Abstract
The entire extrusion process of a polymer melt within a capillary was analyzed thoroughly when a sinusoidal vibration of small amplitude was superimposed in parallel on the flow direction of the polymer melt. On the basis of rheological measurement, an equation for a polymer melt under parallel vibration, i.e. the apparent viscosity, was obtained. Calculation of the apparent viscosity was established by making use of novel experimental equipment. After collecting and analyzing the instantaneous data of capillary entry pressure, capillary volume flux and their phase difference in a superimposed vibration, the apparent viscosity of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) within a capillary was calculated. Meanwhile, the relationship of shear stress vs. shear rate for a LDPE melt with and without imposed vibration was presented.