Film Extrusion and Conversion: Technical Guide

03
FILM EXTRUSION
AND CONVERSION
TECHNICAL GUIDE
Front Cover
The Qenos Technical Centre operates a range of commercial
and laboratory scale extrusion and moulding equipment for
the injection moulding, blow moulding, film extrusion (pictured),
pipe extrusion and rotational moulding markets. Qenos
manufactures a full range of film grades for applications such
as food contact, packaging and agriculture, including Alkamax
metallocene mLLDPE resin for applications where superior
performance is required at a thinner gauge.
Qenos, the Qenos brandmark, Alkathene, Alkatuff, Alkamax,
Alkadyne and Alkatane are trade marks of Qenos Pty Ltd.
FILM EXTRUSION
AND CONVERSION
3 FILM EXTRUSION AND CONVERSION
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART A. FILM EXTRUSION
GRADE SELECTION FOR FILM EXTRUSION
Comparison of Product Types and Classes
Blending of LLDPE, mLLDPE and LDPE
Blending of HDPE with LLDPE and LDPE
Coextrusion 8
FILM EXTRUSION TECHNOLOGY
Process Description
Blown Film Parameters
RHEOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS
10
Flow in Shear
10
Extensional Flow
11
Melt Relaxation
11
Surface Melt Fracture
11
THE EXTRUSION PROCESS
12
Extruder Drive System
12
Heating and Cooling the Barrel
12
SCREW DESIGN
13
Conventional Screw Design
13
Modified and High Performance Screws
13
Barrier Flighted Screws
13
Extruder Head
14
Grooved Feed Section
14
FILM EXTRUSION DIES
14
Types of Film Die
15
Spiral Mandrel Dies
15
Coextrusion Film Dies
16
Die Design Principles for LDPE Polymers
16
Die Design Principles for LLDPE and mLLDPE Polymers
16
Wide Die Gap Extrusion
16
Narrow Die Gap Extrusion
18
Die Design Principles for HDPE Polymers
18
Use of Processing Aids
18
BUBBLE INFLATION
18
BUBBLE COOLING
19
Air Ring Design Principles for LDPE
19
Air Ring Design Principles for LLDPE
19
Qenos Technical Guides
FILM EXTRUSION AND CONVERSION 3
Air Ring Design Principles for HDPE
20
Bubble Stability
21
COLLAPSING THE BUBBLE
22
Gusseting 22
Nip Rolls
23
Oscillating Haul-off
23
Slitting 23
FILM WIND-UP
23
SUMMARY OF DIFFERENCES IN EXTRUSION EQUIPMENT FOR LDPE AND LLDPE
24
TREATMENT OF POLYETHYLENE FILM
24
Electrical Discharge Treatment
24
Effect of Film Additives on Treatment
24
Common Dangers and Difficulties
25
Treatment Faults
25
Reverse-Side Treatment
25
Over-Treatment 25
Assessment of Treatment Levels
25
Wetting Tension (Dynes Ink) Test
25
Printability Test
25
Tape Adhesion Test
26
Treatment Levels
26
CAST FILM EXTRUSION TECHNOLOGY
26
Properties of Chill Roll Cast Film
27
Coextrusion 27
Comparison of Alkathene LDPE and Alkatuff LLDPE
27
PART B. FILM PROPERTIES
28
General Packaging Applications
28
Industrial Film Applications
28
Dependence of Film Quality on Polymer Properties
28
OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF POLYETHYLENE FILM
28
Introduction 28
Haze 29
Surface Gloss
29
See-Through Clarity
29
Other Optical Defects
30
Film Appearance
30
Origin of Optical Irregularities
30
Effect of Processing Conditions on Optical Properties
30
Extrusion Haze
30
Crystallisation Haze
32
Combined Effect of Extrusion Variables
32
Surface Defects
33
Surface Melt Fracture (Sharkskin)
33
Orange Peel
34
Grain 34
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF POLYETHYLENE FILM
34
Impact Strength
34
Tear Strength
34
Tensile Properties
35
Creep in Tension
35
EFFECT OF PROCESSING CONDITIONS ON MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
35
Molecular Orientation
35
Effect of Orientation on Tensile and Tear Properties
36
Effect of Orientation on Impact Properties
37
Effect of Bubble Shape on Impact Properties
37
Balanced Mechanical Properties
38
Summary of Effects of Processing Conditions
38
HEAT SHRINK PROPERTIES OF POLYETHYLENE FILMS
39
Introduction 39
Types and Requirements of Shrink Film
39
Effect of Extrusion Variables on Film Shrinkage
41
Blow-up Ratio
41
Bubble Shape
41
Other Extrusion Variables
42
Choice of Polymer for Shrink Film
42
SURFACE PROPERTIES OF POLYETHYLENE FILMS
42
Coefficient of Friction
42
Addition of Slip-promoting Additives
43
Mode of Action of Slip Additives
43
Factors affecting COF
43
Blocking 43
Factors Affecting Blocking
44
Use of Antiblocking Additives
44
Antistatic Performance
44
Use of Antistatic Additives
44
PERMEABILITY OF POLYETHYLENE FILMS
45
BLENDS OF LLDPE AND LDPE FOR FILM
46
Introduction 46
Processing Properties
46
Physical Properties
47
PART C. FILM CONVERSION
50
Introduction 50
Slitting, Perforating and Hole Punching
50
Film Embossing
50
Printing of Polyethylene Films
51
Printing Inks
51
Lamination 51
Lamination Processes
51
Adhesive Lamination
51
HEAT SEALING OF POLYETHYLENE FILMS
52
Introduction 52
The Heat Sealing Process
52
Types of Heat Sealing
53
Determining the Seal Strength
53
Hot Tack
53
Factors Affecting Heat Sealability
54
Sealing Parameters
54
Polymer Parameters
54
Effect of Film Variables
55
Comparison of Alkathene LDPE, Alkatuff LLDPE and Alkamax mLLDPE Films for Heat Sealing
55
Sealing through Contamination
56
APPENDIX 1 FILM EXTRUSION TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE
57
BIBLIOGRAPHY/FURTHER READING
60
Disclaimer
All information contained in this publication and any further information, advice, recommendation or assistance given by Qenos either orally or
in writing in relation to the contents of this publication is given in good faith and is believed by Qenos to be as accurate and up-to-date as possible.
The information is offered solely for your information and is not all-inclusive. The user should conduct its own investigations and satisfy itself as to
whether the information is relevant to the users requirements. The user should not rely upon the information in any way. The information shall not
be construed as representations of any outcome. Qenos expressly disclaims liability for any loss, damage, or injury (including any loss arising out of
negligence) directly or indirectly suffered or incurred as a result of or related to anyone using or relying on any of the information, except to the
extent Qenos is unable to exclude such liability under any relevant legislation. Freedom from patent rights must not be assumed.
PART A. FILM EXTRUSION

The major application for low density polyethylene (LDPE)
and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE), including
metallocene LLDPE (mLLDPE), is in film packaging. High
density polyethylene (HDPE) is also used in film packaging.
Alkathene LDPE, Alkatuff LLDPE, Alkamax mLLDPE and
Alkatane HDPE film grades are specifically designed for
the extrusion of blown and cast film and for ease in the
subsequent conversion of the film.
For further details on the properties of Alkathene

and Alkatuff film grades, readers are referred to the
accompanying publication: General Properties.
GRADE SELECTION FOR FILM EXTRUSION

Alkathene, Alkatuff, Alkamax and Alkatane film polymer
grades cover a wide range of Melt Flow Index (MFI)*
and density and are specially formulated with additive
packages to ensure they meet the processing, handling
andend use requirements of the many film applications.
Alkathene LDPE film grades are supplied over the range
of MFI between 0.3 and 6 g/10 min and density between
0.920 and 0.925 g/cm3. Several base polymer film grades
contain no additives, but most grades supplied for
packaging film are formulated with a stabiliser package,
an antiblocking additive, a slip additive, and, if required,
an antistatic additive.
Alkatuff LLDPE film grades are supplied over the range
ofMFI between 0.8 and 2.5 g/10 min and density between
0.918 and 0.935 g/cm3. These grades are formulated with
a stabiliser package and, if required a process aid, an
antiblocking additive and a slip additive.
Alkamax mLLDPE film grades are supplied with MFI of
1 g/10 min and density between 0.917 and 0.926 g/cm3.
These grades are formulated with a stabiliser package,
aprocess aid, and, if required, an antiblocking additive
and a slip additive.
HDPE grades for film extrusion are supplied with MFI of
0.1 to 0.8 g/10 min and density of 0.949 and 0.960 g/cm3.
Grades for film extrusion are continually being developed to
meet customer requirements and formulations not limited
by the above ranges may be possible.
The end use properties of film will depend upon the
MFI and density of the polyethylene used. The diagram in
Figure 1 indicates the effects of changes in the MFI and
density on the properties of polyethylene film. Low MFI is
desirable for good impact strength but extrusion is more
difficult. Increasing the density leads to improved stiffness
and higher tensile strength, but will reduce the machine
direction tear strength (the film becomes very splitty).
* For the purposes of convenience, MFI, in this document is defined as
the mass of polymer (measured in grams) extruded at 190C through
the die in 10 minutes under a load of 2.16 kg
Figure 1: Effect of Changes in MFI and Density on

Properties of Polyethylene Film
Comparison of Product Types and Classes

In the previous section, the effects of melt flow index and
density were outlined. Another dimension that determines
the polymer performance is the class of polyethylene. In
the General Properties publication, the main classes of
polyethylene were described: LDPE, LLDPE, mLLDPE and
HDPE.
It is possible to have an LDPE, an LLDPE and an mLLDPE
with the same melt flow index and density. In films, these
different classes of PE produce different film properties,
even if the MFI and density are equivalent.
Compared to Alkathene LDPE, an Alkatuff LLDPE with
similar MFI and density will typically produce films with
Higher stiffness
Higher tensile strength at break
Higher tear strength
Higher puncture resistance
Better heat sealing properties, superior hot tack
Higher impact strength, especially at low temperatures
Higher softening point and hence higher heat resistance
Better drawdown
An Alkamax mLLDPE, also with similar MI and density,

will typically produce films with
Blending of Alkatuff LLDPE, Alkamax mLLDPE

and Alkathene LDPE
Much higher impact strength
Alkatuff LLDPE, Alkamax mLLDPE and Alkathene LDPE

are normally compatible. Linear-rich blends or LDPE- rich
blends are widely used in film applications. Blends
containing 40 60% LDPE are not so common.
Further improved heat sealing properties, especially

hot tack performance
On the other hand, the Alkathene LDPE will typically show
the following benefits
Addition of LDPE to LLDPE or mLLDPE improves several

properties, including processing and optical properties.
Such linear rich blends have rheological properties
intermediate between those of the two polymers and their
processing performance is modified sufficiently to improve
the film processing with little loss in the desirable
mechanical properties.
Lower extruder power consumption

Lower melt temperature
Lower tendency to suffer from melt fracture
Improved bubble stability
Higher film clarity
Alkatane HDPE grades have significantly higher density
than LDPE and LLDPE grades. As shown in Figure 1, films
produced with HDPE will typically show
In particular, a small addition of LDPE to LLDPE makes

the LLDPE less sensitive to disturbances and significantly
decreases the tendency for bubble instability.
Much higher stiffness
The blending of a small amount of LDPE into LLDPE also

gives a considerable improvement to the gloss and haze
of the film.
Much higher yield strength

Improved creep resistance
Lower permeability to gases
Table 1 below summarises some key differences typically
observed between films produced with different classes
of PE.
For these reasons, different classes of PE are often
combined in a film to obtain the best balance of properties
for the application. Products can be combined by blending
and by coextrusion.
As would be expected, the properties of the linear-rich

blends are modified slightly away from those of LLDPE or
mLLDPE towards those of LDPE but generally this is not a
serious disadvantage. At the other end of the scale, small
amounts of Alkatuff LLDPE or Alkamax mLLDPE (less than
40%) blended into Alkathene LDPE improve processability,
with enhanced tensile properties, stiffness, puncture
resistance and heat sealability which may allow the benefits
of down gauging.
Further details of the properties of blends are given in
later sections.
Table 1: Comparison of Film Properties for the Different Classes of PE

Property
LDPE
LLDPE
mLLDPE
HDPE
Haze
Low
Medium
Medium
High
Tensile Strength
Low
Medium
Medium
High
Elongation
Medium
Very High
Very High
High
Tear Resistance
Medium
Variable
Variable
Low
Impact Strength
High
High
Very High
Variable
Puncture Resistance
Low
Very High
Very High
Medium
Hot tack
Low
High
Very high
NA
Blending of HDPE with LLDPE and LDPE

Some film applications require a combination of stiffness
and toughness, which may be achieved by blending LLDPE
or mLLDPE with HDPE. For example, addition of LLDPE to
HDPE will improve impact strength, tear resistance and can
improve sealing properties. Even greater improvements are
typically achieved if mLLDPE is used. Alternatively, addition
of HDPE to LLDPE or mLLDPE will improve stiffness and
creep resistance, with some sacrifice of toughness
properties.
The choice of HDPE grade depends on the film properties
required. Where toughness and creep resistance are
important, a low MFI grade is preferred. However, in some
extrusion lines, low MFI HDPE grades may not mix well with
higher MFI LLDPE grades. In this case, a higher MFI grade of
HDPE may be necessary. The higher MFI grade of HDPE will
still improve the film stiffness, but there will be a reduction
in film toughness.
For some applications, a blend of HDPE, LLDPE and LDPE
may be required. Typical examples may include films where
a low proportion of HDPE is added to a blend of LLDPE and
LDPE to improve stiffness or creep resistance. As noted
in the previous section, the appropriate HDPE grade
depends on the toughness required and the extrudability.
Combinations including LDPE and low MFI HDPE are
more prone to show poor dispersion. Hence, some work
may be required to find the optimum blend and extrusion
conditions for the application and extrusion line.
Coextrusion
Coextrusion of multiple layers within a film can increase
the options available in designing films. For example, each
layer can be optimised to perform a different function.
Examples include:
By taking advantage of some of these options, significant

cost savings can be achieved. These cost savings are
typically achieved by
Minimising the amount of expensive resins required
Allowing downgauging
Replacing more expensive laminate products
A full explanation of film structures is beyond the scope
of this guide. Please contact your Qenos Technical Service
representative for further information.
FILM EXTRUSION TECHNOLOGY

