Understanding Plastics Engineering Calculations

Hands-on Examples and Case Studies
Copyright: 2012
ISBN: 9781569905098
Hardcover: 194 pages
$109.99 (US)

Contents:

Rheological Properties of Molten Polymers. Thermal Properties of Solid and Molten Polymers. Heat Transfer in Plastics Processing. Analytical Procedures for Troubleshooting Extrusion Screws. Analytical Procedures for Troubleshooting Extrusion Dies. Analytical Procedures for Troubleshooting Injection Molding.

Description:

The plastics engineer working on the shop floor in a plastics manufacturing plant often needs quick answers to questions such as why the extruder output is low or whether he can expect better quality product by changing the resin or if the die pressure can be lowered. Applying state-of-the art numerical software to address these issues is time consuming and costly.

Starting from practical design formulas that are easily applicable, and yet take the resin rheology into account, this book provides answers to these questions quickly and effectively by guiding the user step by step through the computational procedures on the basis of illustrative technical examples.

Problems related to melt fracture, homogeneity of the melt, effect of screw geometry on the quality of the melt and the effect of die pressure on the pellet surface and their troubleshooting are only few of the topics among many that are dealt with in detail.

All the calculations involved can be handled by pocket calculators and hence can be performed right on the site where the machines are running. This guide is a valuable tool not only to troubleshoot but also to estimate the effect of design and process parameters on the product quality in plastics processing.

Author Info:

Rao, N.

Natti S. Rao obtained his B. Tech (Hons) in Mechanical Engineering and M. Tech in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in Kharagpur, India. He received his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Karlsruhe in Germany and then joined BASF AG as a senior research scientist. Later he served as a technical adviser to the leading machine and resin manufacturers in various countries.

Dr. Rao has published over 70 papers and authored five books on designing polymer machinery with the help of computers. Prior to starting his consulting company (Plastics Solutions International) in 1987, he worked as a visiting professor at the Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai (Madras). Besides consulting, he holds seminars on computer-aided design of polymer machinery. Dr. Rao gave lectures on polymer engineering at the University of Texas Austin and is presently involved in continuing education at UMass Lowell.

Dr. Rao is a Fellow of the Society of Plastics Engineering (SPE).

Schott, N.

Nick R. Schott received his B.S. in Chemical Engineering in 1965 from the University of Berkeley and MS and Ph.D. from the University of Arizona in 1971. Dr. Schott taught plastics engineering at UMass Lowell and became an Emeritus professor in 2010. He was advisor and co-advisor for over 100 MS and doctoral students. Dr. Schott has presented numerous articles in the SPE ANTEC proceedings and is a Fellow of the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE).