Modeling and control of the melt index in HDPE process

We investigate the model for an industrial isothermal HDPE slurry reactor. The model, consisting of several nonlinear equations, can be linearized to give sets of linear time invariant state space model. The effectiveness of the linearized model is verified by the numerical simulations. A simple model predictive control scheme is constructed based on the linear state space model. The value of the melt index is obtained from the values of the manipulated and controlled variables generated from the control scheme. The control performance can be evaluated from the comparison between the computed melt index values and measured melt index values. The control scheme shows good tracking performance in the numerical simulations. We believe that the model developed in the present study can be effectively used to predict process variables as well as to control the melt index.     

Bilinear model predictive control of grade change operations in paper production plants

In this work the bilinear model predictive control method is applied to control the grade change operations in paper production plants. Because of the high nonlinearity of the grade change processes, control of the grade change operations has been performed manually by experienced engineers in the plants. In some cases the bilinear model can be very effective to represent nonlinear processes. In this study a bilinear model for paper plants is identified first. It is found that the bilinear model tracks the plant without significant discrepancy. Based on the multivariable bilinear plant model the optimal input variables are computed using the one-step ahead prediction method. Even for frequent changes in paper grades the bilinear model predictive control scheme exhibits good control performance.     

A recursive PLS-based soft sensor for prediction of the melt index during grade change operations in HDPE plant

An empirical model has been developed for the successful prediction of the melt index (MI) during grade change operations in a high density polyethylene plant. To efficiently capture the nonlinearity and grade-changing characteristics of the polymerization process, the plant operation data is treated with the recursive partial least square (RPLS) scheme combined with model output bias updating. In this work two different schemes have been proposed. The first scheme makes use of an arbitrary threshold value which selects one of the two updating methods according to the process requirement so as to minimize the root mean square error (RMSE). In the second scheme, the number of RPLS updating runs is minimized to make the soft sensor time efficient, while reducing, maintaining or normally increasing the RMSE obtained from first scheme up to some extent. These schemes are compared with other techniques to exhibit their superiority. This paper is dedicated to Professor Chang Kyun Choi to celebrate his retirement from the school of chemical and biological engineering of Seoul National University.     

Model algorithmic control of grade change operations in paper mills

In this work, the Model Algorithmic Control (MAC) method is applied to control the grade change operations in paper mills. The neural network model for the grade change operations is identified first and the impulse model is extracted from the neural network model. Results of simulations for MAC control of grade change operations are compared with plant operation data. The major contribution of the present work is the application of MAC in the industrial plants based on the identification of neural network models. We can confirm that the proposed MAC method exhibits faster responses and less oscillatory behavior compared to the plant operation data in the grade change operations.     

Cavitation during tensile deformation of high-density polyethylene

Cavitation process of high-density polyethylene during tensile deformation was studied. It has been shown that the crystallinity and perfection of HDPE crystals govern whether plastic deformation of the polymer is associated with cavitation or deformation occurs without cavitation. The strength of crystals may be controlled by crystallization conditions during preparation of a polymer. If the crystals are thin and the degree of crystallinity is low then the plastic deformation of crystals occurs before reaching the level of stress that initiates cavitation. On the other hand, if the crystals are thick, more perfect, and crystallinity is high, then the cavitation in an amorphous phase is initiated first, and later followed by the deformation of crystals. The cavitation process is usually initiated at the stress level close to the yield point. However, the level of stress necessary for cavitation may be decreased substantially by the orientation of crystalline lamellae, as it was observed in the skin layers of injection-molded material. Voids formed in the skin layer do not influence the yielding process. Typically, cavitation was initiated in volume at the stress of 29-30 MPa, but in the skin of injected samples voids were observed even at the macroscopic stresses of 2 MPa only. The development of voids with deformation was studied both for skin and volume of injection-molded HDPE sample. The shape of voids is strictly connected with deformation of crystalline phase around them.     