Process Description
The blown film extrusion process is illustrated in Figure 2.
Polymers are typically conveyed to the extrusion line by
a vacuum conveying system. The feed system typically
contains a number of hoppers for receiving different resins
and a mixing system for blending multiple resins. Modern
lines typically have gravimetric systems for controlling the
blending process and also for metering the resins to the
extruders. In the extrusion process, homogeneous polymer
melt delivered at a constant rate from one or more extruder
screws is extruded through an annular die to
give a tube of controlled diameter and wall thickness.
Upward vertical extrusion is almost universally used,
but downward or horizontal extrusion is employed in some
circumstances. The extruded melt is air-cooled in the
vicinity of the die via a cooling ring and the tube of film
is inflated to a bubble of the required diameter by air
introduced through the centre of the die mandrel. The film
is hauled off between a pair of nip rolls so that a constant
volume of inflation air is contained within the bubble
formed between the nip rolls and the die.
A surface layer for sealing may contain an excellent

sealing resin such as metallocene
Non-sealing layers may contain a higher density blend
to provide stiffness without affecting sealing
Antiblocking additives can be added to only the surface
where they are required
Stretch wrap film can be produced with high cling
on only one side
In some cases, film can be produced with more slip
on one side
High gloss surfaces can be produced
Films can be produced with high barrier resins
(e.g. Nylon, EVOH)
Incompatible resins can be used in different layers
Figure 3: A Modern Blown Film Coextrusion Line with

5 Extruders
Blown Film Parameters
Figure 2: Blown Film Line Schematic Diagram

For a given die diameter, the diameter of the bubble
and hence the layflat width of the film (the width of the
flattened tube) is determined by the amount of inflation
air introduced. The thickness of the film depends on the
output from the extruder, the bubble blow-up ratio and the
film haul-off rate. Thus, by variation of these parameters,
a range of film layflat widths and thicknesses can be
produced from the one die.
The parameters of the blown film process are illustrated

in Figure 4. The final characteristics of the film are its
thickness in microns (t) and its layflat width in millimetres
(LFW). The parameters of the extrusion process are the
mass output rate of the extruder in kilograms per hour (G),
the bubble diameter in millimetres (D) and the line speed or
haul-off rate in metres per minute (V). The extruder is fitted
with an annular die of fixed diameter in millimetres (d) and
a die gap in millimetres (h).
After the bubble has been collapsed in a collapsing frame

and flattened through the nip rolls, the layflat film is wound
up under constant tension either as tubular film or after
slitting into sheet film. If the film is to be printed, then it
is necessary to treat the film surface before winding by
means of corona discharge treatment, in order to obtain
good adhesion of the printing inks.
This process is basic to the extrusion of film from all film
grades, including blends and coextruded multilayer films
(see Figure 3). However, some differences in the equipment
and extrusion conditions are necessary for optimum
extrusion of different types of polymers; these differences
are discussed more fully in later sections.
Figure 4: Parameters of Blown Film Extrusion Process

(MD = Machine Direction, TD = Transverse Direction)
Some useful calculations for this process are shown in the

following equations. The significance of these terms will be
explained in later sections.
Blow-up Ratio (BUR) =

Bubble diameter (D) = 2 LFW

d
Die diameter (d)
(Note that LFW should be measured before any trimming

or slitting occurs)
Blow-up Ratio should not be confused with the less common
term Blow Ratio
Blow Ratio (BR) =
LFW
d
Drawdown Ratio (DDR) is a measure of the degree of

machine direction orientation.
1000 h
Draw Down Ratio (DDR) =
t BUR
An approximate output can be calculated from the film

dimensions and extrusion parameters:
Output =
2 t LFW
60 V
1000 1000
In summary, Alkathene LDPE polymers have a relatively

broad molecular weight distribution with 1 to 5 long chain
branches per 1,000 carbon atoms. On the other hand,
Alkatane HDPE, Alkatuff LLDPE and Alkamax mLLDPE
polymers have a narrow molecular weight distribution and
no long chain branching. The polymers also differ in their
short chain branching characteristics; this does not affect
their rheology but accounts for significant differences in the
crystallinity and mechanical properties of the polymers.
These structural differences lead to significant variations
in the shear viscosity, extensional viscosity, melt elasticity
and flow behaviour between the polymers.
Flow in Shear
The melt flow behaviour in shear is represented by a flow
curve of shear viscosity vs. shear rate or shear stress.
Typical flow curves for two Alkathene LDPE and two
Alkatuff LLDPE polymers are given in Figure 5. These
flow curves demonstrate the shear thinning nature of
polyethylene, i.e. the shear viscosity decreases as the
shear rate or flow rate increases.
where is the average resin density in grams per cubic

centimetre.
Be aware that small discrepancies in the output can arise
due to stretching or relaxation of the film between the
measurement of the line speed and measurement of the
film dimensions.
In coextruded films, the output formula can also be applied
to the individual layers.
RHEOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS
The processing of PE as blown film involves a consideration
of the rheological characteristics of the polymer. Processes
for extruding LDPE film have been developed over many
years. With the advent of HDPE in the 1960s and then
LLDPE in the late 1970s, an understanding of the
differences in rheological performance between the
polymers was vital for adapting the LDPE processes and
developing new technology which was optimum for the
new polyethylenes.
The rheological differences between the product types are
evident as dissimilarities in their behaviour during blown
film extrusion processing. These differences basically arise
because of differences in their molecular structure. This
has been outlined in the publication: General Properties.
10
Figure 5: Variation of Shear Viscosity with Shear Rate

for Alkathene LDPE and Alkatuff LLDPE Polymers at 190C
Several observations can be made from these flow curves,
for the range of shear rates normally encountered during
extrusion (100 to 500 sec-1) and for polymers of similar MFI
and density:
The shear viscosity of the Alkatuff LLDPE polymer is
significantly higher than that of Alkathene LDPE at the
same shear rate. In fact, an MFI 0.45 g/10 min Alkathene
LDPE has lower viscosity than an MFI 1.0 g/10 min
Alkatuff LLDPE. This means that the LLDPE will be much
more viscous and require greater torque to extrude

than the LDPE at the same temperature. Consequently,
higher extrusion temperatures and extruders with
greater horsepower are required for LLDPE resins.
The Alkathene LDPE curves have steeper slopes than
the Alkatuff LLDPE curves, i.e. Alkathene LDPE polymers
are more shear thinning. This is because of the wider
molecular weight distribution and the presence of long
chain branching (LCB) in the Alkathene LDPE polymers.
This difference also means that LLDPE has substantially
better melt pumping efficiency (e.g. output per screw
revolution) than the LDPE during extrusion, with lower
drop-off in output as the head pressure increases.
On the positive side, the lower extensional viscosity and

reduced tendency to strain-harden mean that Alkatuff
LLDPE, Alkamax mLLDPE and Alkatane HDPE polymers are
much easier to draw down to thin gauges and can tolerate
some contamination in the melt without film breakage.
The behaviour of Alkatane HDPE and Alkamax mLLDPE

resins are similar to Alkatuff LLDPE resins, though the Melt
Flow Index also plays a role.
Extensional Flow
During the bubble blowing process, the polymer melt
exiting the die is being stretched or drawn with the melt
undergoing extensional flow. Typical strain rates during
blown film extrusion are between 0.01 and 3 sec-1.
This extensional flow also contributes to the molecular
orientation in the melt which is frozen-in at the freeze
line and affects the final film properties such as tear
strength. The viscosity of the polymer undergoing
extensional flow is also important in film extrusion as
it relates to the melt strength.
Flow curves of extensional viscosity vs. extension or strain
have been measured. Lower MFI grades typically have
higher extensional viscosity at the same strain. However
the type of polymer is also important. Some examples are
shown in Figure 6 for polyethylenes of the Alkathene LDPE
and Alkatuff LLDPE type with equivalent MFI; the following
descriptions apply to polymers with similar MFI.
Of particular importance is that Alkathene LDPE because of
its broad molecular weight distribution and long chain
branching is tension-stiffening or strain hardening, i.e. the
extensional viscosity increases at higher strain. At high
strains, the Alkathene LDPE has much higher extensional
viscosity than Alkatuff LLDPE. This can be described as a
higher melt strength.
By comparison, linear polymers including Alkatuff LLDPE,
Alkamax mLLDPE and Alkatane HDPE have a lower
extensional viscosity and show a much reduced tendency
to strain-harden. These differences have important
implications in the processing behaviour of these polymers.
The linear polymers will typically show reduced bubble
stability in film extrusion.
Figure 6: Extensional Viscosity of Alkathene LDPE and

Alkatuff LLDPE Type Polyethylene (MFI 2) at 150C and
0.1 sec-1 Strain Rate
Melt Relaxation
LLDPE and HDPE have a much lower melt elasticity than LDPE
at similar MFI, because of their lack of long chain branching
and fewer large molecules. This difference also contributes
significantly to the lower degree of molecular orientation
frozen-in to Alkatuff LLDPE and Alkamax mLLDPE films
compared to Alkathene LDPE films at the freeze line and
affects the final film properties such as tear strength.
Surface Melt Fracture

A processing difficulty which is observed with narrow
molecular weight distribution polymers like LLDPE is that
above a critical flow rate they are prone to an extrudate
surface roughness defect called sharkskin or surface melt
fracture. This roughness first shows as a loss of gloss.
As the flow rate increases, the sharkskin defect becomes
worse. It is characterised by a series of parallel ripples on
the surface of the extruded product and in film by curled
elongated ridges. The critical shear rate at which this problem
is first observed decreases (i.e. the problem gets worse) as the
MFI of the polymer decreases and the temperature is reduced.
11
Sharkskin is an interface phenomenon and arises because

of a change in the flow pattern of the polymer at the die wall
and exit. There are two possible theories to explain its cause.
The molten and compacted polymer is then forced through

an annular die as a thin tubular film, cooled and hauled off
by nip rolls.
The first postulates that slippage of the flowing melt at the

die wall occurs at a critical shear stress, due to a loss of
intimate contact or a breakdown of adhesion of the melt
to the die surface in the die land region. This creates a
slip-stick effect at the interface and this is responsible
for the observed melt fracture. In fact slip velocity
measurements in the die land show a sharp increase
with increasing flow rate or shear stress and this slip is
invariably associated with surface irregularities for LLDPE.
The adhesion of the melt to the die land is dependent on the
nature (roughness) of the surface, the type of metal used
for the die, and the polymer itself.
Many different designs and sizes of extruders are used for

the production of film (see Figure 7).
The second theory attributes the sharkskin to the sudden

acceleration of the surface layer of melt, due to the change
in the velocity distribution that takes place as the melt
leaves the die lips and accelerates to the speed of the haul
off. If the surface stresses exceed the tensile strength of
the melt, tearing at the surface results, leading to the
sharkskin-type surface roughness.
Figure 7: Schematic Diagram of a Single Screw Extruder
Several approaches can be used to delay the onset of

the surface melt fracture. Extrusion can be carried out
below the critical shear rate, by using wide die gap
technology. Alternatively the melt temperature can be
raised. The metal used for manufacturing the die can be
chosen so that slippage is less likely. Another approach is
to incorporate a suitable adhesion promoter or processing
aid which modifies the flow pattern at the die surface and
delays the onset of the melt fracture. Addition of LDPE
or increasing the level of LDPE may also reduce melt
fracture. These approaches are discussed later in the
section Wide Die Gap Extrusion (see p. 16).
The power of the motor to drive the extruder screw must

be adequate to develop heat energy as well as supply the
torque necessary to extrude the most viscous grades of
polymer. This is particularly relevant to the extrusion of
LLDPE, which because of its much higher shear viscosity
than LDPE polymers, will require more horsepower, and
will develop greater pressure and higher melt temperature.
Hence, extruders should be designed for LLDPE. With
adequately powered extruders, near-adiabatic operation
is possible, i.e. the heat energy produced by the screw is
almost sufficient to raise and maintain the temperature
of the melt.
THE EXTRUSION PROCESS
Heating and Cooling the Barrel
Extrusion is the basic process for converting pelletised

raw material into an homogeneous melt for delivery to a
die and forming into the final shaped product, in this case
a thin blown film.
The extruder barrel is fitted with a continuous wear

resistant hardened-steel or alloy liner. The barrel is heated
in several zones along its length, generally by electrical
resistance heater bands controlled through automatic
temperature controllers. Integral barrel cooling is provided
for removing excessive heat, with water or air as the cooling
medium. The throat section of the barrel is also watercooled to prevent premature partial melting of the pellets
and bridging in the feed hopper.
The extruder consists essentially of a cylindrical heated

barrel within which rotates a close-fitting Archimedean
screw. The polyethylene pellets are fed to one end of the
screw from a feed-hopper and are forced forward by the
rotating screw, being melted partly by heat conducted
through the walls of the barrel from external heater bands
and partly by frictional heat generated by the shearing
action of the screw.
12
The principles of the extrusion are described in the

accompanying publication: Extrusion, but a few important
features will be covered below.
Extruder Drive System
To ensure that the temperature conditions are met, it

is necessary to measure the melt temperature with a
thermocouple inserted into the melt in the head adaptor
section of the extruder. It is also recommended that a melt
pressure transducer is fitted before the extruder breaker
plate/screen pack to record the back pressure and assess
the homogenising capacity of the screw.
With LDPE polymers, extrusion is generally carried out with a
gradual temperature increase along the length of the barrel.
Because of its higher melting point and higher viscosity,
Alkatuff LLDPE polymers need a higher melt temperature
than Alkathene LDPE polymers. Reverse or flat temperature
profiles are often recommended, to give more heat input
(higher temperatures) in the feed zone and lower
temperatures in the metering zone.
The optimum melt temperature and an indication of
the temperature profile at which a polymer should be
processed are often quoted in data sheets. However the
temperature profile needs to be established specifically for
each particular application as it will vary according to the
type of extrusion equipment, the polymer type being
extruded and its MFI.
SCREW DESIGN
The most important part of the extruder is the screw, and
its design must be such that a high output of homogeneous
melt can be fed to the die at a constant rate and pressure
with a uniform temperature and viscosity. The functions of
the screw are to collect the polymer pellets from the feed
hopper, convey them forward, cause them to be melted,
at the same time compress and homogenise the melt, and
then deliver it to the die.
Most extruder screws have a length: diameter (L/D) ratio

of at least 20:1 in order to achieve the maximum degree
of mixing, although some older machines with lower L/D
ratios still exist. Many modern machines have L/D ratios
ranging from 24:1 to 30:1.
The polymer is compressed in the screw by a progressive
reduction in depth and hence volume of the screw channel
between the feed zone and the metering zone. The
compression ratio is the ratio between the volume of the
first channel in the feed zone and that of the last channel in
the metering zone. For standard screws the compression
ratios range from 2.5:1 to 4.5:1 whilst for grooved screws
the compression ratio tends to be lower e.g. 1.5:1. Care is
required in screw selection to ensure a good compression
ratio in order to prevent any inhomogeneities in the melt.
Modified and High Performance Screws

