Parison inflation in extrusion blow molding: A theoretical analysis for identifying critical process parameters

An analysis for describing parison (cylindrical) inflation behavior in the extrusion blow molding process is presented. A general growth equation is developed starting from the basic conservation principles. Assuming the polymer melt constituting the parison to behave as a purely viscous Generalized Newtonian Fluid, the effect of different process and material parameters on the inflation process is investigated. From the numerical results, it is inferred that the growth behavior for inelastic liquid exhibits a general tendency of approaching exponential (constant stretch rate) growth as elapsed time progresses. Besides, the initial parison dimensions are determined to play a very significant role in governing the inflation process. Moreover, the inertial contribution owing to fluid motion is found to exert an appreciable influence on the growth dynamics, and hence cannot be neglected without introducing severe approximations in the analytical development.