Single screw extrusion

Extrusion is a technology to convey materials which dates back far before the plastic era. It has been in
use in the ceramics industry for ages. When we also include screws to transport water, the technology is
thousands of years old.

For plastic processing, extrusion has been used from the start. First to convey PVC and polyethylene, later
also for engineering plastics. However, screw modifications became necessary.

The length of a screw is expressed as the ratio between diameter and length.

For a 21 D screw with a diameter 3 cm, the active length is thus 63 cm.

Since the emergence of crystalline engineering plastics, the length of the screws had to be increased. A
screw length of 24 D is quite common.

The geometry of screws can be varied. Widely used for extrusion applications are 3-zone screws and
barrier screws.

3-zone screws consist of 3 zones:

 Feed section

 Compression section

 Metering section

The feed section is the part of the screw where the unmolten polymer enters into the barrel. The rotating
screw moves the material along the heated barrel where it starts to melt.

In the compression zone, gases like air and volatiles like moisture, are being removed. In the compression
zone, the flight depth decreases and gases are pushed back into the direction of the hopper.

Finally, the material enters the metering section. In this section, pressure is generated which enables the
material to be conveyed into the shaping area, like feed block or film die.

The compression ratio of the screw is the ratio between the flight depth of the feed section and the ratio
of the metering section.

Most screws have a flight helix that is equal to the diameter of the screw.
Feeding

To understand the mechanism of the conveying ability of the extruder screw, it is helpful to imagine a
screw or bolt in a barrel. When the screw rotates any material between the screw surface and the barrel
wall will be conveyed dependent upon the direction of rotation. Obviously, the extruder is designed to
move the material from hopper to the front of the extruder.

Compression

Until the granules are molten, with every screw rotation, the material will be conveyed 1 speed. What
has been conveyed is a mixture of roughly 50 % solids and 50 % air.

Without compression section, the molten material behaves like a foam. In the compression section, the
volatiles are pushed back into the direction of the hopper.

The length of the compression section depends on the polymer to be extruded. The extreme example of
PVC, the compression section comprised the full length of the screw. For crystalline polymers a very short
compression section is recommended.

Metering

The molten and compressed polymer now enters the metering zone. The flight depth is less than in the
feeding zone, but the flight depth is equal over its length.

The function of the metering section is to build-up pressure. The amount of pressure that can be build-
up, depends on the length of the metering zone.

Mixing

All single screw extruders show some mixing effect, although very limited. For the proper dispersion of
additives like stabilizers, antiblock agents, etc., mixing elements are being used.

There are various types of mixing sections, like Maddock, pineapple or pintype mixing elements.

Barrier screws
Another way of efficient mixing is using a barrier screw. Using this type of screw, the polymer is forced
over the flights of the screw into a second channel.

Extrusion basics: Screw design essentials you learned a long time ago, but maybe forgot

Do you know why channel depths, and not just their ratio, are critical?

I teach a one-day Intro to Extrusion seminar, and many of my participants are new to extrusion. Therefore,
I explain the basic principles of screws for thermoplastics. That’s good for the newbies, but sometimes I
get more experienced extrusion people thanking me for these basics, which they had never learned way
back when. So here goes. I hope you all find it useful.

The screw is a conveyor. As it turns, it tries to screw itself backward out of the barrel, but a bearing keeps
it from going out the back. Because every action has a reaction—remember Isaac Newton?—it pushes
the other way, too, in the forward direction, and that’s what pushes the material out of the die.

Material needs to get soft to go through the die. Any thermoplastic will get soft and moldable (plastic)
with heat (thermo). The feed is sometimes preheated (usually for drying), but it gets most of the heat
from internal friction as it moves against the barrel walls and screw surfaces. The clearances from flights
to barrel are where most heat is generated. Exceptions: Some twin screws, small machines, high-temp
resins and PE coatings, where barrel heat is important, too.

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Three-zone principle. The screw starts with a feed zone: Constant depth, takes up 15 to 30% of length. In
the middle is the compression zone, walls close in on the melt/pellet mix, drive air backward and make
up for slipping and rolling of pellets in the feed zone. This zone contains the “barrier” of barrier screws: A
long double-channel section that separates the melt from pellets, so that pellets can rub against each
other to generate more heat, rather than swim in the increasing volume of melt and just heat by
conduction. Finally, at the output end is the metering (pumping) zone, channel depth constant again at
25 to 50% of feed depth, often with straining and mixing elements (Maddocks, pineapples, pins).

Channel depths, and not just their ratio, are critical. In small machines, the feed must be deep enough to
allow smooth feeding (at least twice the particle size), but not so deep as to risk screw-shaft breakage. In
the metering zone, shallower means better mixing and less output per turn, while deeper means the
opposite, as well as more sensitivity to high pressure.

Length: The usual metric is the ratio of length to diameter, or L/D, also written as L:D. Today, 24:1 is
standard, 20:1 is short (know the reason why) and 25 to 30 also are commonly seen. The longer the length,
the more time to melt, which usually increases the output, but at a higher melt temperature. Longer lines
have been built and are needed for vented extrusion, but otherwise the tendency is to go larger (cooler)
instead of longer.

Vented barrels have a hole in the barrel to remove moisture and trapped air (as with powder feed). The
screw gets very deep at that point to avoid pushing melt out of the vent, to which a vacuum is applied,
and then gets shallow again to pump out the melt.

Pitch (angle) of the flights is often square: That is, the distance from one flight to the next is the same as
diameter. This corresponds to a helix angle of 17.6° if the channel is “unwrapped.” This angle is increased
in many barrier sections, and a few feed sections for light feeds.

Flight thickness is around 0.1 x diameter. Thicker means more area for heat development and less
conveying per turn (both usually unwanted), while thinner results in more backward leakage (less
pumping but more mixing).

Hollow screws. Many screws are bored full-length to allow passage of either water (helps mixing), oil
(avoids tip degradation of rigid PVC) or even air (rare but cheaper). A few screws are bored only one-third
down to prevent sticking to the root in the feed zone.

Radius of channel corners. Too small encourages stagnation and potential degradation; too large wastes
channel volume. No one formula fits all: It depends on thermal stability of material, flow rate in channels,
use of purges and metal-adhering process aids, and screw surface material.

Unusual variations include grooved barrels to increase inpush per turn (very common for HDPE, screws
have little or no compression, mixing devices recommended), and channel-depth cycling in parallel
channels to improve mixing and uniformity (wave screw).
Materials. Most screws are machinable steel with hardened flight surfaces, either via a welded-on cap
around 0.040 to 0.080 in. (1 to 2 mm) thick or by nitriding the whole surface. The latter method is cheaper,
but prevents alteration of the flight depth later; the useful life depends on the depth of nitride
penetration. Chrome plating is common: The screw surface certainly looks better and is claimed to allow
easier passage (less frictional heat) and less likely degradation. For abrasive and corrosive feeds, more
expensive metals are available.

Computer simulation of screw performance is widely done, and is not new. I demonstrated it on a DEC
computer (20 MB hard drive!) at my seminars back in 1987 to 1992, after which it became too complicated
for an intro class. Today’s programs are good, but success depends on reliable viscosity data as a function
of both temperature and shear rate. Would I make a screw based only on simulation? No. Would I make
one based on my own experience alone? Not if I could help it. I’d want to combine the two, if the line was
big enough and I had reliable viscosity data.