From the basic screw design described above, various
manufacturers have developed refinements which include
double flights, variable pitch, mixing pins, decompression
zones between two compression zones, interrupted flight
patterns and other devices to improve mixing efficiency.
Refinements such as these lead to reductions in shear
stresses and power requirements and can alleviate
overheating problems.
Barrier Flighted Screws

Given how critical optimised melting is for the stability
of the extrusion process, in particular for fast and high
throughput extruders, high performance Barrier Type
screws have been developed. These screws incorporate
a barrier flight further down the extruder, effectively
introducing a second screw channel (see Figure 9).
Conventional Screw Design

The basic design for a single-flight screw of the
conventional polyethylene type incorporates three
distinct zones or sections along its length: the feed zone,
the compression zone and the metering zone. This design is
illustrated in Figure 8 and more details are given in the
publication: Extrusion.
Figure 9: Principle of Barrier Flighted Screw
Figure 8: Conventional Polyethylene Type Screw
13
The main objective of a barrier flight is to separate already

molten resin from unmelted solid polymer. The layer of
molten resin against the wall is kept thin, ensuring high
shear rates and heat generation in the melt. Separation
of the melt into a dedicated, deeper channel also prevents
the melt from being over worked by the screw and receiving
unnecessary shear heating.
Many manufacturers also supply screws fitted with a high
shear mixing section just behind the screw tip for added
homogenisation, increased output and a more uniform melt
temperature (see Figure 10). More information about these
modified screws is given in the Extrusion publication.
The grooves extend from the feed zone located under the
hopper to a point approximately 4 diameters along the
extruder length. The resultant high pressure at the end
of the grooved section also greatly facilitates melting of the
polymer. For optimum feeding, this type of feed zone must
not get too hot since this would cause the pellets to soften
prematurely, clog the grooves and output will then drop.
Grooved zones are provided with water cooling to guard
against over-heating.
Further details about grooved feed sections can be found in
the Extrusion guide.
FILM EXTRUSION DIES

The functions of the blown film die are to meter the polymer
melt at constant pressure and uniform rate, and
to transform it into a thin-walled tube, while maintaining
uniformity of the melt temperature. For more information
on extrusion dies, refer to the Extrusion publication.
Figure 10: 24:1 L/D Decreasing Pitch Metering Screw
Extruder Head
The extruder head at the delivery end of the barrel contains
a screen pack consisting of one or more wire mesh screens
between 40 mesh and 100 mesh, supported on a breaker
plate. The screen pack is used to increase the back pressure
in the metering zone and thus enhance the homogenisation
of the melt, and also to prevent contamination from entering
the die and the finished product.
For blown film extrusion, the die comprises a metal

outer body and an internal mandrel to form an annular
aperture through which the molten polymer is forced to
produce a tubular extrudate. The lips of the die are in
the form of hardened-steel rings which can be integral
with the mandrel and body but more often are bolted on
to allow for replacement.
The die is heated to maintain uniform melt temperature.
Air for inflating the film bubble is introduced via a channel
in the core of the mandrel.
A screen-changer apparatus is generally used to insert

fresh screens into the melt and prevent excessive pressure
build up from contaminants. These screen-changers may
be of the slide-plate or continuous variety.
An adaptor fitted to the head acts as the attachment point
for the extrusion die. The head and adaptor are heated to
keep the temperature of the melt constant, and should be
streamlined to prevent any hold-up of material which may
crosslink or degrade and eventually slough off into the
melt stream.
Grooved Feed Section

Small grooves in the feed section of the barrel, generally
longitudinal but sometimes helical, are employed to
improve the conveying capacity of the screw feed section.
Figure 11: Basic Film Extrusion Dies
14
Types of Film Die
Spiral Mandrel Dies
Film dies are either side-fed or bottom-fed, as illustrated

in Figure 11. In both these designs the die lips can be
adjusted relative to the fixed mandrel in order to allow
uniform melt flow from the die.
One method used for increasing back pressure in the die is

by grooving the mandrel in a spiral manner to make the melt
path more tortuous. Developments in die design for film
extrusion have led to the spiral mandrel die which is based
on this principle. In this design the melt is fed to the base of
the mandrel of a bottom-fed die, flows via several feed ports
to the side of the die, and then enters a series of narrow
spiral channels or grooves in the mandrel (see Figure 12a
and 12b). These spiral channels gradually decrease in depth
as the melt approaches the die lips, causing the melt to
flow around the spiral, as well as upward in the annular gap
between the die body and the mandrel. The combination of
spiral and upward flow ensures uniform melt velocity around
the circumference of the die at the die lips. Any unbalanced
flow will cause variations in the film thickness.
Die gap adjustment has traditionally been performed

manually at start-up using centring screws around the
circumference of the die and measuring the resulting
film thickness profile with a film micrometer. In more
sophisticated lines, computer feedback of the
continuously-measured film thickness profile allows
automatic adjustment of the die gap, e.g. through
electrically-heated thermal-expansion elements around
the die circumference.
Film thickness or gauge around the bubble can vary if
the die is not centred, is worn, or if the melt is not flowing
uniformly from the die.
Unless corrected, these gauge variations or gauge bands
will affect the quality and appearance of the film, and the
film roll on windup will become tapered or lopsided or have
high spots or ridges. These ridges can subsequently cause
trouble during operations such as adhesive lamination,
printing and sealing. By spreading the thick bands, the
ridging effect will be minimised and the roll appearance
greatly improved. One solution to this problem is by slowly
rotating or oscillating the die, which results in the bands
spiralling or corkscrewing on the bubble, thereby
minimising their effects. This solution was common in early
film lines, but did lead to high maintenance costs. Newer
lines typically have a rotating or oscillating haul-off
system, described below.
There is an inevitable disruption to the flow in both the
types of die shown in Figure 11, since the melt changes
direction and is divided into several streams, by the
mandrel torpedo in the side-fed die and by the mandrel
supporting carrier, or spider, in the bottom-fed die. This
can pose problems of hold-up and subsequent degradation
of the polymer, and failure of the melt streams to knit
properly after coming together, giving weak memory lines
or die-lines in the film. The various measures used to
increase back pressure and overcome these problems is
discussed in the Extrusion publication.
Figure 12a: Schematic Diagram of Spiral Mandrel

Film Dies
Figure 12b: Spiral Mandrel Film Dies illustrating Polymer

Entry Points and Flow Paths
15
Coextrusion Film Dies

The basic principles for coextrusion dies are the same
as for monolayer dies. However, the die design is more
complex as it needs to accommodate a number of different
flow paths. The extruders are positioned around the die and
each stream enters the die at a different point. Like the
dies for monolayer extrusion, coextrusion dies must
distribute each layer uniformly around the circumference.
Some coextrusion dies are based on concentric cylinders.
Each layer is first formed into an annulus before the layers
come together into a single stream and exit the die. Newer
coextrusion dies consist of plates stacked together. In this
design, each layer is first directed through a gap between
two of the plates. Each layer then flows into the central
annulus and the layers come together sequentially.
The rheological properties of the individual component
polymers are very important in influencing how the melt
streams flow together at their interface; any instabilities
that occur at the interface can affect the optical and
mechanical quality of the final film. As a general rule,
the viscosities of two components coming into contact
should be matched. However trials should be carried
out to decide the choice of polymers and extrusion
conditions to be used. As described in the section
Rheological Considerations (see p. 10), the extrusion
temperature has a significant effect on the polymer
rheology. Hence, the temperature settings for each
extruder barrel, each adapter and the die will influence
how the layers combine.
In some lines, one extruder may supply two different layers
in the film. To achieve this, the stream is split inside the die
before the annuli are formed. While this approach reduces
the number of extruders required, a major disadvantage
is that there is very little control over the thicknesses of the
individual layers.
Die Design Principles for LDPE Polymers
Die Design Principles for LLDPE and

mLLDPE Polymers
For film extrusion of LLDPE polymers, the dies used
for LDPE are generally not suitable at high output rates
because of the much higher shear viscosities of the
LLDPE at the shear rates normally encountered in film
extrusion (see Figure 5 and the earlier section Rheological
Considerations).
The effects of the higher viscosity significantly restrict
the extrusion of LLDPE in dies designed for LDPE; excessive
die pressure is generated, the melt temperature rises,
power requirements increase (possibly beyond the
available horsepower of the extruder) and the output rate
must in consequence be reduced. In addition, because
of its narrow molecular weight distribution, LLDPE is more
susceptible to sharkskin or surface melt fracture effects
at much low extrusion rates than LDPE, and these can
lead to a deterioration of the film appearance and optical
quality. For these reasons, the dies optimised for LDPE are
generally unsuitable for the processing of pure LLDPE and
must be modified, or dies specifically manufactured for
LLDPE must be used
The pressure drop across a die can be significantly reduced
by increasing the die gap, decreasing the length of the
die land, and increasing the cross-sectional area of any
internal restrictions or the grooved flow channels on a
spiral mandrel die. These modifications are appropriate for
LLDPE and can be made to existing LDPE dies or can be
included in the design of new dies specifically for LLDPE.
Wide Die Gap Extrusion

An increase in the die gap will allow extrusion of LLDPE at
higher rates without any significant surface melt fracture
effects. This is demonstrated in Figure 13 which shows the
required gap for the onset of melt fracture as a function of
die flow rate and temperature for an MFI 1.0 LLDPE. The
effect of MFI on this critical die gap is shown in Figure 14.
Although both the side-fed and bottom-fed die designs

can be readily used for the extrusion of LDPE film polymers,
the spiral mandrel dies are generally preferred and are
widely used. Better melt uniformity and improved film
quality in terms of optical properties and thickness
variation are obtained.
The die gap can be of varying size but is usually from 0.5 to
1.2 mm. A rough guide for die gaps for the film extrusion of
Alkathene LDPE is 0.5 to 0.8 mm for 50 micron film, and up
to 1.0 mm for thicker gauges.
16
A typical design for the die land for film extrusion of

LLDPE is shown in Figure 15. In this design, the die gap
is between 1.5 and 3.0 mm and there is a restrictor with
a gap of about 1.0 to 2.0 mm. The restrictor is used to
provide some back pressure and so minimise any flow
andfilm thickness irregularities.
Figure 13: Die Gap for Onset of Surface Melt Fracture

as a Function of Die Rate Melt Temperature for an
MFI 1.0 LLDPE
Figure 15: Die Land Design for Wide Gap Extrusion of

LLDPE Film (Rate 1.8 kg/h cm for MFI 2 LLDPE at 210C
Exit Temperature Dimensions in mm)
Figure 14: Die Gap for Onset of Surface Melt Fracture

as a Function of the MFI of the LLDPE. (Die Rate:
2.7 kg/h cm, Melt Temperature 220C)
When modifying a die according to the above principles,
thepractice is to use a trial-and-error approach, by
stepwise increasing the die gap and checking the film
extrusion performance after each change. If the die
pressure is excessive, then the land length can be reduced
to less than 25 mm (e.g. 5 to 20 mm), and the flow channels
opened up. In retrofitting an existing die, it is important to
know the characteristics of the extruder and its maximum
operating conditions.
The criteria for high performance with LLDPE include

balanced melt flow from the die, satisfactory die pressure
drop and output rates, good film appearance with no melt
fracture, and film gauge uniformity. The use of a wide die
gap reduces the shear rate through the die and gives a
greater latitude before the critical shear rate for melt
fracture is exceeded. However there can be several
limitations in using wide die gap extrusion; these are
increased machine direction orientation due to the higher
draw required for a given film thickness, reduced film clarity
because of the slower cooling, and reduced gauge control.
If the die is to be used for both LDPE and LLDPE, then two
separate sets of die lips or mandrels are recommended.
Because of the different extensional viscosities of the two
polymers, LLDPE has a greater capability for drawing in
the melt state from wide die gaps without melt rupture,
whereas LDPE cannot be drawn down to thin gauges.
17
The wider die gaps and lower melt stresses mean that
LLDPE resins are particularly insensitive to contamination
problems. Gels and contamination do not cause bubble
breaks and windows as readily as with LDPE extruded
through narrow gap dies.
Narrow Die Gap Extrusion

Some film producers do use a conventional film die with
a narrow die gap. Unless output rates are low, the use of a
narrow die gap may result in the occurrence of surface melt
fracture with low MFI LLDPEs, as indicated in Figure 14.
Several approaches can be used to delay the onset of the
melt fracture. Obviously, by using wide die gap technology
the extrusion operation takes place at a much lower shear
rate which is below the critical level for the onset of melt
fracture. Higher melt temperatures are also beneficial.
The causes of the surface melt fracture were discussed
earlier (see p. 10). As well as the shear rate or velocity
of flow of the melt through the die gap and the extrusion
temperature, melt fracture is affected by the nature
(roughness) of the die land, the type of metal used for
the die, and the polymer itself. It has been found that the
material of construction for the die land has a significant
effect on the flow patterns that occur at the polymer/metal
interface and the subsequent melt fracture and film
appearance. A die constructed from an alpha brass
composition allowed extrusion at much higher rates than
with mild steel or chrome-plated dies before the onset of
melt fracture. Hence the appropriate choice of the metal
used in manufacturing the die may allow much greater
output rates through narrow gap dies without melt fracture.
Die Design Principles for HDPE Polymers

