• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
• /
• v.27 no.2
• /
• pp.147-154
• /
• 2003

A three-dimensional numerical analysis of the flow and heat transfer characteristic of wood-flour-filled polypropylene melt in an extrusion die was carried out. Used for this analysis were Finite Concept Method based on FVM, unstructured grid and non-Newtonian fluid viscosity model. Temperature and flow fields are closely coupled through temperature dependent viscosity and viscous dissipation. With large Peclet, Nahme, Brinkman numbers, viscous heating caused high temperature belt near die housing. Changing taper plate thickness and examining some predefined parameters at die exit investigated the effect of taper plate on velocity and temperature uniformities. In the presence of taper plate, uniformity at die exit could be improved and there existed an optimum thickness to maximize it.