*Names of the screw elements can be found in the catalog of Toshiba
Machine.
A pressure transducer (CZ-200P-HB, RKC, Japan) located 662.5 mm from the
feed port was used to measure the resin pressure of the kneading
section, as indicated by “P” in Figure 4. The resin pressure of the
kneading section was used for validation. The head pressure measured
using the pressure transducer (Dynisco, NP462) was used as an input to
the 2.5D FEM. A sheathed temperature sensor
(T-101S-1.6-100-3000-EXD-Y-J-G-E, RKC, Japan) located at 682.5 mm, as
indicated by “T,” was used to measure the resin temperature for
validation. This sensor contacts the barrel 1 mm from the resin. The
feed port was at 30 °C while the temperature of the other barrel was 195
°C. The temperature was selected such that it would not degrade the
resin. To attain an ideal state of flow in the TSE and observe the
surface of the screw using laser light illumination, the screw surface
was carefully and thoroughly polished with a copper mesh before
conducting the experiments. The exit dice was circular with a diameter
of 3.0 mm. The laser light section method was applied to measure the
resin volume on the screw segment and to calculate the degree of fill.
The details are explained in our previous paper27.