Spiral mandrel dies are also used for HDPE extrusion.
Where possible, the die should be designed for HDPE.
This is particularly important for the low MFI grades.
Typically, the die gap is between 1 and 1.5 mm to allow
sufficient output rate while generating sufficient back
pressure to homogenise the material.
Use of Processing Aids

A widely-used approach to minimise surface melt fracture
is to incorporate a small quantity of a processing aid in
the LLDPE polymer (less than 0.1 %). The processing aid
is incompatible with the polymer and migrates out of the
melt to form a coating on the metal surface of the die land.
This coating functions by changing the nature of the flow at
the polymer melt/die land interface, acting as a lubricating
layer between the melt and the metal. The net effect of
18
the processing aid is to raise the critical flow rate at which

surface melt fracture appears, thus allowing extrusion at
much higher rates.
Other benefits of using a processing aid are that the die
pressure is reduced, allowing lower extrusion
temperatures, better gauge control and lower horsepower
requirements.
An induction time is required to build up the coating of
processing aid on the die. This means that the die must
be conditioned with processing aid before extrusion of film
product is commenced. This is normally done by extruding
a higher concentration of processing aid masterbatch until
the melt fracture clears. It should be noted that the
processing aid may not coat the die surface very effectively
if the shear stress or flow rate through the die is too low.
Proprietary processing aid additives are produced by
several suppliers and these are generally very effective
in reducing melt fracture effects. Some Qenos grades are
formulated with a processing aid to give melt fracture-free
film at maximum output rates and with minimum
interference of the processing aid with other additives
in the formulation (e.g. the antiblock additive).
If surface melt fracture is obtained with LLDPE polymer
which does not contain any processing aid, or there is
insufficient additive in the polymer, then a small quantity
of processing aid masterbatch can be blended into the
polymer before extrusion to improve the extrusion
performance.
BUBBLE INFLATION
The extruded polyethylene tube on exiting the die is inflated
into a bubble of the desired diameter and film thickness by
means of an internal injection of air introduced through the
die mandrel at a pressure of 15 to 35 kPa. This air is trapped
within the film bubble formed between the die and the nip
rolls. The ratio of the diameter of the bubble relative to the
diameter of the die is known as the blow-up ratio (see
Figure 4).
Blow-up ratios as low as 1.5:1 can be used but these
can lead to excessive machine direction orientation.
Generally blow-up ratios between 2:1 and 3:1 are used.
Higher blow-up ratios may lead to bubble instability
problems and film creasing.
BUBBLE COOLING
The film cooling process is very important because the
cooling can affect the output rate, gauge uniformity, film
density, and a number of film properties. The cooling
system has four main functions:
To remove heat from the melt exiting the die and cool
the film bubble to the solid state, so that it can be
subsequently flattened and wound-up
To stabilise and support the bubble on its exit from
the die and minimise gauge variations
To control the film density and a number of film
properties including impact strength, tear strength
and opticals
To determine the maximum output rate at which the film
can be produced without blocking problems. To prevent
blocking, the temperature of the film reaching the nip
rolls should be less than 40C
As the film exits from the die annulus, it is in the molten
state and must be cooled as soon as possible to stabilise
the bubble and achieve a low degree of crystallinity. The
freeze line or frost line is the ring-shaped zone where the
polymer solidifies after being cooled from the molten state,
and the bubble reaches its final diameter (see Figure 4).
Slow cooling, i.e. a high freeze line, results in a high
crystallinity and a high film density and this can adversely
affect both the optical properties and the impact strength
of the film.
Air Ring Design Principles for LDPE

The basic form of cooling unit is an air ring (Figure 16) which
is fitted above the die. The air ring is designed
to direct an air stream uniformly onto the exterior
circumference of the film bubble as it emerges from the
die. For maximum cooling efficiency, a combination of a
high volume of low pressure air at the highest practical
velocity must be used. It should not be an air blast of such
force as to damage the bubble or to induce flutter. Any
variations in the air temperature or flow rate around the
circumference of the air ring will give rise to non-uniform
cooling rates and as a consequence, irregularities in the
bubble and poor film thickness tolerance.
Figure 16: Cooling Ring for Blown Film Extrusion

Most air ring manufacturers have their own ideas on air ring
design, giving rise to many different effective types.
However, a number of features are basic to their design, in
order to ensure uniform air flow around the circumference
of the ring:
The air inlets are placed symmetrically around the ring,
and are either radial or tangential
Internal baffling within the air ring provides a tortuous
path to equalize the air flow
The air ring outlet is at 60 degrees or 90 degrees to the
horizontal, to maximise cooling efficiency. The desired air
stream is parallel to the bubble surface, and flowing at a
high velocity without deforming the bubble or introducing
any instability to the bubble shape
The air supply should be as cold as possible, and free
from dust, soot, oil droplets and similar contaminants.
An obvious means of increasing cooling efficiency is to use
chilled air, but the air temperature cannot be reduced too
low otherwise condensation problems will be encountered.
Air Ring Design Principles for LLDPE

With conventional air ring designs where the air flow
impinges directly onto the bubble, the LLDPE bubble shape
can be easily distorted below the freeze line and this highly
likely to lead to bubble instability at moderate output rates.
It is thus imperative that modifications are made to the air
ring, or one specifically designed for LLDPE blown film
extrusion is used.
Lower air velocities and higher air volumes are required.
Air flow should be directed roughly parallel to the bubble
surface and remain in contact as long as possible (see
Figure 17). Using chilled air, single-lip air rings based on
these principles have been satisfactory for some
applications with LLDPE, especially at low output rates
(about 1.0 kg/h cm of die circumference).
19
Figure 18: Dual-Lip Venturi Style Air Ring
Figure 17: Parallel Flow Bubble Cooling for LLDPE

Venturi-type air rings will allow an increase in output rate.
In these rings, the air is directed parallel to the bubble
surface in such a way that it causes a partial vacuum
effect on the surface of the bubble, sucking it towards the
air ring and tending to lock it in position; this prevents any
instability occurring and produces a lower freeze line.
Dual-lip air ring designs have proved effective for the film
extrusion of LLDPE polymers and are widely used. These
rings provide enhanced cooling which effectively stabilises
the bubble. A typical design is shown in Figure 18. The air
stream from the cooling ring is divided into two portions by
a forming cone or flow divider, the low-volume low velocity
inner (lower) stream flowing parallel to the bubble surface
to provide initial cooling and to act as a lubricating layer,
and the relatively greater volume of higher velocity air from
the upper lips accelerating the cooling rate. These rings can
also incorporate the venturi design with an extended
chimney. Output rates varying from 1.6 to 2.3 kg/h cm have
been reported using a dual-lip venturi air ring. Again the use
of chilled air is beneficial.
Other variations have also been developed to improve
cooling.
20
A venturi-type air ring with an extended tubular shield or

collar can be used to promote acceleration of the air flow
past the bubble after leaving the air ring and create a
partial vacuum. The shield can extend some two-thirds
of the freeze line height.
Multiple or stacked cooling rings can be used to improve
bubble stability and increase output rates. Improvements
in output rates can be up to 50% (for LLDPE). The freeze line
is usually determined by the primary air ring. The remaining
rings serve mainly as after-coolers to remove residual heat,
and are mounted above the primary ring,
at a point where they do not interfere with cooling from
the conventional cooling ring. The extra cooling rings are
useful when the output is limited by the film still being
warm enough to block badly when it passes through the nip
rolls, for example, with thick film and low nip roll height.
Regardless of the air ring design, the air flow exiting the air
lips must be uniform to 0.5 % around the circumference,
otherwise gauge and layflat uniformity will be difficult to
maintain.
Air Ring Design Principles for HDPE

HDPE rich films, particularly those based on low MI grades,
are typically extruded with a long stalk or high neck. This
gives the polymer chains more time to be drawn in the
machine direction, which allows a thinner gauge to be
achieved. Older air ring designs were similar to LDPE air
rings where the air was directed vertically; the long stalk
was achieved by using a low flow rate of air. Newer designs
have been optimised for HDPE and can achieve significantly
higher output rates, while still maintaining the long stalk.
Internal Bubble Cooling (IBC) Systems
Bubble Stability
One of the methods for increasing the cooling efficiency

and hence the output rate of blown film production is to use
internal cooling of the bubble as well as the external
air cooling system. There are a number of variants to
internal cooling, from introducing cold air into the bubble,
to sophisticated internal bubble coolers (IBCs) which are
mounted on the die and utilise a heat exchanger and blower
fan system to provide refrigerated cooling air to
the internal surface of the bubble (see Figure 19).
LLDPE polymers give a much less stable film bubble than

LDPE polymers. The instability with LLDPE may take the
form of low or high frequency vertical oscillations, or a
corkscrew motion or the bubble may actually sag onto the
air ring.
The use of internal bubble cooling is effective when

extruding LLDPE. Output rates up to 3.5 kg/h cm of die
circumference without any bubble instability can be
obtained, by using dual-lip air rings together with an IBC.
At these high output rates, large die gaps and/or use of
processing aids are required to eliminate melt fracture
effects, and chilling of the die lips must be avoided.
This arises because of the difference in the extensional

rheology between the two polymers (see p. 10). LDPE is
strain-hardening and any disturbances are self-restricting,
whereas LLDPE has a much reduced tendency to strain
harden, a lower resistance to deformation, and as a
consequence is more sensitive to any disturbances in
the bubble.
This comparison is further illustrated in Figure 20, which
shows the tension developed in the bubble as a function
of haul-off speed for several LDPE and LLDPE film grades;
the lower tension with LLDPE produces less dampening of
any disturbances, and hence bubble instability occurs.
Figure 20: Bubble Tension vs. Haul-off Speed for LDPE

and LLDPE Extrusion
Figure 19: A Picture of the Air Ring and IBC with a
Collar Extension (Courtesy of Macchi North America
Plastic Machinery Inc.)
In addition, the melt temperature for LLDPE extrusion

may be greater because of its higher viscosity. This factor
contributes to a reduced cooling efficiency and a higher
freeze line. The consequence of the bubble instability
and the more difficult cooling is that production rates
with LLDPE are limited by the cooling stage of the process.
21
The use of an LLDPE grade with a lower MFI will improve

bubble stability, as will a reduction in melt temperature.
In many applications, a small quantity (10 to 20%) of LDPE
polymer is blended into the LLDPE to alter its rheological
response and improve bubble stability.
Aspects of bubble stability have been discussed above
in relation to bubble cooling, and especially for LLDPE
film extrusion. Bubble instability can also arise by the use
of high blow-up ratios, a long stalked bubble or very high
nip rolls. It may not always be acceptable to modify these
extrusion conditions, so alternate procedures are used
to help stabilize the bubble.
Freely-rotating guide rolls, iris diaphragms, or specially
designed guide cages can be located immediately after
the freeze line and before the collapsing frame, to correct
any tendency for the bubble to wander in the film tower.
Gusseting
For a number of applications, gusseted layflat film is
required for the production of polyethylene bags. Gusseting
is achieved by means of narrow wedges or plates which are
located within the angle formed by the collapsing frames;
these plates are forced into opposite sides of the bubble
just before the film passes into the nip rolls, so that it folds
in on itself. The gusseting attachments, which can be made
from wood or metal, should have smooth surfaces and
rounded edges to avoid scratching of the film (see Figure 21).
Handling of LLDPE film in the film tower and nip rolls
is similar to that for LDPE film, although LLDPE is not
as forgiving as LDPE and is more prone to stretching
and wrinkling.
COLLAPSING THE BUBBLE

Prior to entering the nip rolls, the film bubble is collapsed
into a flattened tube by means of a pair of angled collapsing
frames or boards (sometimes called the A-frame or bat
wings). These can take various forms and can be either
of solid or hollow construction, or in the form of rollers.
Friction between the film and the surfaces of the collapsing
system should not be too high, as this will cause dragging
or grabbing of the film, giving rise to wrinkles and
creasing. This effect becomes more noticeable if the film
is hot or the area of contact between the boards and the
film is too large. It can largely be overcome by slightly
roughening the surfaces or using coatings to reduce heat
build-up and film drag.
Each collapsing frame should be aligned tangentially to
the nip roll and positioned symmetrically relative to the
vertical. The angle between the frames should not exceed
45 degrees. This angle is suited to the manufacture of light
gauge film as the short contact time between the film and
the frames tends to discourage the formation of wrinkles. For
heavy gauge film which has a relatively low degree of drag,
the angle between the frames can be considerably less.
Figure 21: A Picture of Film Gusseting with Wood Slat

