Elongational viscosity measurements using a semi-hyperbolic die

The lubricated semi-hyperbolic die has been proposed as a technique for generating uni-axial extensional flow and, hence, as a device for measuring elongational viscosity. Two methods for extracting extensional viscosity data for polymer melts in laminar flow from this device have been proposed and are evaluated here. Following the approach proposed by Collier and coworkers, values of the transient extensional viscosity, eta(+)(e) obtained from a non-lubricated semi-hyperbolic (SHPB) die for several polyethylene (PE) melts were found to be considerably higher than values obtained by means of the Munstedt-type device. Furthermore, the values of eta(+)(e) obtained from the SHPB die were considerably higher than the strain averaged values of eta(+)(e) which Everage and Ballman proposed would be obtained from a lubricated SHPB. The pressure drop across a SHPB die was estimated assuming resistance was all due to wall shear (using the lubrication approximation) for two PE resins. in the case of low density PE (LDPE) the values agreed to within 20% of the measured values suggesting that shear effects at the die wall were dominating the pressure drop and not extensional stresses. An analysis was carried out which showed that in the presence of lubrication the conditions for which the values of eta(+)(e) obtained from the SHPB would be relatively accurate (Hencky strains > 5.0).