Improving the design and optimizing the operating modes of the extrudate cooler

The objective of the study is to improve the technological process of obtaining an extrudate by modifing the material cooling link and determining the optimal modes of its operation to improve the efficiency of the system as a whole. Tasks: to modify the extrudate cooling link; to reveal the patterns associated with the duration and energy efficiency (energy intensity) of the material cooling process. The analysis of the "extrusion - extrudate cooling" system revealed the factor and result indicators of this system, allowing to obtain numerical estimates of the statistical characteristics. The factor indicators of the "extrusion - extrudate cooling" system determine the technical and technological conditions and modes of the cooling process. The schemes for determining the duration and energy intensity of the cooling process are represented by second-degree polynomials. The error in approximating the duration and energy intensity indicators for the experimental variants did not exceed 5 %, and the determination coefficient was higher than 95 %. The absence of systematic errors and the unbiasedness of the estimates obtained using the proposed scheme guarantee that the identified patterns can be used both for smoothing the experimental data and for predictive purposes of studying the "extrusion - extrudate cooling" system, as well as for the model representation of the resulting duration and energy intensity indicator of the extrudate cooling process. A scientific hypothesis for optimizing the extrudate cooling process is proposed and substantiated. The optimal design and operating characteristics of the extrudate cooler have been determined, which are formed by selecting the cooler loading weight of 9 kg, shaft rotation speed of 17.111 rpm, blade inclination angle of 9.9999 degrees, coolant temperature of 1.1666 °C, coolant flow rate of 4.2777 m/s, and extrudate temperature gradient of 38.9666 °C. In the area of the efficiency of the semi-finished product cooling process, the duration and energy consumption values are estimated at 0.0728 h and 0.0039 kWh/kg, respectively. The implemented approach can be used to develop new equipment included in the process line.