Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Vol. 47, Nos. 56, September, 2011 (Russian Original Nos.

56, MayJune, 2011)

DETERMINATION OF THE CAMBER IN A CALENDER ROLL FOR POLYMER REWORKING

I. O. Mikulenok

A procedure is proposed for determination of the deflection of calender rolls for polymer reworking with consideration of the mutual effect of thrust forces in the inter-roll gap, and the size of the gap, as well as the transverse stiffness of a roll. It is demonstrated that the deflection calculated on the basis of the proposed procedure is 2530% smaller than deflection determined from the traditional computational procedure; it is expedient to consider this in determining the camber of a roll to compensate for its deflection during operation of the calender. Key words: polymer, calender, thrust forces, deflection of roll.

One of the quality indicators of polymeric films produced by calendering is their nonuniform thickness in the transverse direction; this is determined by the shape and dimensions of the inter-roll gap, which depend on the properties of the polymer being reworked, the parameters of the reworking process, and the elastic properties of the rolls. Thrust forces, which develop in the inter-roll gaps of the calender during reworking of polymeric materials, represent a basic force factor affecting the components of the calender design (primarily the rolls and frame). It is accepted to treat these thrust forces as a distributed load of constant intensity over a length corresponding to the width of the film being produced [1, 2]. Deflection of the rolls of the calibrating gap, and variation in the thickness of the article produced, which is related to this deflection, will depend on the magnitude of the thrust force. To produce an article with minimal thickness deviation, it is necessary to use special methods to compensate for the deflection of the rolls, the simplest of which is cambering, i.e., imparting a barrel shape to the effective surface of the roll, for which the diameter of the roll is smoothly diminished usually by 0.050.10 mm in the direction of the ends of the barrel. This method cannot ensure adjustment of the position of the axis of the deformed roll when the calender is operating; nevertheless, it is completely justified in many cases, since multiple-tonnage production lines intended for the production of articles with certain parameters are usually laid-out with calenders. Industrial operation of calenders indicates that the value of the camber, as determined from familiar computational procedures [13], is, as a rule, larger than that required; this can in no way be explained by a correct statement of the problem of determining the deflection of a roll. The problem of loading and deformation of the rolls, disregarding the mutual effect of thrust forces and the shape of the inter-roll gap, is considered in existing procedures for analysis of the strength and stiffness of the rolls [13]. During operation of the calender, thrust forces somewhat deform the rolls that create the inter-roll gap in question, as a result of which the axes of the rolls are curved, and the gap assumes a lens shape. As solution of the mathematical model of the calendering of pseudo-plastic materials [4], and also experience gained with industrial operation of roller machines indicate, the thrust forces are clearly related to the size of the inter-roll gap (they diminish with increasing gap). Thus, a uniform increase in the inter-roll gap along the barrel of a roll during calender operation (the maximum increase here occurs in the central portion of

National Technical University of Ukraine Kiev Polytechnic Institute, Kiev, Ukraine. Translated from Khimicheskoe i Neftegazovoe Mashinostroenie, No. 5, pp. 1719, May, 2011. 0009-2355/11/0506-0315 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc. 315

Fig. 1. Schematic of material flow in inter-roll gap: x, y coordinates directed along and across inter-roll gap; xin, xb, xe coordinates of inlet of material to inter-roll gap, and beginning and end of deformation zone; Rr radius of roll; Wh, Wl circumferential velocities of high- and lowspeed rolls; h, hmin half of current and minimum values of inter-roll gap; Th, Tl temperatures of high- and low-speed rolls.

the roll barrel) will lead to a corresponding decrease in the specific thrust forces along the gap. The distribution curve of the thrust forces along the barrel of a roll takes on a concave (in contrast to the rectangular curve based on familiar methods) shape, and the forces acting on the rolls are diminished, contributing to a certain leveling of the deformed roll, gap after which is subsequently reduced somewhat, the thrust forces again increase, and the cycle of load variation on the roll is repeated. At a certain time, the axis of the roll occupies the position corresponding to the magnitude of the steady-state thrust force. The reduction in total thrust forces is a result of the change in shape of the curve and magnitude of the specific thrust forces in the inter-roll gap. Consideration of these changes will permit more accurate prediction of the serviceability of the roll and calender frame under the reworking conditions in question, and eliminate thickness variation of the resultant product. The deflection of the roll determined in this manner will make it possible to define the required camber of one of the rolls of the calibrating gap of the calender more precisely, having rejected here roll-crossing and-anti-bending devices that are difficult to implement and operate. This will contribute to a production yield with smaller thickness tolerances, and of course, to more stable properties of the article with respect to its width. The thrust forces F acting on the rolls are defined by the relationship (Fig. 1) [4]
xb

