Plastics Twin-Screw Extrusion and Compounding

Date & Time

The date and times for this seminar are Thursday, July 23 & Friday, July 24 (2 days) from 8:30am-5:00pm (This includes breaks. Light breakfast, lunch and snack will be provided with no additional charge during breaks).

Overview

This seminar offers an overview of the theory and practice of mixing and compounding operations in plastics manufacturing. It is intended for individuals who have little or no background in compounding or for those who have been using twin-screw extruders and want to gain a thorough understanding of the interrelationships between the polymeric materials, the equipment and processing variables. Lectures discuss the types of extruders and their components, equipment specifications, instrumentation, and screw geometry. Additional types of compounders including batch mixers, multi-screw extruders, and roll-mills are also introduced. Effects of process variables on feeding, mixing, venting, and energy consumption in twin-screw extruders are explained. Troubleshooting techniques and operational strategies are covered, and hands-on demonstrations of typical equipment are shown.

Content

• Twin screw and other compounding equipment details including screw designs
• Auxiliary equipment: feeders, vacuum systems, cooling, and process monitoring
• Processing theory: effects of pressure, temperature, residence time, and screw speed on torque, energy consumption, and mixing
• Troubleshooting and hands on demonstrations: screw programming, feeding, mixing, devolatilization and pelletization

About the Instructor

Dr. Meg Sobkowicz Kline is a professor of Plastics Engineering at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. She completed her bachelors of science in Chemical Engineering at Columbia University in New York. She worked as a field engineer in the petroleum industry and in the municipal water treatment industry before returning to school to complete her doctorate in renewable polymer nanocomposites. Following her graduate studies, Meg accepted a National Research Council postdoctoral fellowship at National Institute of Standards and Technology to research polymeric materials for photovoltaic applications. Dr. Sobkowicz Kline joined the UMass Lowell Plastics Engineering Department in 2011.

Other seminars taught by Dr. Sobkowicz Kline: Plastics in Medical Devices (co-taught with Dr. Anne Soucy)

Additional Notes

Email notifications

Upon registering, you will receive an automated confirmation email from Canvas Catalog with an email address of notifications@instructure.com. Please ensure that you are able to receive emails from this address, and please remember to check your junk and/or spam folders. This email address is unmonitored.

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Location

This is an in-person seminar held at UMass Lowell's North Campus in Lowell, Massachusetts.