Collapsing Frame
Air flotation collapsing systems can be used to provide

nearly frictionless forming surfaces and minimize wrinkling
and creasing in film products likely to have excessive drag,
e.g. stretch wrap films.
22
Nip Rolls
The collapsed bubble passes through nip rolls which
flatten the tubular film before the wind-up stage, trap the
inflation air in the film bubble, and regulate the take-off
speed of the film. The nip roll assembly comprises two
rollers, typically one constructed of steel and the other
covered with a resilient material such as rubber, to take
up flaws in the film.
The nip rolls should be mounted vertically above the
extrusion die, at a height of at least two metres, and
directly in line with the collapsing frames. When only the
conventional air cooling ring is used for cooling the film,
the height of the nip rolls above the die has a marked effect
on the film production speed, more after-cooling being
obtained with higher nip rolls. However very high
nip rolls can lead to bubble instability, especially when
extruding LLDPE polymers.
The pressure between the two rolls should be even
along their length and just sufficient to maintain the steady
linear take-off speed and prevent escape of air from the
film bubble. If the nip roll pressure is too high, blocking and
weak edge-folds will result. Blocking will also occur if the
film entering the nip rolls is too hot.
The individual rollers must be kept in good condition and be
correctly aligned. Worn or incorrectly set rollers can lead to
various problems, including:
External marking on the film due to scratches or burrs
on the rolls
Escape of inflation air from the bubble caused by wear
and poor alignment of the rolls. This will lead to a loss
of bubble diameter. Any air entrapped between the two
thicknesses of the layflat tube will result in reverse-side
treatment of the film
Creasing and wrinkling due to uneven wear of the
nip rolls
Creasing and wrinkling due to poor alignment of the
nip rolls with the extrusion die and collapsing frames
Oscillating Haul-off
Film thickness or gauge around the bubble can vary if
the die is not centred, is worn, or if the melt is not flowing
uniformly from the die. Unless corrected, these gauge
variations or gauge bands will affect the quality and
appearance of the film, and the film roll on windup will
become tapered or lopsided or have high spots or ridges.
Early film lines overcame this problem by oscillating the die.
However, a cheaper more reliable method is used in newer

film lines. The top nip rolls are mounted on a platform that
oscillates over a range of at least 180 every few minutes.
A series of rollers, including some mounted at a 45 angle,
allow the film to be carried from the rotating platform to
the fixed platform. The rollers in this system must be
correctly aligned and well maintained to prevent wrinkles
and creases forming in the film.
Slitting
If sheet film is required, the layflat is slit at its edges or at
any points across its width to form a number of reels of the
desired size. The edge trim and off-cuts so formed can be
removed with a vacuum system. The amount of this scrap
should be minimised to reduce waste and it is often
prudent to reclaim it.
Slitting is normally accomplished using very sharp blades or
rotating cutters. Because of the greater toughness and
elongation of LLDPE films, slitting is more difficult than with
LDPE films. LLDPE films require a very sharp blade to ensure
clean cutting and are not as tolerant to a blunted blade as
LDPE films. Blade life can be increased significantly by
coating the cutting edge with a titanium alloy or tungsten
carbide (see Film Conversion section p. 50). Where the film
can ride along the edge of the slitting blade, a 30 degree
angle between the film and the cutting edge is desirable.
As with slitting, perforating and hole-punching operations
on LLDPE films also require very sharp cutting edges to
obtain clean cuts. This particularly applies to thin films.
FILM WIND-UP
The final operation of the blown film process is the windingup of the film. As there is invariably some shrinkage of the
film after it has been wound-up, the winding tension must
be controlled to preclude the film being too tightly wound
on the roll. Excessive tension can induce pressure blocking
between film layers, may cause ripples in the film when
unreeled, and, in severe cases, lead to telescoping of the
roll or collapse of the core. Slack winding allows the film to
telescope off the roll, especially if slip agent is present.
Because of the inherent greater extensibility of LLDPE film,
strict attention must be given to the precise control of the
web tension in order to avoid stretching the film (especially
thin film) at high web tensions.
Winding systems are designed to permit a constant winding
tension as the film builds up on the roll. Both surface
(contact) and centre winding can be used, but contact
winders are the standard.
23
SUMMARY OF DIFFERENCES IN EXTRUSION

EQUIPMENT FOR LDPE AND LLDPE
The following are the essential differences required in the
extrusion of LLDPE compared with LDPE:
Greater motor power, up to 0.33 kWh/kg, compared
with 0.20 to 0.25 kWh/kg for LDPE
Screw design with deeper channels and narrower flights,
to develop lower torque
Use a shorter screw, possibly with a decreasing pitch
Grooving of feed section of the barrel is beneficial
Wider die gap, shorter land length, less resistance in die
Alternatively use a processing aid in the polymer for
extrusion in normal LDPE dies
Dual-lip air cooling ring with venturi and chilled air
Auxiliary stabilising devices in film tower
Self-sharpening or long-life coated slitting blades to
maintain sharpness
TREATMENT OF POLYETHYLENE FILM

The surface of polyethylene film is highly non-polar and
inert because of the hydrophobic chemical nature of the
polymer. This means that the receptivity of the film surface
to inks, coatings, adhesives, etc. is poor and adhesion
of these materials to the surface is unsatisfactory. This
non-polar nature of the surface is the biggest limitation in
the subsequent processing (printing, adhesive lamination)
of the film for high quality packaging applications.
Traditionally, surface receptivity has been considerably
improved by electrical corona discharge treatment, which
oxidises the surface, increases the polarity, and provides
acceptable adhesion for subsequent printing and
laminating operations.
Electrical Discharge Treatment

The electrical discharge technique for surface pretreatment (also known as the corona or C treatment
technique) is widely used because of its effectiveness,
comparative simplicity and flexibility of operation. The
process consists of passing the film over an earthed metal
roller covered with a dielectric layer, and applying a high
frequency high voltage current to one or more electrodes,
to generate a corona discharge in the gap between the
electrode and the roller. This treatment subjects the film
surface to an ionic bombardment, the intensity of which
is controlled by adjusting the electrical flux applied at
the electrode.
24
A number of factors affect the level of treatment provided

by a specific treatment installation. The level of treatment
can be increased by:
Increasing the power to the electrode system. (The
power is conveniently expressed as watts per unit film
area treated)
Using an electrode gap as small as practicable with
the electrode parallel to the film surface. A gap of about
1 mm is generally used
Using an electrode length approximately 15 mm less than
the width of the film being treated. This prevents a
concentration of the discharge energy at the extremities
of the electrode which can eventually lead to premature
breakdown of the insulation on the support roller
Decreasing the line speed of the film web. Treatment
problems may occur when treating thin films at high
output rates and high line speeds. The time that the film
web is in the discharge zone, and hence the level of
treatment, can be effectively increased in such
situations by using a series of electrodes in tandem
Operating at low relative humidity and high air and
film temperatures
Treating in-line during the film production process,
rather than out-of-line on aged film, in order to avoid
the inhibiting effect of film additives
Effect of Film Additives on Treatment

Slip, antiblocking and antistatic additives are commonly
incorporated into polyethylene films to improve their
handling performance. As some of these additives function
by migrating to the surface of the film, their presence can
interfere with the treatment process, and adversely affect
the level of treatment achieved. It is essential that the film
be treated as soon as possible after it leaves the extrusion
die, before any appreciable concentrations of additives can
build-up on the surface.
The treatment cabinet is normally positioned between
the nip rolls and the wind-up stage, preferably immediately
after the nip rolls. Even under these conditions it may be
necessary to increase the treatment power to a higher
setting than that required for film not containing additives,
to obtain satisfactory ink adhesion.
After the film has been treated, the migration of additives
to the surface continues until an equilibrium layer has builtup. These additives, however, are soluble in the ink
formulations and are unlikely to interfere with the adhesion
of the printing inks to the treated surface.
In general, LLDPE films respond to corona treatment in a

very similar manner to LDPE films, and similar treatment
power is required for equivalent film thickness. On some
occasions, however, increased treatment power may be
required to allow for a higher level of additives used in
LLDPE film formulations.
Over-Treatment
Common Dangers and Difficulties
Assessment of Treatment Levels
High Voltages: Because comparatively high voltages are

used, the treatment unit must be enclosed to prevent
inadvertent contact by an operator. The discharge unit
should be designed so that it cannot be operated when
the guard over the electrode is removed or swung out
of position.
The surfaces of corona-treated films can be characterised

in several ways, to identify those film areas which have
received treatment and to assess quantitatively the level
of surface treatment. Tests which can be readily carried
out include the wetting tension test, the printability test
and the tape adhesion test. It should be noted that a
satisfactory wetting tension does not necessarily indicate
acceptable ink adhesion, especially when new film
formulations are being evaluated; adhesion-type tests
should also be carried out.
Ozone Generation: Ozone is produced in perceptible

quantities during the corona discharge in air. As ozone
is toxic at high concentrations, an adequate system of
ventilation from the treatment cabinet must be provided
to remove this gas.
Radio Interference: Electronic treatment units may cause
some local television or radio interference if they are not
adequately shielded and earthed. It is sometimes found
necessary to fit an efficient screening device around the
electrode system.
Treatment Faults
Reverse-Side Treatment
In the corona discharge zone the air is ionised and the
resulting charged particles initiate the treatment reactions
at the surface. If the tubular film contains entrapped air,
some treatment of the internal surfaces of the film will
result. Similarly if air is trapped between the lay flat film
and the treatment roll, then the reverse side of the film will
be treated.
The main draw-back of reverse-side treatment is to cause
the pick-up of printing ink from the adjacent printed surface
during reeling. The small traces of ink which may be
transferred to the reverse-side of the film, apart from being
unsatisfactory aesthetically, will lead to technical difficulties
during photocell-activated bag-sealing operations.
Reverse-side treatment and internal treatment of tubular
film can both cause heat sealing difficulties when the
treated surfaces are sealed.
If two treated surfaces are brought into contact, a high
level of blocking can develop, particularly under pressure
and when the surfaces have very high gloss.
Over-treatment of the film does not necessarily impair ink

adhesion although gross over-treatment will do so. However,
over-treatment adversely affects heat sealing, and this is
particularly noticeable in the manufacture of bags by
side-sealing or where gusseted designs are required.
Wetting Tension (Dynes Ink) Test

In this test the wetting tension of the film surface is
determined, to indicate the level of treatment and hence
the degree of printability that can be expected.
Test solutions having a range of different wetting tensions
are applied to the film surface in turn until a solution is
found which just wets the surface, i.e. it does not globulate
within two seconds (ASTM Test Method D2578). The surface
tension of this solution is the wetting tension, or dynes ink
level, of the surface (in dynes/cm or mN/m). A convenient
method for conducting this test is to obtain solutions in pen
form, sometimes called treatment pens or corona pens.
Pens must be monitored for contamination and replaced
regularly. As the chemicals used in the solutions and pens
can be hazardous, the suppliers instructions and safety
precautions must be followed.
Printability Test
The printability of the treated surface is determined
by printing a standard ink onto the surface and then
assessing the degree of adhesion of the dried ink layer,
by applying a strip of Scotch adhesive tape to the ink and
assessing the percentage of ink removed by the tape when
it is quickly peeled off. If all the ink beneath the tape is
removed the treatment is inadequate, whereas if no ink
is removed the treatment is very good.
This test is useful in assessing the actual adhesion of
printing ink or adhesive to the printed surface (see ASTM
F2252).
25
Tape Adhesion Test

The tape adhesion test provides a more quantitative
measure of the level of surface treatment. In this test the
peel force required to remove a special pressure-sensitive
adhesive tape from the treated surface is measured There
is a good correlation between the results from this test and
actual ink adhesion. An untreated surface will give a peel
force of less than 80 g/cm while satisfactory treatment
corresponds to peel forces of 300 to 400 g/cm. Excessive
treatment is indicated if the peel force is in excess of
400 g/cm.
Treatment Levels
An untreated film gives a dynes ink level of about 30 mN/m
(dynes/cm). It is general practice to treat films to a dynes ink
level of 38 to 40 mN/m for normal printing applications, with
solvent-based inks. For lamination applications a treatment
level of about 42 mN/m is required. Water-based inks and
adhesives are increasingly being used because of
environmental considerations, and when using these,
treatment levels need to be increased by 2 to 4 mN/m
compared with the levels required for solvent-based systems.
Alkathene LDPE and Alkatuff LLDPE films with treatment
levels as suggested above are suitable for printing. Film
treated in-line has a long storage life and can be printed
satisfactorily at a later stage. On some occasions there
may be a small drop-off in treatment level on ageing.
Mechanical abrasion or severe scuffing can reduce the
level of treatment, but this is unlikely to be a problem when
polyethylene film is retained on the roll before printing.
CAST FILM EXTRUSION TECHNOLOGY

Alkathene LDPE and Alkatuff LLDPE film grades can be
used for the extrusion of chill roll cast film. In particular,
grades with MFI of 2 g/10 min or higher are used.
The production of cast film involves the extrusion of a thin
molten web of polyethylene through a long slit die; this web
is drawn down and cast onto a highly-polished watercooled chill roll before being taken up by a wind-up system.
A sketch of the process is shown in Figure 22.
26
Figure 22: Chill Roll Cast Film Extrusion Process

The extrusion temperatures are generally higher than those
used for blown film extrusion, and melt temperatures are
typically 225 to 260C for LDPE and up to 290C for LLDPE.
The chill roll temperature is normally in the range 30 to 40C.
As in the extrusion coating process (see Extrusion Coating
publication), the molten web tends to neck-in by a small
amount on both sides of the web to form a thick edge-bead.
It is necessary to trim the edges of the film to remove this
bead before the film is wound up.
To limit this neck-in, the air-gap distance between the die
lips and point of contact with the chill roll should be as
short as possible. However short gaps will not allow
relaxation of molecular orientation and film of lower impact
strength may result. The optimum air-gap distance is
between 25 and 75 mm.
Often air can be dragged between the cooling film and chill
roll, so lowering the cooling rate. To prevent this, various
methods can be used, including an air knife adjacent to the
web to push the film positively onto the chill roll surface.
Properties of Chill Roll Cast Film
Coextrusion
The main differences between the chill roll cast film

process and the blown film process are:
Like blown film, cast film can also contain multiple layers
formed by coextrusion. Typically, the individual layers
enter a feedblock where they are arranged in the correct
sequence and combined. The combined layers then flow
into the die where they are spread to the desired width
before exiting the die lips. For optimum extrusion, the
feedblock and die must be designed to suit the polymers
and formulations being extruded.
The much faster rate of cooling with cast film

