Research on Inner Gas Inflation Improvements in Double-layer Gas-assisted Extrusion of Micro-tubes

• Main Authors: Cheng Luo, Xingyuan Huang, Tongke Liu, Hesheng Liu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-04-01
• Series: Polymers
• Subjects: micro-tube formation; gas-assisted extrusion(GAE); double gas layer; die design; forced exhaust flow rate; numerical calculation
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/12/4/899

Micro-tubes have small diameters and thin wall thicknesses. When using double-layer gas-assisted extrusion (DGAE) technology to process micro-tubes, due to the influence of flow resistance, airflow from the inner gas-assisted layer cannot flow into the atmosphere through the lumen. Over time, it will inflate or even fracture the micro-tubes intermittently and periodically. To solve this problem, a new double-layer micro-tube gas-assisted extrusion die was designed in this study. Its mandrel has an independent airway leading to the lumen of the extrudate, with which the gas flow into the lumen of the extrudate can be regulated by employing forced exhaust. Using the new die, we carried out extrusion experiments and numerical calculations. The results show a significant positive correlation between micro-tube deformation and gas flow rate in the lumen of a micro-tube. Without considering the refrigerant distortion of the microtube, the flow rate of forced exhaust should be set equal to that of the gas from the inner gas-assisted layer flow into the micro-tube lumen. By doing this, the problem of the micro-tube being inflated can be eliminated without causing other problems.