting plane parallel to rotation axes (y=16). The
pressure distribution is displayed on the same cutting plane (Fig. 3) and along the barrel wall
(Fig. 4). As expected, the pressure is high on the side of the screw pushing matter, while it is
lower on the other side. In order to have a smooth representation of the pressure, we put 24
elements in the axial direction for a height corresponding to one screw pitch. Moreover, in
the azimuthal direction, we put one element for every 7.5 degrees. In Fig. 5, we observe the
pressure drop along a vertical line. As the boundary conditions at entry and exit are
vanishing forces, there is no pressure variation between these two boundaries.

In Fig. 6, we observe unphysical pressure peaks in the clearance between the screws: it
indicates that the mesh is not fine enough in this area. Fortunately, the perturbation is local
and does not affect significantly the flow. In the listing file, one can find a warning when
some elements of the flow domain are overlapped by the two screws:
Warning in Check_overlapping
Elements overlapped by several moving parts have been detected !
This situation can lead to pressure peaks and fluid leakage.
It is recommended to refine the flow domain mesh in those areas
or to check the position of the moving parts !

Ideally, we should refine the flow domain in these zones until no multiple overlapping exists
anymore. For more details about limitations and guidelines of MST, see chapter 20 of the
User's Manual. However, an automatic method of mesh refinement (§ 16.5 of the User’s
Manual) has been implemented in order to help you in this task; read example #66 to see how
this technique improves the accuracy of the computation when combined with MST.

Finally in Fig. 7, we observe the local shear rate in the plane y = 16. The highest values of the
shear rate are found, without surprise, in the clearance areas.

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Flow direction

Fig. 2. Velocity field in plane y = 16.

flow
direction

Fig. 3. Pressure field in plane y = 16.

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Flow
direction

Fig. 4. Pressure field along barrel wall.

Fig. 5. Pressure drop along line starting at point (0,-20,-5) and ending at point (0,-20,45).

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Fig. 6. Pressure peaks between screws (iso-surfaces for pressure = -1.5 MPa and 1.5 MPa).

Fig. 7. Local shear rate in plane y = 16.

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