Effect of die surface on the onset of stick-slip flow in polymer processing

Abstract : In this paper, we investigate the relationships between stick-slip defect and molecular slip at the wall for linear polymers. By considering Brochard-de Gennes slip model and molecular chain dynamics at the wall, we propose an expression for the critical shear stress at the onset of stick-slip as a function of the wettability of the polymer on the die surface or, more precisely, as a function of the apparent contact angle between polymer and die surface.