A Study of Fiber Breakage during Compounding in a Buss Kneader

Abstract

Abstract This paper is devoted to the study of fiber breakage during compounding with a polyamide matrix in a Buss kneader. Results showed a drastic decrease of glass fiber length during compounding, typically from 3500 to 350 μm. Fiber breakage depended on processing conditions: it increased with screw speed, but the effect of feed rate was less clear. Fiber breakage increased also with the severity of the screw profile. Characterizations of fiber length evolution along the screw profile have also been performed after dead-stop experiments. Generally speaking, fiber length evolution can be described using a modified Shon-Liu-White model, in which either the number of turns or the specific energy is considered.