Electrical charging during the sharkskin instability of a metallocene melt

Flow instabilities are widely studied because of their economical and theoretical interest; however, few results have been published about the polymer electrification during the extrusion. Nevertheless, the generation of the electrical charges is characteristic of the interaction between the polymer melt and the die wall. In our study, the capillary extrusion of a metallocene polyethylene (mPE) through a tungsten carbide die is characterized through accurate electrical measurements thanks a Faraday pail. No significant charges are observed since the extrudate surface remains smooth. However, as soon as the sharkskin distortion appears, measurable charges are collected (around 5 × 10−8 C/m2). Higher levels of charges are measured during the spurt or the gross-melt fracture (gmf) defects. This work is focused on the electrical charging during the sharkskin instability. The variation of the electrical charges versus the apparent wall shear stress is investigated for different die geometries. This curve exhibits a linear increase, followed by a sudden growth just before the onset of the spurt instability. This abrupt charging corresponds also to the end of the sharkskin instability. It is also well known that wall slip appears just at the same time, with smaller velocity values than during spurt flow. Our results indicate that electrification could be a signature of the wall slip. We show also that the electrification curves can be shifted according to the time-temperature superposition principle, leading to the conclusion that molecular features of the polymer are also involved in this process.