Comprehensive study of a new extensional flow mixer

A patented Extensional Flow Mixer (EFM) (1) has been developed in which plastics is hydrodynamically mixed by flowing through a series of convergent and divergent regions so that very efficient dispersive and distributive mixing can be achieved. The EFM can be attached to any plastics pumping machine, such as single-screw and twin-screw extruders, for injection molding, blow molding, extrusion, and compounding. Comprehensive laboratory and industrial tests have been conducted especially for film applications, which indicate the mixing of a single-screw extruder (SSE) with an EFM can outperform that of a twin-screw extruder (TSE) in certain aspects. Results of gel elimination, strength enhancement and morphology changes are presented.