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AssigneeBorealis Technology Oy
InventorsSvein Eggen, Petter Asrud
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There is disclosed a method of rheometry and to a corresponding rheometer apparatus having particular application to the manufacturing of polymers. The invention provides a method of studying the properties of a polymer. A rheometer having a pump (2) and a die(3) is arranged such that polymer is pumped through the die. Transducers (4) measure pressures within the rheometer. The polymer is supplied to the rheometer with the pump (2) at one speed and value(s) indicative of the shear stress in the fluid within the die are obtained from the transducers (4). This provides a set of data. The data is then directly compared, using multivariate analysis with previously obtained data corresponding to polymer(s) with known rheological properties. The results of this comparison may then be used to control the manufacturing process.
A method of studying the properties of a fluid comprising the steps of:
A method as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the fluid is a molten polymer and the rheometer is an on-line rheometer associated with a polymer production plant.
A method as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein if the polymer characteristics are not acceptable, the operating conditions of the plant are adjusted accordingly.
A method as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the method is repeated at regular intervals during the operation of the plant.
A method as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the plant operating conditions are adjusted in order to change the polymer thereby produced and the data is used to monitor the transition between products.
A method of producing an extruded polymer using the method according to any preceding claim.
A method according to any preceding claim, further comprising the step of using the results of the comparison in step (d) to quantify a selected property of the fluid.
An apparatus for studying the properties of a fluid comprising:
A method of monitoring a transition from a first specification of product to a second specification of product in a polymerisation process wherein polymer from the process is repeatedly or continuously supplied to a rheometer during the transition and data from the rheometer is repeatedly or continuously compared to known data to determine approximately when the transition is completed.
An apparatus for monitoring a transition from a first specification of product to a second specification of product in a polymerisation process comprising a rheometer to which polymer from the process may be repeatedly or continuously supplied during the transition and processing means for receiving data from the rheometer, the processing means being arranged to repeatedly or continuously compare the data from the rheometer to known data to determine approximately when the transition is completed.
A polymer production plant comprising the apparatus and/or operating according to the method of any preceding claim.
Polymer product produced by means of the apparatus and/or method of any preceding claim.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.