Analysis of PET Film Flow During Plastic Manufacturing Process

Plastic manufacturing is the process of producing polymer materials from raw substances such as thermoplastic pellets, granules, or powder, aiming to produce semi-finished products, which are used in various vital industries such as packaging, electronics, aerospace sector and bottle grade manufacturing. The current project aims to study the stages of the plastic manufacturing process using Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) and analyze the key stage where a series of vertical rotating discs are used in polymer processing. The numerical analysis of the PET film flow on rotating discs was conducted using ANSYS software with volume of fluid (VOF) method used to predict the PET film thickness for different rotational speed of the discs. Two different molecular weights (Xn = 69 & 82) of PET polymers were considered in the numerical model. The dominating factors that affect the film formation on the disc surface were investigated through numerical simulations. It was found that there is a significant increase in the film thickness with an increase in the rotating speed. Furthermore, the film thickness was higher for higher molecular weight of the PET. The rotating discs are used, during the final stage of plastic manufacturing, known as the polymerization, by an energy company (OQ company Oman) who also confirmed that the use of vertically rotating discs would be feasible instead of horizontal discs.