Compounding, Rheology and Numerical Simulation of Highly Filled Graphite Compounds for Potential Fuel Cell Applications.

Highly filled plastics may offer a suitable solution within the production process for bipolar plates. However, the compounding of conductive additives and the homogeneous mixing of the plastic melt, as well as the accurate prediction of the material behavior, pose a major challenge for polymer engineers. To support the engineering design process of compounding by twin-screw extruders, this present study offers a method to evaluate the achievable mixing quality based on numerical flow simulations.