FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS OF CALENDERING

The equations of conservation of mass, momentum and energy for creeping flow of a highly viscous fluid between a pair of rotating calender rolls are solved numerically. The virtual work principle is used for the development of the finite element method. Results of calculations of pressure, velocity and temperature fields are presented for Newtonian, power-law and viscoelastic fluid models for a variety of boundary conditions. The numerical calculations are shown to be in relatively good agreement with experimental data on calendering of a rigid polyvinyl chloride formulation. However, the iterative scheme does not converge for high elasticity levels.