Die design for property enhancement

A die, comprising:

• an entrance section comprising at least one inlet;
• the inlet being in fluid communication with an orientation section of the die, the orientation section comprising a plurality of orientation channels having a channel inlet and a channel outlet;
• a merging region, the merging region defining a receiving volume in fluid communication with the outlets of the plurality of orientation channels of the orientation section, the merging region being configured to merge together at least some fluid flows originating from the outlets of the orientation channels of the orientation section;
• and
• an exit region in fluid communication with the merging region, the exit region comprising at least one outlet,
• wherein at least some of the plurality of orientation channels include a hyperbolic-shaped region followed immediately by a linearly tapered region,
• wherein the hyperbolic-shaped region has an angle of curvature at its entrance of from 120 to 150 degrees, where the angle of curvature is the angle between a horizontal axis and a line tangent to the hyperbola at the entrance, and
• wherein each of the plurality of orientation channels, during operation, impose a Hencky strain of from about 2 to about 8 units over the length of the channel.