Calendering poly(vinyl chloride): Theory and experiments

Abstract An isothermal model for the calendering of power‐law fluids which exhibit a slip boundary condition is presented. This model is based on lubrication approximation and Gaskell's theorxy. It Predicts sheet thickness, pressure distribution, velocity profiles, torque and power from rheological data for the melt and machine parameters. The predictions (sheet thickness, pressure distribution and torque) are compared with a set of experimental data for rigid poly(vinyl chloride)(PVC) provided to the authors by Solvay & Cie S.A.