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Student paper

Extrude rubber so that the beams bend – design of a deformable membrane

Research laboratory or project work

The challenge is to design a membrane that can deform sufficiently to allow measurements, but does not deform plastically or even “explode”. Your CAD-designed membrane can then be manufactured and tested in practice.

Designing extrusion tools is a major challenge, especially when the data for the material to be processed is subject to errors. For example, it is difficult to measure viscosity and wall slip effects in plastics and rubbers, as the pressure from which the viscosity can be calculated is only measured at a few points and must be interpolated in between. These inaccurate measurements therefore make it difficult to design efficient molds. In this project, you will develop a rheometer that can measure the pressure at any point in order to obtain clear information about the material properties. Continuous measurement is made possible by a flexible membrane. The challenge is to design a membrane that can deform sufficiently to allow measurements, but does not deform plastically or even “explode”. Your CAD-designed membrane can then be manufactured and tested in practice.

Stuwi Gummi extrudieren© IKV
Operating principle of the membrane rheometer: Deformation under pressure influence

The work is written in this working group

The work is being written in the Rubber Extrusion working group, which deals with the extrusion of rubbers and the design and conception of extrusion tools and plant technology.

These could be your tasks:

Brief research on rheometers Research on rheometer concepts and membrane use
Construction and design of a membrane rheometer prototype Construction, design and simulation of the membrane
Practical test of the membrane rheometer Design of the membrane Commissioning and testing of the membrane rheometer

These are your benefits:

  • Work in a young, motivated team
  • Independent work with intensive support
  • Co-design of current research projects
  • Individual coordination of tasks and time frame
  • Experimental work on industrial plants
  • Varied mixture of research, construction and experimental work
  • Immediate start possible

Your profile:

  • Preferred courses of study: Engineering or materials science
  • Interest in construction and design
  • Enjoy a practical study project
  • Hands-on mentality
  • The joy of “scientific experimentation”
  • Organized and independent work

If you are interested in a student research project at IKV and in this task, please apply.