Viscoelastic Flow: Basic Extrusion
This tutorial illustrates the extrusion of molten rubber through a die.
Many industrial processes involve the extrusion of viscous materials. In the automotive industry, rubber seals are formed by extruding molten rubber through a die. Simulations such as this one allow you to anticipate the swelling of the extrusion as it leaves the die
In the course of the tutorial, you compare the results of an extrusion simulated as a simple viscous fluid and then as a viscoelastic fluid:
- Set up the die and the extrusion of a viscous fluid (liquid rubber) through it, modeled as a Generalized Newtonian fluid.
- Visualize the flow velocity through the simulation and the swelling of the extrusion.
- Change the fluid model from Generalized Newtonian to Viscoelastic.
- Visualize the flow velocity and extrusion swelling again with the change of model.
The tutorial uses the simpler Generalized Newtonian model first to establish that the simulation gives reasonable results. It then moves to the more complex and computationally expensive Viscoelastic model for greater accuracy.