Abstract CTS- 9629650 H. Arastoopour and B. Bernstein, Illinois Institute of Technology A combined experimental and computational study is undertaken to understand the basic mechanisms in the pulverization process of polymeric materials by extrusion. The materials are conveyed to an extruder where they are heated to form a continuous film of polymeric materials, followed by cooling and exposure in solid state to high shear and compressive forces, and by rapid relaxation of the induced stresses. This results in pulverization. The materials may be thermoplastics, thermosetting and elastomers. The experiments will use disk-shaped samples to model the stress state and its evolution before pulverization and eventual agglomeration. Finite element method will be applied to simulate the deformations, including boundary slip, material fracture, friction, sintering, and agglomeration. This is a GOALI (Grant Opportunity for Academic Interaction with Industry) project in collaboration with Amoco and W.R. Grace Co. The industrial partners will participate and provide feedback to the research work. It is expected that the study will lead to a modeling framework, including the controlling parameters of the pulverization process, and criteria of pulverization, agglomeration, and scale-up. The pulverization process has relevance to manufacturing processes, polymer recycling, textile industry, and pipe coating. ***