The uniaxial (machine direction) orientation in the film
process compared with biaxial drawing in the blown
film process
These differences have important consequences on the
properties of the two types of films.
The rapid cooling of the melt limits the crystallite growth
in the film. This leads to a low crystallinity and a low film
density. For a given density polymer, the cast film process,
will produce a limp film which is more flexible than that
obtained by blown film extrusion, and this may not always
be acceptable for subsequent conversion and packaging
operations. Accordingly higher density base polymers are
recommended for chill roll cast film, and Alkatuff LLDPE
film grades are particularly appropriate.
In general, higher melt temperatures are used in cast film
extrusion. This, together with the rapid quenching of the
melt on the chill roll, results in excellent optical properties
very low haze, very high gloss and very good transparency.
The mechanical properties of the cast film are determined
by both the residual molecular orientation resulting from
the drawing process, and the crystallinity of the film. The
low crystallinity obtained in cast films will give relatively
high impact and tear strengths. However this will be offset
if higher density polymers are used to maintain film
stiffness.
The molten web is stretched longitudinally in the air-gap
to the required thickness. Die gaps are normally 0.5 to
0.8 mm. The longitudinal draw creates high levels of
molecular orientation in the film in the machine direction.
In contrast to the blown film process, there is no transverse
draw. For this reason, cast film may have unbalanced tensile
and tear properties in the two film directions. High machine
direction orientation will result in low film strength at right
angles to the direction of extrusion. When tested in impact,
this film will tend to split along the machine direction.
Like blown film, the rheological properties of the individual

component polymers are very important in influencing
how the melt streams flow together at their interface;
any instabilities that occur at the interface can affect the
optical and mechanical quality of the final film. As a general
rule, the viscosities of two components coming into contact
should be matched. However trials should be carried out
to decide the choice of polymers and extrusion conditions
to be used. As described in the section Rheological
Considerations, the extrusion temperature has a
significant effect on the polymer rheology. Hence, the
temperature settings for each extruder barrel, each
adapter and the die will influence how the layers combine.
Comparison of Alkathene LDPE and Alkatuff

LLDPE
As with blown film extrusion, there are differences
between LDPE and LLDPE. The low melt strength of LLDPE
is generally not a problem in the drawing stage because
of the rapid quenching and short air-gap. Thinner gauges
without breakage are possible compared with LDPE grades.
LLDPE cast films will have greater stiffness than those
produced from LDPE of the same polymer density and
this is an advantage since cast films tend to give low
film density.
LLDPE cast films are inherently stronger than those
extruded from LDPE. LLDPE polymers have a faster
melt relaxation and hence a lower tendency for molecular
orientation. As a result, they will produce film with more
balanced tensile and tear strength in the machine and
transverse directions compared with equivalent LDPE
cast films.
27
PART B. FILM PROPERTIES

In any assessment of the quality of a sample of
polyethylene film, the importance of the individual
properties can only be determined by considering the
applications for which the film is intended. Film
applications can be divided into two main categories:
General packaging, which includes packaging of food,
general consumer goods, produce packaging and general
shrink film
Industrial applications, which include agricultural and
building uses, drum linings, heavy-duty sacks and shrink
wrapping of pallets
General Packaging Applications

Film requirements depend on the nature of the application
or user preference/experience. For a high level of consumer
appeal in the display of products, general packaging films
are required to exhibit excellent optical properties, i.e.
high clarity and gloss. This attractive appearance must be
coupled with adequate impact and tear strength to
withstand the stresses encountered in handling during
packaging, transport and retail display.
In most applications, the film should have good heat
sealing properties to enable strong heat seals to be formed,
and should be formulated with the required level of slip and
antiblocking additives for ease of conversion and handling.
Guidelines for the selection of film grades have been

discussed earlier in terms of choice of Melt Flow Index
and Density and these effects are summarized in Figure 1.
The effects of processing conditions on the properties of
the film are discussed in the following sections.
OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF POLYETHYLENE FILM

Introduction
The visual appearance of a polyethylene film is associated
with its physical interaction with light, namely the way in
which it reflects, scatters, absorbs and transmits the light.
Although the term clarity is used loosely to describe film
appearance, this is usually a subjective summation of
various visual characteristics of the film. The properties
usually measured are transmitted light scattering (haze),
surface gloss and see-through clarity, though none of these
(nor indeed all three collectively) completely defines the
optical properties of a sample of film.
The interaction between a polyethylene film and a parallel
beam of incident light is illustrated in Figure 23. For a
perfectly smooth-surfaced film, the incident beam is split
into reflected and refracted rays. The directions and
intensities of these are determined by the refractive index
of the film and the angle which the incident beam makes
with the film. The refractive index lies in the range 1.51
to 1.54 and depends on the degree of branching in the
polyethylene and the film fabrication conditions.
Industrial Film Applications

In industrial applications consumer appeal is less
important and good appearance is a secondary
consideration. These applications require a film with the
best possible mechanical properties, i.e. impact strength
and resistance to tearing, and a hazy tough type of film may
be acceptable. For heavy-duty sacks, mechanical
properties, particularly resistance to snagging, are
important but additional desirable requirements are the
ability to give reliable heat seals and surface properties
which permit satisfactory stacking.
Dependence of Film Quality on Polymer Properties

The film properties are dependent on both the properties
of the polyethylene and the extrusion conditions by which
the polymer was processed. Hence, to meet specific film
quality requirements, a choice must be made of the grade
of polyethylene to be used and the way in which it is to
be processed.
28
Figure 23: The Physical interaction between Light and

Polyethylene Films
In practice, the film surface is not perfectly smooth, but

has microscopic irregularities. Irregularities also occur
within the film. In addition to the simple reflected and
refracted rays, a significant amount of the incident light
is scattered or redistributed by these optical irregularities
as it passes into, traverses and exits the film, and is then
propagated over a continuous range of directions.
The ability of a film to have a glossy sparkling appearance

isan important consideration for film used in some display
packaging applications.
For films made from pure polyethylene, absorption of

light energy within the visible wavelength range and its
conversion into heat energy is not a significant process.
However it becomes more significant for films containing
a highly absorbing additive such as carbon black.
Haze
Haze is apparent as a milkiness in the film or a loss of
image contrast. It is caused by the transmitted light beam
being scattered through relatively large angles with respect
to the incident beam, by small irregularities in the film
which are comparable in size or smaller than the
wavelength of light (less than 0.5 microns).
Haze is defined as the percentage of transmitted light
scattered by the film by more than 2.5 degrees from the
normal incident beam (wide angle scatter in Figure 23), and
is measured using a pivotable sphere hazemeter, according
to ASTM Test Method D1003. In films used for display
packaging, the measured haze should be low. In addition,
the amount of scattering at very wide angles (which can
cause an apparent dulling in the colour of a packaged
article when viewed through the film) should also be
relatively small.
Surface Gloss
Surface gloss is a measure of the reflection of light from
the film surface and is thus determined by the smoothness
of the surface. For a perfectly smooth film light rays will
be reflected geometrically from the surface and the sample
will appear very glossy. Scattering from any surface
irregularities will confuse reflected images and will lead to a
decrease in gloss. With a very rough surface the scattered
light will swamp the geometrically reflected rays and the
film will appear matt.
Surface gloss is measured as the proportion of light
specularly reflected from the film surface at an incidence
angle of 45 degrees (see Figure 23), the test method being
described in ASTM D2457. Gloss is inversely related to haze
via an inexact relationship, so parameters affecting haze
will similarly relate inversely to gloss. Figure 24 illustrates
how the haze, gloss and clarity of an Alkathene LDPE film
vary with freeze line distance.
Figure 24: Variation of Film Haze, Gloss and Clarity

with Freeze Line Distance for Alkathene LDPE Film
of MFI 4.0, Density 0.925 g/cm3 (Film Thickness 38 micron)
See-Through Clarity
See-through clarity is a measure of how easily fine detail
can be resolved in a fairly distant object when viewed
through the film. Poor clarity is caused by light being
scattered through small angles relative to the transmitted
beam. Low angle scattering arises predominantly from
surface or internal irregularities such as orange-peel and
grain which are much larger than the wavelength of light
(i.e. greater than 0.5 microns).
In the laboratory an objective test which shows a good
correlation with see-through clarity is the measurement of
narrow angle scatter; this is the amount of light scattered
forward from the film over an arbitrary annulus subtending
a very small range of scattering angles at the film surface
(between 1 12 and 1 54) (see Figure 23). Low values of
narrow angle scatter indicate good clarity.
29
The necessity for a high degree of see-through clarity is

often questionable as packaging film is usually used in
contact with or in close proximity to the contents. Good
see-through clarity may be desirable for aesthetic reasons.
Other Optical Defects

Polyethylene film may also suffer from gross irregularities
such as graininess, fish-eyes and gels, and die lines;
these defects will mar the appearance of the film and
deleteriously affect the optical appearance. They can be
overcome by using better quality polymer, increasing the
stabilisation level in the polymer, increasing the back
pressure in the extruder by screen packs, and/or using
clean extrusion equipment and scratch-free dies.
On some occasions, oval or elongated thin spots (called
windows or lensing) may occur in the extruded film and
these may lead to bubble breaks when present at high
levels. This effect is caused by trapped volatile material
in the melt, either from the polymer itself or from blended
additive or pigment masterbatch.
Film Appearance
The objective when attempting to quantify the appearance
of polyethylene film is to characterise it in terms of the
three simple parameters gloss, haze and see-through
clarity. Whilst these three parameters give a good general
guide to the film appearance, it should be recognised that
they represent a simplification of the true visual situation.
It is the human eye that provides the primary measurement
of the real visual effects resulting from the complicated
interaction between the basic light scattering,
transmission and reflection properties of the film.
In film made from Alkatuff LLDPE, Alkamax mLDPE and

Alkatane HDPE, the crystallisation defects predominate;
the molten extrudate of a narrow molecular weight
distribution LLDPE on exiting the die can be very clear, with
all of its ultimate haze being developed in the vicinity of the
freeze line as the polymer crystallises. In addition, surface
melt fracture, if not eliminated, will also lead to very poor
opticals. HDPE is quite opaque due to the high level of
crystallisation.
In general, the inner surface of the tubular film contributes
slightly less to the haze than the outer surface, because
it cools more slowly, allowing more time for the surface
irregularities to smooth out.
The third cause of light scattering is the presence of melt or
solid inhomogeneities such as fine filler particles (e.g.
particles of antiblocking additive), grain, microgel, crosslinked particles and contamination.
Effect of Processing Conditions on

Optical Properties
Extrusion Haze
The most important surface irregularities in LDPE
(Alkathene) type film are extrusion defects (termed
extrusion haze) which originate from the complex elastic
melt flow behaviour in the extrusion die (see Figure 25a).
This defect structure consists of small raised areas less
than 5 microns in height. It is thought to be due to the
buckling of the surface resulting from differential melt
relaxation of the highly sheared melt.
Origin of Optical Irregularities

There are three basic causes for the optical irregularities
in polyethylene film. These are:
Surface irregularities caused by melt flow phenomena
Crystallisation behaviour
Melt and solid inhomogeneities
These irregularities are frozen into the film when it
solidifies in the region of the freeze line.
In Alkathene LDPE film, by far the greater proportion of the
light scattered occurs at irregularities on the surface of the
film. This can be demonstrated by eliminating the surface
contributions, by wetting the surfaces with a thin layer
of liquid with a similar refractive index to that of the
polyethylene, covering the wetted film with microscope
slides and making optical (haze or clarity) measurements.
30
Figure 25a: Basic Types of Surface Irregularities in

Polyethylene Film Extrusion Haze
Because the defects arise from melt flow phenomena the

nature and magnitude depend upon the particular flow
properties of the polyethylene itself, and will also be
influenced by any extrusion conditions which reduce the
shear rate within the die. The biaxial drawing of the melt as
the bubble is blown will decrease the height and extend the
length and breadth of the defects, so leading to a change
in the texture of the film surface. Hence the final texture will
be dependent upon the degree of draw and blow ratio. In
addition, the melt has a chance to relax and the extrusion
defects time to smooth out in the cooling zone up to the
freeze line; any increase in the cooling time will decrease the
magnitude of the defects finally frozen into the solid film.
Figure 25b: Basic Types of Surface Irregularities in
Polyethylene Film Crystallisation Haze
The extrusion variables which influence the extrusion

haze are:
Output rate (shear rate) through the die the extrusion
defects will become more severe as the shear rate is
increased.
Melt temperature a higher melt temperature allows
better flow through the die and reduces the tendency for
flow defects
Freeze line distance a higher freeze line allows more
relaxation time for the irregularities to be smoothed.
(see Figure 26a)
Blow-up ratio an increase in blow-up ratio will allow
great relaxation of the irregularities and a reduction in
their size
Figure 25c: Basic Types of Surface Irregularities in

Polyethylene Film Orange Peel
Haul-off rate (drawdown) higher line speeds increase

the severity of the extrusion haze
Die geometry wider die gaps reduce the shear rate
in the die
Extrusion haze also decreases as the die entry angle
is widened.
Figure 25d: Basic Types of Surface Irregularities in

Polyethylene Film Grain
Figure 26a-b: Characteristic Variation of Film Haze with
Freeze Line Distance for Alkathene LDPE Film
31
Crystallisation Haze
A major cause of surface roughness arises from the
growth and aggregation of crystallites at, or near, the
surface of the film (see Figure 25b). The irregularities,
termed crystallisation haze, are small mound-like
features approximately one micron in size. They account for
some 10% of the total haze in Alkathene LDPE type films.
In LLDPE type films, including mLLDPE, crystallisationinduced surface roughness is the major contributor to the
haze, because of the ease in which larger crystallites and
spherulites can grow compared with LDPE films. In many
cases, LLDPE films can have rougher surfaces, and higher
haze and poorer clarity than conventional LDPE films.
Higher density and higher MFI of the LLDPE polymer will
both result in worse opticals.
HDPE has a much higher crystallinity than LDPE and
LLDPE. As a result, HDPE films show a very high level of
haze and are not suitable for applications where optical
properties are important. However, HDPE may be blended
at low ratios and still achieve a high clarity film.
The magnitude and intensity of the crystallisation
irregularities, as well as depending upon the nature of the
polyethylene, will also be significantly affected by the rates
of nucleation and growth of crystallites during the cooling
stage of the film blowing process. Crystallite size increases
with longer cooling time and any change in conditions that
will extend the cooling time will therefore contribute to
higher crystallisation haze. The important extrusion
variables which influence this cooling time are:
Film haul-off speed an increase in line speed results
in thinner film and a shorter travel time between die and
freeze line, i.e. quicker cooling, less crystallite formation
and lower haze. With LLDPE, increasing the drawdown
increases haze because of stress-induced crystallisation.
Blow-up ratio an increase in blow-up ratio for a given
freeze line and haul-off speed will give longer cooling
times and higher haze.
Freeze line distance high freeze lines lead to slower
cooling, more crystallite formation and higher haze. This
effect is particularly pronounced in LLDPE films (see
Figures 26 and 27).
Figure 27: Typical Variation of Haze with Freeze Line