F=L

xe

p( x) dx ,

(1)

where p(x) is the pressure acting on the rolls on the side of the material being processed, and L is the width of the article produced. The pressure on the rolls during asymmetric calendering is defined by the relationship 2 Rr Wh p() = K hmin hmin where A=
n b

e e

A sign ( A) B sign ( B) 1 + 2

d = 0 ,

(2)

(1 + 2 n) (1 + ) (2 2 ) 1 e + ; n (1 + 2 )2 1 + 2 (1 + 2 n) (1 + ) (2 2 ) 1 e + ; n (1 + 2 )2 1 + 2

B=

316

Fig. 2. Schematic of roll with peripheral channels: 1) pipe for feed of heat-transfer medium; 2) barrel of roll; 3) peripheral channel; 4) plunger; 5) end cap; 6) inclined channel.

Fig. 3. Dependence of maximum increase in calendering inter-roll gap (with respect to center of roll barrel) on iteration number N of calculation for KP4-850-2400L, KP4-710-1800L, and 3-500-1250-035P calenders.

K and n are rheologic properties of the polymer being reworked; is a dimensionless analogy of the x coordinate; and is the coefficient of friction in the inter-roll gap ( = Wl /Wh). Substituting expression (2) in relationship (1) and converting to dimensionless coordinates [4], it is possible to derive the following expression for determination of the thrust forces acting on the rolls that form the appropriate inter-roll gap: Wh F = KLRr 2 hmin
n b

e e

A sign ( A) B sign ( B) 1 + 2

d d = 0 .

(3)

It is apparent from formula (3) that the thrust force F acting on the rolls will depend on the inter-roll gap 2hmin. A characteristic of the problem of determining the deflection of a roll consists in the fact that the thrust force must be recalculated for the value of the inter-roll gap 2h (z) = 2[hmin(z) + W(z)] after the deflection of the roll has been determin mined for an inter-roll gap of 2hmin(z), where W(z) is the deflection of the roll as a function of the coordinate z directed along the generatrix of the roll. Since the thrust forces diminish with increasing inter-roll gap (see relationship (3)), this will also lead to a reduction in the deflection of the roll, contributing to a certain increase in thrust forces in the next iteration. In determining the thrust force, and the deflection that it induces in the roll by successive approximations, and then accounting for the more precisely 317

defined thrust force for the altered gap and the deflection corresponding to it, it is possible to determine the actual deflection of the roll and the thrust forces serving as the cause of this deflection with the required accuracy. Let us examine results of analysis based on the procedure cited for rolls with peripheral channels (Fig. 2) in KP4-8502400L, KP4-710-1800L, and 3-500-1250-035P calenders produced by NVP Bolshevik (Kiev, Ukraine) during the calendering of a film formed from a polyvinyl chloride composition with a thickness of 500 m at a rate of 0.75 m/sec (Fig. 3). The error generated in calculating the camber of a roll by the traditional procedure is (see Fig. 3): 23 m for the 850 2400-mm roll, 33 m for the 710 1800-mm roll, and 7.5 m for the 500 1200-mm roll (the first iteration corresponds to the maximum inter-roll gap calculated by the traditional procedure). The procedure proposed can be used primarily for the design of calenders for manufacture of thin-sheet and film polymeric articles, when maximum thrust forces act on the rolls, and when nonuniformity of the inter-roll gap is especially perceptible.

REFERENCES 1. 2. 3. Yu. E. Lukach, D. D. Ryabinin, and B. N. Metlov, Roller Machines for Reworking of Plastic Masses and Rubber Blends [in Russian], Mashinostroenie, Moscow (1967). N. I. Basov, Yu. V. Kazankov, and V. A. Lyubartovich, Analysis and Design of Equipment for Production and Reworking of Polymeric Materials [in Russian], Khimiya, Leningrad (1986). L. R. Zeigermakher, Yu. E. Lukach, I. O. Mikulenok, et al., Review of roll designs of roller machines for reworking of polymeric materials and a procedure for their strength analysis on personal computers, Kiev Polytechnic Institute, Kiev (1987), depos. UkrNIINTI May 26, 1987, No. 1538. I. O. Mikulenok, Yu. E. Lukach, and L. I. Ruzhinskaya, Procedure for parametric and thermal analysis of polymerreworking calenders, Kiev (1990), depos. UkrNIINTI Feb. 21 1990, No. 283-Uk90.

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