Dichotomous behavior of polymer melts in isothermal melt spinning

Isothermal melt spinning experiments have been conducted using two polyethylene melts of low density (LDPE) and high density (HDPE) to produce steady state spinline profiles. The data revealed the threadline extensional viscosity exhibiting a contrasting picture : extension thickening behavior for LDPE and extension thinning one for HDPE. A White-Metzner model having a strain rate-dependent relaxation time was then found to be able to simulate this dichotomy in melt spinning fairly well: the fluids whose relaxation times have smaller strain rate-dependence can fit LDPE data with extension thickening extensional viscosity whereas the fluids whose relaxation times have larger strain rate-dependence can fit HDPE data with extension thinning extensional viscosity. This dichotomous nature of viscoelastic fluids is also believed to be able to explain other similar contrasting phenomena exhibited by polymer melts, such as vortex/no vortex in entry flows, cohesive/ductile fracture modes in extension, and more/less stable draw resonance than Newtonian fluids.     

Model predictive control of a fixed-bed reactor with nonlinear quality inference

A generic model predictive control framework has been proposed for a fixed-bed reactor with exothermic reaction. The proposed framework can conduct nonlinear inferential control of a product concentration together with linear multivariable control of bed temperatures. In addition, the framework can accommodate the multi-rate sampling and analysis delay caused by the product measurement. Performance of the proposed technique has been demonstrated with a non-adiabatic fixed bed reactor model producing maleic anhydride under various operating scenarios.     

电石生产用石灰质量的控制

通过麦尔兹窑生产过程阐述了石灰质量控制的要点。为保证生产出优质石灰,应对原料和燃料的杂质进行控制,同时还应选择合理的石灰石粒度、煅烧温度、压力和煅烧时间。     

Prediction of the melt flow index using partial least squares and support vector regression in high-density polyethylene (HDPE) process

In polyolefin processes the melt flow index (MFI) is the most important control variable indicating product quality. Because of the difficulty in the on-line measurement of MFI, a large number of MFI estimation and correlation methods have been proposed. In this work, mechanical predicting methods such as partial least squares (PLS) method and support vector regression (SVR) method are employed in contrast to conventional dynamic prediction schemes. Results of predictions are compared with other prediction results obtained from various dynamic prediction schemes to evaluate predicting performance. Hourly MFIs are predicted and compared with operation data for the high density polyethylene process involving frequent grade changes. We can see that PLS and SVR exhibit excellent predicting performance even for severe operating situations accompanying frequent grade changes.     

Estimation of the melt rheology of polymer waste from melt flow index

The need for recycling of polymeric waste has been well recogmized as a result of the escalating prices of the petrochemical feedstocks and the growing awareness to curtail solid waste that causes environmental pollution. During processing, the molecular weight of the polymer is reduced due to thermal and shear degradation. Since the melt rheology of the processed material is sensitive to the changes in molecular structure, knowledge of the complete flow curve depicting the variation of melt viscosity with shear rate at processing temperatures is a useful tool for assessing the reprocessibility of waste material and for specifying the conditions of reprocessing. In the present paper, an effective method is proposed to generate the melt flow curves of polymer waste from knowledge of its melt flow index. The method makes use of a master curve that can be obtained by plotting the available viscosity data in terms of modified functions based on the melt flow index. The master curves characteristic of the particular generic resin type are presented for low-density polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene.     

Structure of blown film from blends of polyethylene and high melt strength polypropylene

The structure of blown film processed from linear low density polyethylene blended with up to 30 wt[percnt] of a high melt strength polypropylene (hmsPP) was examined using primarily atomic force microscopy and wide angle X-ray scattering. The study focused on two polyethylene resins with the same density: a conventional Ziegler-Natta catalyzed linear low density polyethylene (znPE) and a blend of a Ziegler-Natta catalyzed and a metallocene catalyzed linear low density polyethylene (zn/mPE). Parallel characterization was performed on blown film of the hmsPP and blown film of each of the polyethylene resins. In films of the blends, the hmsPP was well-dispersed in the polyethylene matrix as elongated domains. In the domains, the hmsPP crystallized as planar row-nucleated structures with the long axis of the lamellae perpendicular to the extrusion direction. Row-nucleated hmsPP lamellae provided a template for epitaxial crystallization of polyethylene lamellae. The 42° angle of the lattice match imparted a characteristic herringbone texture to the polyethylene. Blending with hmsPP increased the tensile modulus and strength of polyethylene film without significantly affecting the ultimate elongation.     