Distance for LLDPE Film, Thickness 40 micron (MFI 0.5)
Crystallisation effects also cause light scattering within
the film itself, at the boundaries of spherulites and
between crystallites. This internal scattering makes only a
small contribution to the total scattering in LDPE films (less
than 10% of the total haze value), but has a greater effect in
LLDPE films. Internal crystallisation effects will be
affected by extrusion conditions in the same way as the
surface crystallisation haze, as listed above.
Combined Effect of Extrusion Variables

From the above discussion on extrusion and crystallisation
haze, it is evident that for Alkathene LDPE type film,
changes in some parameters, particularly freeze line
distance, blow-up ratio and output rate, have opposing
effects on these two components of haze. This is typically
demonstrated in Figure 26, with extrusion haze decreasing
and crystallisation haze increasing with increasing freeze
line distance. The general effects of other extrusion
variables are shown by the arrows in Figure 26b. Figure 28
shows the combined effects of output rate and blow-up
ratio on the haze of 38 micron Alkathene LDPE film.
Output rate increased output rate for the same freeze

line distance facilitates quicker cooling and therefore
lower crystallisation haze.
Melt temperature any increase in melt temperature
necessitates increased cooling; if the freeze line
distance is maintained, then lower crystallisation haze
will be obtained because of the higher cooling rates.
32
Table 2 summarises the effects of varying the processing

conditions on the optical properties of Alkathene LDPE,
Alkatuff LLDPE and Alkamax mLLDPE films, and may be of
assistance in selecting the appropriate conditions for any
application.
As optical properties are usually not important for HDPE
rich films, the extrusion conditions are not usually altered.
Surface Defects
Surface Melt Fracture (Sharkskin)
Sharkskin is a visco-elastic surface defect caused by
melt fracture at the die exit and consists of curled ridges
normal to the machine direction of the film.
Low MFI narrow molecular weight distribution LLDPEs like
Alkatuff are more prone to this defect which is observed at
much lower output rates than with LDPE. In this context, it
is commonly called surface melt fracture The defect is an
interface phenomenon and arises because of a change in
the flow pattern of the polymer melt at the die wall and exit
above a critical shear stress. This gives a sharkskin-type
surface roughness which creates poor optical appearance
and may affect mechanical properties of the film. The
surface melt fracture is influenced by output rate,
extrusion temperature and die gap.
While the effects of this phenomenon can be reduced by
decreasing the shear rate in the die lips (by widening the die
gap see Wide Die Gap Extrusion p. 16) and increasing the
melt temperature, a processing aid is often included in the
film formulation to suppress the initiation
of this defect and extend the maximum output rate. It is
believed that the processing aid acts by coating the metal
surface of the die land and modifying the flow pattern at
this surface.
Figure 28: Variation of Haze and Polyethylene Film

with Blow-up Ratio and Output Rate for Alkathene LDPE
Film of MFI 4.0, Density 0.925 g/cm3 (Film Thickness
38 micron)
On the other hand, with film extrusion of Alkatuff LLDPE,
the dominating effect of crystallisation haze results in a
less complex behaviour, with worse optical properties
being obtained as the freeze line distance and blow ratio
are increased (see Figure 27). Rapid cooling (a low freeze
line) is desirable for the best opticals with LLDPE.
Table 2: Effects of Varying Processing Conditions on Film Optical Properties

Effect on Optical Properties
Processing Condition
Alkathene LDPE
Alkatuff LLDPE and Alkamax mLLDPE
Higher melt temperature
Defects reduced, opticals improved
Defects reduced, opticals improved
Higher freeze line
Defects decrease but crystallisation haze higher

(see Figure 24)
Crystallisation haze higher, opticals worse
Greater blow-up ratio
Opticals improve at low freeze line and low melt

temperature, but then become worse
Opticals worse if freeze line constant
Higher output rate
Defects worse but crystallisation haze reduced
Opticals improve
Thinner gauge (increased

haul-off speed)
Defects decrease and opticals improve
Opticals improve
33
Orange Peel
Impact Strength
Orange peel (see Figure 25c) is a gross surface irregularity

which affects see-through clarity of polyethylene film. It is
thought to be the same structure as sharkskin except that
it is elongated in the machine direction and of coarser
texture. The defect arises because of the fracture of the
surface by the stresses imposed as the surface layers of
the melt accelerate at the exit of the die.
One of the most important properties of polyethylene film

in many applications is the ability to withstand the rapid
stresses involved during impact. These stresses may arise,
for example, during filling of bags with heavy produce, or
when bags containing a product fall to the floor. Under such
impact loading conditions, a slit-like failure may occur
along the machine direction, either in the body of the film,
along a weak die-line, or at the edge-fold. Such failures are
brittle-type failures. On the other hand, film with very high
impact strength will fail in a ductile manner, by a ragged
punctured hole.
The severity of the orange peel increases with an increase

in output rate or a decrease in temperature. Its effects can
be lessened by a higher freeze line distance, as this allows
the melt a longer period to relax and the irregularities to
smooth out. Greater drawdown rates and higher blow ratios
also tend to smooth out this defect.
Grain
Grain (see Figure 25d) is caused by melt inhomogeneity
and is composed of discrete lumps of material of higher
molecular weight than the remainder of the film, which
project out of the surface. Extrusion conditions have little
effect on this defect although some improvement can be
obtained by increasing the amount of homogenisation
occurring in the extruder, e.g. by cooling the screw,
increasing the back pressure, or improving the screw design.
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF
POLYETHYLENE FILM
The most important mechanical properties of polyethylene
film are tear strength and impact strength. Tensile
properties (tensile strength at yield, tensile strength at
break, elongation at break) are often measured but these
tend to mirror the behaviour of the tear and impact
properties and offer little additional information. For tough
film applications, puncture resistance is also important.
Creep under tension is a key property for films kept under
load for some time.
Because of orientation in the film, the tear and tensile
properties are directional and values are quoted for both
the machine direction (MD) and the transverse direction
(TD) refer to Figure 4 for definitions.
The mechanical properties of polyethylene film are
affected to a greater or lesser extent by all processing
variables, through the influence of processing on the
molecular orientation in the film and the crystallinity
(rate of cooling).
34
The impact strength depends on the orientation, density

and type of PE used in the film. An increase in machine
direction orientation (giving unbalanced orientation when
compared with that in the transverse direction) will lead to
a greater likelihood of impact failure. Low polymer density
and low MFI are required for high impact strength films.
However, metallocene resins provide a far superior impact
strength for a given MI and density.
Impact strength is measured most commonly by means
of the free falling dart test (also called the Monsanto falling
dart test, ASTM D1709)); in this test, darts of increasing
weight are allowed to drop onto the film from a fixed height.
The weight at which 50% of the tested samples fail is the
F50 Dart Drop Impact strength. Other tests such as the
falling ball test and the instrumented impact test can also
be used (see ASTM D4272).
One limitation of the impact test is that the most likely
point of failure in tubular or folded film is along an edge
fold rather than in the face of the film. The impact strength
of the edge-fold can be determined by dropping the dart
adjacent to the edge-fold. The edge-fold can have
considerably lower impact strength than that of the body
of the film, from 40 to 80% thereof, depending on the
properties of the particular polyethylene and the extrusion
conditions used. The higher density, higher MFI, more
brittle films tend to have the weakest edge-folds.
Tear Strength
Tear strength, or the ability of the film to withstand any
extension of a hole or a slit in the film, is an important
property in many film applications. Because of orientation
effects, poorly-made films can have the undesirable
tendency to split readily once a hole or slit is initiated in
the film. With heavy-duty sacks a related property is the
snagging resistance, or the ability of the film to withstand
dragging of the sack over a sharp protrusion.
Tear strength, or more specifically the tear propagation

strength, is commonly measured by means of a pendulum
in the Elmendorf test (ASTM D1922), in both the machine
and transverse directions. This test measures the energy
required to propagate a tear formed as a small slit in the
film sample. Other tests are available to measure tear
propagation (trouser tear, ASTM D1922) and to measure the
energy to initiate tearing (ASTM D1004).
Tear strength deteriorates with an increase in polymer
density but is relatively unaffected by changes in MFI.
Tensile Properties
Tensile properties (tensile strength and elongation at
break) are measured according to ASTM D882, using
a conventional tensile testing machine.
The tensile strength at break is normally adequate in
polyethylene film and gives little information about
serviceability for most applications. Elongation at break
is affected in a similar manner to tear strength. The yield
strength can be important in applications where the film is
stretched in use, e.g. handles of carry bags, stretch wrap
and heavy duty sacks; up to the yield point, any elongation is
reversible, above the yield point, the film will be permanently
stretched. Yield strength is generally related to density. Hence,
HDPE will have the highest yield strength. In thin LDPE/LLDPE
films, a small proportion of HDPE may be added to increase
the yield strength. The shape of the stress/strain curve can
provide a great deal of information about the film. As well as
giving numerical values for the tensile strength, elongation at
break, and the tensile modulus (a measure of stiffness), the
area under the curve is a measure of the energy required to
break the test film, and hence is related directly to toughness.
Creep in Tension
The creep in tension is an important property for packaging
films, bags and sacks which may be under stress for a
considerable period of time, e.g. the loading of a pallet of
filled heavy-duty shipping sacks.
A heavily-loaded carry bag, and especially the handle area,
will undergo tensile creep and possibly yielding if carried
for an extended time. This will be particularly so with thin
LLDPE bags. Figure 29 shows the percentage elongation of
25 micron film extruded from various LLDPEs when loaded
with 9.7 MPa for up to 30 hours at room temperature. Better
resistance to creep elongation is obtained with an LLDPE
density above 0.925 g/cm3. Alternatively, some HDPE may
be included in the film to improve the creep resistance. In
particular, high molecular weight HDPE can provide a
significant improvement.
Figure 29: Tensile Creep Under Load of 9.7 MPa for

Alkatuff Type LLDPE (MI, Density in brackets) at Room
Temperature (Film Thickness 25 micron)
EFFECT OF PROCESSING CONDITIONS ON

MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
Molecular Orientation
There is little doubt that molecular orientation is a major
factor in controlling the mechanical properties of
polyethylene film. Orientation is imposed by stresses
during the blown film fabrication process. There are three
main sources of stress:
Shear stress causing flow of the melt through the
die the resulting orientation is in the longitudinal
or machine direction
Stress developed during the drawing of the melt via
the nip rolls, causing longitudinal or machine direction
orientation
Circumferential stress arising from the blowing process
by which the film bubble diameter is increased this
imposes orientation in the transverse direction
The polyethylene molecules on being extruded through the
die gap are aligned in the direction of extrusion. Because of
the narrower die gaps for Alkathene LDPE, this alignment will
generally be greater than with LLDPE polymers like Alkatuff.
The melt exiting the die can be typically drawn down
between 5:1 and 20:1 in the machine (extrusion) direction
for LDPEs, and between 10:1 and 50:1 for LLDPEs. In
addition the film is stretched transversely by between
1.5:1 and 4:1.
35
The molecular orientation imposed during extrusion is

thus modified by the drawing and blowing process in the
film bubble. Generally the extrusion orientation is small
compared with that resulting from melt drawing and does
not influence significantly the final orientation.
Stress relaxation times in molten polyethylene are very
short, so the imposed stresses resulting from the orientation
are continuously being reduced by relaxation occurring in
the bubble between the die and the freeze line. The rate of
relaxation is largely dependent upon the temperature of the
melt and the molecular weight of the polymer. At the freeze
line the residual orientation and stresses are retained or
frozen-in the film as the melt crystallises.
With narrow molecular weight distribution LLDPEs like
Alkatuff, stress relaxation is very fast and the polymer
has low extensional viscosity and a reduced tendency to
strain-harden compared with Alkathene type LDPE. These
differences mean that the imposed molecular orientation
in LLDPE film will be much less than that obtained in an
LDPE film.
Effect of Orientation on Tensile and

Tear Properties
Figure 30: Variation of Tensile Strength with Blow-up

Ratio and Output Rate of an Alkathene LDPE Grade
of MFI 2.0 and Density 0.921 g/cm3 (Film Thickness
38 micron)
When the film is oriented in the machine direction (i.e. low

blow-up ratio, high haul-off rate), it will have relatively high
MD yield and tensile strengths with low MD elongation at
break and low MD tear strength. Such a film would have low
TD tensile strength but higher TD tear strength. The
converse applies to a film with greater transverse direction
orientation (high blow-up ratio); such a film has a more
balanced orientation and often the tensile and tear
strengths in the two directions are each similar in value.
The effects of blow-up ratio and output rate on the tensile
and tear strengths are illustrated in Figures 30 and 31, for
an Alkathene LDPE grade of MFI 2, density 0.921 g/cm3.
These figures show that blow-up ratio in particular has a
significant influence on the MD tensile strength and TD
tear strength, and that a blow-up ratio can be chosen to
enable a balanced film to be produced.
The influences of blow-up ratio on the tear strength for
some films produced from Alkamax mLLDPE are shown in
Figure 32. This figure shows that tear strength in both
directions decreases as the blow-up ratio is increased.
These graphs, while specific to the experimental extrusion
conditions used, typify the property dependencies on
extrusion conditions that can be expected in any blown
film extrusion process.
36
Figure 31: Variation of Tear Strength with Blow-up Ratio

and Output Rate of an Alkathene LDPE Grade of MFI 2.0
and Density 0.921 g/cm3 (Film Thickness 38 micron)
Figure 32: Effect of Blow-up Ratio on Tear Propagation for

Alkamax mLLDPE Grade of MFI 1.0, Density 0.918 g/cm3
(Film Thickness 25 micron)
Effect of Orientation on Impact Properties

The effects of orientation particularly influence the impact
strength of the polyethylene film. Figure 33 shows the
steady improvement in impact strength with increasing
blow-up ratio and output rate for an Alkathene LDPE of MFI
2 and density 0.921 g/cm3. Similar effects are observed
with LLDPE polymers.
The most likely orientation to be frozen and retained in the
film is that imposed just before the freeze line; orientation
imposed earlier is partially or completely relaxed. Hence
the order in which the machine and transverse drawing
occurs in the drawing zone between the die and the freeze
line will determine which one predominates, and which will
have most influence on the mechanical properties of the
film. If transverse drawing occurs just before the freeze
line, then greater TD orientation is obtained. This will result
in film with greatly improved impact strength.
Figure 33: Variation of Impact Strength with Blow-up

