Calendering of non‐newtonian fluids

The calendering of non‐Newtonian fluids by two rotating cylinders to produce thin films of fluids finds wide application in polymer sheet‐making and food‐drying industries. Theoretical work has previouly been devoted to the symmetrical case where the cylinders are of equal diameters rotating at the same speed. The present work proposes a new one‐film theory of calendering of power law fluids for unequal radii and surface velocities of the calendering cylinders. The relationship between the dimensionless thickness of the calendered fluid, Δ e * and that of the incoming fluid, Δ i * is shown to be a function of the ratio of the surface velocities of the cylinders and the power law index. The result further shows that Δ e * tends to asymptote after the second decade of Δ i *