
During the extrusion process, highly viscous melts develop a laminar flow profile in which flow lines are always parallel to the axis of the flow channel. The mixing elements of the melt blender split the melt flow into part streams, which are moved in a radial direction and recombined. Reportedly, even specially designed screws do not achieve the same mixing performance.
The static-melt blenders are installed just upstream of the die in the flow-melt channel. They typically use four mixing elements, reducing melt-homogeneity problems and temperature variations by a factor of five.
Koch-Glitsch Inc., Wichita, KS
(316) 828-5130
www.kochmixer.com