3. Influence of operating parameters

3.1 Fill rate

As the co-mixer is fed by one or more dosing units, it operates with only partial filling, like a twin-screw extruder. It is therefore important to know the filling rate and which zones are filled, in order to understand how it works. This is usually achieved by running interrupted tests, during which the co-mixer is abruptly stopped during operation, then opened to gain access to the material. Figure 15 shows the effect of flow rate on the filling of...