并流喷雾干燥产品湿含量的控制

拟定了以料浆喷雾量FL为调节变量,控制气体出塔温度Tgf的反馈控制结构;建立了以Tgf为主要状态变量的过程动态模型,用于撞击流反应-沉淀法制超细白炭黑生产系统中喷雾干燥产品湿含量的控制。     

On the time for fold surfaces to order during the crystallization of polyethylene from the melt and its dependence on molecular parameters

New experiments underpin the interpretation of the basic division in crystallization behaviour of polyethylene in terms of whether or not there is time for the fold surface to order before the next molecular layer is added at the growth front. For typical growth rates, in Régime II, polyethylene lamellae form with disordered {001} fold surfaces then transform, with lamellar thickening and twisting, towards the more-ordered condition found for slower crystallization in Régime I, in which lamellae form with and retain {201} fold surfaces. Several linear and linear-low-density polyethylenes have been used to show that, for the same polymer crystallized alone or in a blend, the growth rate at which the change in initial lamellar condition occurs is reasonably constant thereby supporting the concept of a specific time for surfaces to attain the ordered {201} state. This specific time, in the range from milliseconds to seconds, increases with molecular length, and in linear-low-density polymer, for higher branch contents.     

Three-dimensional shape of polyethylene single crystals grown from dilute solutions and from the melt

Three-dimensional morphology of polyethylene single crystals grown from dilute solutions and from the melt has been examined by atomic force microscopy. The observation of single crystals clarifies the morphology of chair-type as well as hollow pyramidal type for solution crystallization. From the melt, only chair-type was obtained. It has been confirmed that the screw dislocations in the chair-type follow a selection rule of the handedness in a manner to relieve the distortion in the chair-type. The meaning of the selection is discussed in connection with the twisting correlation in the banded spherulites grown from the melt of non-chiral polymers, such as polyethylene.     

The influence of carbon-based nanofillers on the melt flow singularity of linear polyethylene

A quantitative power law relationship between molecular weight and flow criticalities is uncovered that links stick-slip theory with the melt flow singularity observed during capillary flow. The singularity arises from decrease in pressure during melt flow of linear polyethylene through capillary die in a narrow temperature window. The molecular origin of the window effect is attributed to slip flow arising from disengagement of chains adsorbed to melt-wall interface from free chains in melt. Considering the similar molecular configuration of the linear polyethylene and carbon nanotubes (CNTs), the stretched chain conformation of the adsorbed chains in the presence of CNTs is influenced. The potential to broaden the window temperature interval in the presence of CNTs is explored. For the study, multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) are added in the linear polyethylene. The influence of the filler aspect ratio on the window effect is further investigated in the presence of carbon black (CBs). The presence of MWCNTs broadens the window temperature interval and increases the decrease in pressure. Contrary to MWCNTs in the presence of CBs the extrusion window narrows and reduction in the pressure-decrease occurs. It is also found that the two carbon nanofillers have a significant impact on flow-induced solidification. Both, the crystallisation rate and the onset temperature of crystallisation, increase with the loading of the two nanofillers. A closer comparison between the two carbon nanofillers at the same loading suggests that the crystallisation is more influenced in MWCNT-PE composites.     

Anomalous rheological behavior of polyethylene melts in the gross melt fracture regime in the capillary extrusion

During the capillary extrusion with several different polyethylenes, we observe an abnormal rheological behavior. The nominal viscosity of polyethylene melt in the gross melt fracture regime does not change with a temperature. All polyethylenes tested show same behaviors. More interestingly, the nominal viscosity in the gross melt fracture regime shows even no molecular weight dependency when PEs have similar molecular structures (degree of branching and co-monomer content). From various experiments, we conclude that this abnormal phenomenon is relevant to the structural change with the melt temperature.     

