Variables affecting parison diameter swell and their correlation with rheological parameters

An important factor in the selection of blow molding resins for producing handled bottles is the effective diameter swell of the parison. Ideally, the diameter swell is directly related to the weight swell and would require no separate consideration. In actual practice, the existence of gravity, the finite parison drop time and the anisotropic aspects of the blow molding operation prevent reliable prediction of the parison diameter swell directly from the weight swell. The parison diameter swell is a complex function of the weight swell, the rate of swell and the melt strength. Elements of this function are presented which show the effect of extrusion rate, parison drop time and parison weight. A technique is presented which allows the estimation of local weight and diameter swell ratios. Their direct relationship is confirmed by data obtained on several blow molding resins. The relationship between weight swell and diameter swell is definitely anisotropic. A mathematical model for swell is proposed which incorporates experimentally determined rate constants and swell coefficients. Correlations are given which suggest fundamental relationships between these derived coefficients and basic variables such as resin properties or process conditions. The model's predictive capability is demonstrated by using it to back calculate parison dimensions.