Mechanistic modeling of modular co-rotating twin-screw extruders

In this study, we present a one-dimensional (1D) model of the metering zone of a modular, co-rotating twin-screw extruder for pharmaceutical hot melt extrusion (HME). The model accounts for filling ratio, pressure, melt temperature in screw channels and gaps, driving power, torque and the residence time distribution (RTD). It requires two empirical parameters for each screw element to be determined experimentally or numerically using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The required Nusselt correlation for the heat transfer to the barrel was determined from experimental data. We present results for a fluid with a constant viscosity in comparison to literature data obtained from CFD simulations. Moreover, we show how to incorporate the rheology of a typical, non-Newtonian polymer melt, and present results in comparison to measurements. For both cases, we achieved excellent agreement. Furthermore, we present results for the RTD, based on experimental data from the literature, and found good agreement with simulations, in which the entire HME process was approximated with the metering model, assuming a constant viscosity for the polymer melt.