International Polymer Processing, Vol.15, No.1, 40-45, 2000
An investigation of Venturi and coanda effects in blown film cooling
Numerical simulation of turbulent air flow tangentially impinging on a blown film bubble has been carried out. The cooling air is assumed to originate from a dual orifice adjustable air-ring. The stream line pattern and heat flux are determined through a finite volume numerical technique using a version of the so called k-epsilon modeling. It is shown that as the air flows through the air ring passage relatively large under-pressure is created (Venturi effect), which applies a suction to the bubble. Depending on the flow rates and geometrical configurations the air jet may attach itself (Coanda effect) to either the air ring surface and/or to the bubble. The Coanda effect has a significant influence on local heat flux. The numerical results suggest that the Venturi and Coanda effects influence significantly process stability, production rate and final film properties.