A review and evaluation of melt temperature sensors for polymer extrusion

Chamil Abeykoon*, Peter J. Martin, Adrian L. Kelly, Elaine C. Brown

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

55 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Melt temperature is one of the key variables in polymer extrusion which determines process thermal stability and hence melt quality. Therefore, melt temperature is commonly measured in polymer processing and point/bulk melt temperature measurement methods are widely used in the present industry. Some thermal profile measurement methods have also been attempted in research. This study presents a review of melt temperature measurements in polymer extrusion in research and industry, and describes the results of an experimental evaluation carried out to explore the performance of five melt temperature measurement techniques. In addition, an investigation was carried out on the fully developed melt temperature profile of a cylindrical rod die. Moreover, the existing challenges and possible future applications for extrusion thermal monitoring are discussed. The results confirmed that melt temperature varied significantly at different radial locations within the die. Point/bulk melt temperature measurements were found to provide relatively limited information on process thermal quality close to the die wall. Hence, information provided by these sensors is less representative of actual thermal conditions as they are unable to capture thermal information from the whole melt flow cross-section. Therefore, the importance of the development of industrially compatible thermal profile measurement techniques is emphasised.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)16-27
Number of pages12
JournalSensors and Actuators, A: Physical
Volume182
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Aug 2012

Bibliographical note

Copyright:
Copyright 2018 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

Keywords

  • Frequency analysis
  • Melt temperature profile
  • Melt temperature sensor
  • Polymer extrusion
  • Process monitoring

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
  • Instrumentation
  • Condensed Matter Physics
  • Surfaces, Coatings and Films
  • Metals and Alloys
  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering

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