Optimal design for polymer sheeting dies
  Revised:June 25, 2002
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DOI:10.7511/jslx20042046
KeyWord:sheeting die,numerical simulation,sensitivity analysis,optimal design,SQP
Yu Xiaorong  Shen Changyu~*  Liu Chuntai  Wang Lixia
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Abstract:
      Polymer sheeting dies are commonly used for the extrusion of plastic sheets and films. The key of designing sheeting dies is the invariance of distribution to flow rate on the exit. In this paper an optimal design approach for polymer sheeting dies was developed which combines polymer process modeling, design sensitivity analysis and numerical optimization. A nonlinear constrained optimization problem was put forward which minimizes the inlet pressure P_(in) subject to a constraint on the exit velocity variation. Analytical design sensitivities were derived to quantify the relationship between design parameter, cost and constraint functions using direct methods. The analytical design sensitivities are combined with a sequential quadratic programming (SQP) algorithm to systematically traverse the design space towards the optimal values. An example shows that using this method can obtain a uniform velocity profile across the die and minimize pressure drop.