提高焊接工艺管理 加强焊接质量控制

影响产品的焊接质量是多方面的,可以提高焊接工艺管理,从焊前准备、焊中操作、焊后检查三个阶段,通过确定产品焊接工艺流程、参数控制、个人职责、质量目标、控制办法等,对产品的焊接加工过程全方位控制,从而实现焊接质量的“可控”、“在控”,确保产品质量。     

Mathematical modeling and the estimation of parameters for the melt viscosity of polyamides

Capillary rheometry data of a range of commercial polyamide engineering materials was obtained from a mould-flow analysis material database, from which melt viscosity data was obtained at different temperatures, which made comparison of the viscosities difficult. In an attempt to make a reasonable comparison between the melt viscosities of the various polyamide materials at different temperatures, it was necessary to obtain the mathematical functions which describe the relationships between: (i) the melt viscosity and the shear rate, (ii) the melt viscosity and temperature and (iii) the melt viscosity and the combined effect of the shear rate and temperature of each of the polyamides studied. Therefore, melt viscosity was modelled as a function of shear rate at the three temperatures (275°C, 295°C and 315°C), at which the viscosities were determined. The function obtained represented smoothed versions of the experimental data, eliminating the experimental noise and enabling the generation of melt viscosity data at the six different shear rates of the original data. It was established that the melt viscosity as a function of shear rate at constant temperature, in the shear rate range 500-700 s m 1 , is incorrectly described by the Ostwald-de-Waele's model, \eta_{\rm T}={\rm f}({\dot \gamma})={\rm K}({\dot \gamma})^{({\rm n}-1)} , while the melt viscosity of the polyamides studied, as a function of temperature, is correctly described by the model \eta_{\dot \gamma}={\rm g}{(\rm T)}={\rm Pe}^{\left (\rm {QT/R}\right )} . But the response-surface melt viscosity is effectively described as a function of both shear rate and temperature by the model: \eta=\vert {\dot \gamma}\vert^{(\rm n-1)}{\rm Ae}^{(\rm ET/R)} . The parameters A, E and n are highly interrelated as they all influence the average melt viscosity. All are temperature sensitive and also, to some degree, shear sensitive.     

Analysis of ductile and brittle failures from creep rupture testing of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipes

A comprehensive analysis of ductile and brittle failures from creep rupture testing of a wide spectrum of HDPE pipes was conducted. The analysis indicates that the ductile failure of such pipes is primarily driven by the yield stress of the polymer (or pipe). Examination of ductile failure data at multiple temperatures indicates a systematic improvement in performance with increasing temperature. It is proposed that testing at higher (above-ambient) temperatures leads to progressive relaxation of the residual stresses in the pipe; this causes the pipe to perform better as residual stresses are known to help accelerate the fracture process. Finally, our investigation indicates no correlation, whatsoever, between brittle failures in pressurized pipes and the PENT (Pennsylvania edge-notch tensile test; ASTM F1473) failure times. Therefore, one has to be extremely cautious in interpreting the true value of the PENT test when developing polymers and pipes for high-performance pressure pipe applications.     

Evidence for isothermal lamellar thickening at and behind the growth front as polyethylene crystallizes from the melt

The poorly characterized and little understood phenomenon of isothermal lamellar thickening, central to melt crystallization, has been studied morphologically in polyethylene rows, grown around high-melting fibres as linear nuclei revealing that thickening is a function of position within the morphology as well as of elapsed time. In contrast to polyethylene spherulites whose central lamellae are the thickest, in rows the first lamellae to form remain the thinnest because, being close-packed, they have no space into which to thicken. The thickness of lamellae at the growth front increases linearly with the logarithm of elapsed time but, as the thickest lamellae are found at finite radius, thickening must also occur behind the growth front. The data are consistent with a uniform rate of thickening throughout spherulitic polyethylene but melt crystallization must now be envisaged as occurring not at an interface in steady-state condition but at one whose thickness increases asymptotically and where interference will reduce thickening.