Ratio and Output Rate of an Alkathene LDPE Grade
of MFI 2.0 and Density 0.921 g/cm3 (Film Thickness
38 micron)
Effect of Bubble Shape on Impact Properties

The shape of the bubble gives an idea of the order in which
drawing will take place. Figure 34 illustrates schematically
the hypothetical modes of drawing in the bubble to give
alternate bubble shapes. In diagram (a), melt drawing
occurs simultaneously in both the machine and transverse
directions with the former predominating and results in
moderate impact strength. In diagram (b), machine
direction drawing predominates before the freeze line,
resulting in poor impact strength. In diagram (c), the high
impact strength stalk-shaped bubble is illustrated; here
transverse drawing is predominant just before the freeze
line. Since very little further relaxation can take place
before the film is frozen, a high level of molecular
orientation in the transverse direction is retained in the
film. See also Figure 38.
37
Crystallisation and Rate of Cooling

The crystalline structure imposed on polyethylene film
during the cooling stage between the die lips and the freeze
line is dependent on the density of the polymer and also on
the rate of cooling. Fast cooling, i.e. a low freeze line, yields
small spherulites, a low crystallinity and a low density.
Slow cooling will lead to enhanced spherulitic growth and
this will be greater for LLDPE under these conditions.
The crystalline structure has a marked effect on the
mechanical properties and particularly the impact strength
of the film. Any processing condition that causes faster
cooling, for example, a lower freeze line distance, will lead
to improved impact strength.
Figure 34: Hypothetical Modes of Drawing of a
Film Bubble
The bubble shape in Figure 34 (c) is standard for HDPE film.
A higher level of transverse orientation is critical for HDPE
to avoid splitty film. The neck height is recommended to
be five to eight times the die diameter.
These changes in bubble shape and drawing behaviour
become less significant at low blow-up ratios since a
smaller amount of transverse drawing takes place. Although
the drawing behaviour will be affected by the type of
polymer being used, it can be controlled by adjustment of
extrusion conditions such as freeze line distance, blow-up
ratio, die gap, output rate, and cooling arrangements. For
example, the high impact bubble shape can be obtained
by raising the freeze line distance at a given blow-up ratio
or by increasing the output rate for a given freeze line
distance, blow-up ratio and film thickness.
Balanced Mechanical Properties

By comparison of Figure 33 with Figure 30, the high
impact resistance obtained at high blow-up ratios and high
outputs, is associated with very low tear strength in the
transverse direction. Hence a compromise must often be
made in choosing operating conditions for the best balance
of mechanical properties approximately equivalent MD
and TD tear strengths are obtained and a moderately high
impact strength.
38
Decreases in film density caused by fast cooling rates will

lead to reduced film stiffness, lower tensile strength and
higher elongation at break. The effect on tear strength is
less clear because of the masking by orientation effects.
With Alkatuff LLDPE, film properties will depend on
crystallisation effects to a greater extent than with
Alkathene LDPE and rapid cooling is to be preferred. This
can be achieved with a low freeze line, higher output rates
and higher extrusion temperatures.
Summary of Effects of Processing Conditions

Table 3 summarises the effects of processing conditions on
the mechanical properties of Alkathene LDPE and Alkatuff
LLDPE films. It should be noted that this table is only
indicative, and responses may be different depending on
the particular balance of orientation, relaxation and
crystallisation effects. In particular, experience with
Alkamax mLLDPE grades is still being developed.
Note that the elongation at break tends to respond in the
opposite manner to the tensile strength.
Table 3: Effects of Varying Processing Conditions on Mechanical Properties of LDPE and LLDPE Film
Effect on Mechanical Properties
For an increase in
Processing Condition
Tear Strength
(Alkathene LDPE,
Alkatuff LLDPE)
Tear Strength
(Alkamax
mLLDPE)
Tensile Strength
Impact Strength
Blow-up ratio
Decreases in MD
Increases slightly in TD
More balanced film
Increases, especially at
high freeze line distance
Increases or is constant
in MD
Decreases in TD
More balanced
Decreases
Melt temperature
Tends to decrease
Increases
Decreases
Decreases
Freeze line distance
Relatively insensitive
Variable
Increases in MD
Decreases in TD
Relatively
insensitive
Output rate
Small increase in TD
Increases markedly
Decreases both directions
MD increases
Die Gap
Little effect
Decreases
Little effect
Relatively
insensitive
Stalk-shaped bubble
Decreases in MD
Increases in TD
Increases
Decreases in TD
Unknown
Film thickness
(haul-off rate)
Relatively insensitive
Increases
Increases in MD
Decreases in TD
More balanced
Decreases
HEAT SHRINK PROPERTIES OF

POLYETHYLENE FILMS
Introduction
Shrink wrapping is the term used to describe the technique
of shrinking a film around an article or a group of articles to
give a tightly fitting wrap. It is a relatively simple technique
widely used for the wrapping of collated goods for transit
and distribution, its main advantages being low cost,
excellent protection of goods, application to the wrapping
of irregularly-shaped objects, and the presentation as
neat, tightly fitting, tear resistant packs with good visual
appeal.
All polyethylene film will exhibit some degree of shrinkage
when heated to a temperature above its softening point.
This shrinkage occurs because of molecular orientation
introduced into the film during its manufacture.
Alkathene LDPE polymers are widely used to make shrink
film, because of the resulting toughness, good clarity and
sparkle in the film. LLDPE and HDPE polymers have poor
shrinkage characteristics on their own, but are often added
to LDPE films to improve toughness and resistance to
hole formation.
Types and Requirements of Shrink Film

There are three main types of shrink film: full overwrap,
sleeve wrap and pallet wrap. Full overwrap is used to totally
enclose packs such as unit presentation packs; two-way
shrink is required with shrink values typically 60 to 80%
in machine direction (MD) and 40% in transverse direction
(TD). Sleeve wrap is used mainly for collating groups of
articles, and requires a loose open-ended sleeve with the
longest side of the pack placed parallel to the transverse
direction; one-way shrink film with an MD shrink of about
60 to 80% and a TD shrink of less than 30% is required.
Pallet wrap, also called shrink hood film, is used to stabilise
and protect loads on pallets and requires a loose preformed
shroud or bag which is placed over the load; balanced
shrinkage of 60% in each direction is desirable if end-weld
bags made from gusseted tubular film are used. In many
cases, pallet wrap has been replaced by stretch wrap.
Film gauges are typically 35 to 100 microns for one-way
shrink film, 25 to 100 microns for two-way shrink film and
100 to 150 microns for pallet wrap shrink film.
39
Film Shrinkage
Shrinkage in polyethylene film is measured by immersing
strips of film 100 mm wide and 100 mm long for 30 seconds
in a bath of silicone oil at 130C (or 70 seconds for films
greater than 100 microns thick), and then allowing them to
cool while freely suspended. The decrease in length of the
strip represents the per cent shrinkage.
The temperature required to achieve maximum film
shrinkage will depend largely on the density, MFI and the
type of polyethylene used in the manufacture of the film.
Figure 35 shows the variation of shrinkage in the machine
direction with increasing temperature, for 40 micron film
made from Alkathene LDPE polymer with MFI 1.0 and
density 0.922 g/cm3. This plot indicates that the film must
be heated to at least 110C before any appreciable
shrinkage occurs, and that above 115C, no useful increase
in shrinkage is obtained. For films containing LLDPE or
HDPE, these temperatures will be higher because of the
higher melting point of LLDPE or HDPE. The upper limit of
temperature is the point where the film becomes so limp
and soft that it pulls open holes in the film during shrinkage.
Film shrinkage is carried out by heating the film rapidly

to 120 to 130C in a hot-air tunnel in which the air
temperature is maintained at temperatures in excess of
170C. The transit time of a film-wrapped package through
the tunnel is usually of the order of a few seconds. A hot-air
blower can satisfactorily replace the more expensive
tunnel, for processing small packs or where production
rates are low, e.g. with pallet wrapping.
Figure 36 shows some important parameters during an
idealised shrink process. The temperature increases
rapidly after the product enters the oven. Soon after, the
film melts and shrinks rapidly, and during this time, the film
experiences an initial plastic or contracting force. Up to a
point, a rapid shrinking is desired. However, if the plastic
force is too high, the film may become stationary on the
packaged items, leading to burn holes.
After leaving the oven, the film cools and recrystallises.
It also reaches the final amount of shrinkage. During this
time, the holding force or thermal force develops. This
force is the result of the contraction of the film due to the
rapid crystallisation under tension, and is the force that
ultimately holds the package together. A certain amount
of shrink tension is required to give a tight package but high
holding forces should be avoided if the wrapped article is
likely to be crushed or distorted.
Figure 35: Machine Direction Shrinkage as a Function

of Temperature for Alkathene LDPE Film of MFI 1.0,
Density 0.922 g/cm3 (Film Thickness 40 micron)
Shrinkage occurs on heating polyethylene film because

stresses introduced into the film during its manufacture
are released at temperatures near the melting point of
the polyethylene. These stresses arise as a result of the
molecular orientation introduced into the melt during the
fabrication process and are retained or frozen into the film
after its solidification. The origins of molecular orientation in
blown extruded polyethylene film have been discussed earlier
(see Mechanical Properties of Polyethylene Film p. 34).
40
Figure 36: Shrink and Holding Force Relationship with

Temperature for Polyethylene Film During a Laboratory
Shrink Test
The amount of shrinkage and the holding force depend on

the orientation in the film and the polymer MFI and density.
Holding force, or shrink tension, is increased by using a lower
MFI Alkathene LDPE and a high blow-up ratio (see Table 4).
Table 4: Shrink Tension for Alkathene LDPE Films
(50 micron)
Polymer
MFI
Shrink Tension (g/25 mm)

Machine Direction
Transverse Direction
0.4
340
BUR 2:1
50
BUR 2.5:1
100
2.5
170
50
Effect of Extrusion Variables on Film Shrinkage

The actual amount of residual orientation frozen into the film
can be controlled to a large extent, thus making it possible
to produce film with certain combinations of MD and TD
shrinkage. The main extrusion variables affecting shrinkage
are blow-up ratio, bubble shape, freeze line distance, and
film thickness. The film formulation, which is discussed
further in the next section, is also extremely important.
A film having balanced (approximately equal) shrink of

about 60% in both the machine and transverse directions is
not often required but can be obtained at blow-up ratios of
the order of 4:1. However at blow-up ratios above 3:1,
bubble instability is frequently encountered, especially at
low output rates and at very low or very high freeze line
distances. The use of a bubble guide in the form of rollers
orrods around the bubble may be essential to obtain better
stability and roll quality.
Bubble Shape
The effect of bubble shape to achieve balanced MD and
TD orientation and high impact strength film has already
been discussed under Effect of Bubble Shape on Impact
Properties (see Figures 34 and 38). For a bubble of the
shape shown in Figure 38(b), transverse drawing
predominates just before the freeze line and a high level
of TD orientation is retained in the film.
Blow-up Ratio
Of all the extrusion variables, blow-up ratio has the most
pronounced effect on shrinkage behaviour. The shrinkage
tendency is invariably greater in the machine direction
because of the higher orientation imposed in this direction
during film fabrication. As the blow-up ratio is increased,
more transverse orientation is imposed and shrinkage in
the transverse direction is increased considerably at the
expense of a small reduction in MD shrinkage. This is
illustrated by the results given in Figure 37.
Figure 38: Typical Bubble Shapes

Such a bubble shape would produce a film with wellbalanced shrink properties in the machine and transverse
directions. In practice, it can be difficult to achieve this
stalk-shaped bubble with LDPE rich films, but high blow-up
ratios, large freeze line distances, high extruder output
rates and high melt temperatures may help. Bubble
stability and potential for film blocking must be considered.
Figure 37: Effect of Blow-up Ratio and MFI on Shrinkage

of Alkathene LDPE Film (Film Thickness 75 micron)
41
Other Extrusion Variables
SURFACE PROPERTIES OF POLYETHYLENE FILMS
Raising the freeze line for fixed blow-up ratio and film
gauge gives a decrease in the TD shrink. MD shrink tends
todecrease at higher freeze lines to give more balanced
shrink properties, but such conditions are limited by bubble
stability and blocking considerations. However it is
important that the freeze line height is uniform around the
bubble, otherwise poor gauge control and a wide shrink
range will result.
The surface characteristics of polyethylene film are of

critical importance in determining the ability of the film
to be processed in converting equipment, and to perform
inintended end use applications.
Increasing the film thickness with all other variables

constant lowers the MD shrinkage with a small increase
in TD shrinkage. For thinner films, it may be necessary to
reduce the die gap to achieve the required TD shrinkage,
with perhaps a small reduction in MD shrinkage.
Increases in the output rate and melt temperature have
only small effects in improving the balance of shrinkage.
Most film is converted through printing, laminating, sealing,

bag-making, wrapping or packaging equipment. While it
is important for the film to have the desired optical and
mechanical properties to meet end use requirements, it
must also have the right surface properties for handling
and processing through this equipment.
The important properties which affect how the film
processes through converting and packaging equipment are:
Coefficient of friction (or slipperiness)
Blocking
Antistatic behaviour
Choice of Polymer for Shrink Film
Heat sealability
A polyethylene film polymer that gives a fairly strong, stiff

melt (i.e. good melt strength) is advantageous for shrink
wrapping because it can withstand high temperatures
without holing, and thus can be used over a wide working
shrink temperature range. Because of the nature of the
shrink film application, the film must also exhibit good
mechanical properties.
Heat sealability is discussed later in the section on

Film Conversion.
Alkathene LDPE polymers of density about 0.920 to 0.922

g/cm3 and MFI between 0.3 and 3.5 g/10 min have been
found to give excellent performance for shrink film
applications, with MFIs at the lower end of the range being
preferred, as higher TD shrink can then be expected (see
Figure 37).
LLDPE and HDPE polymers are generally unsuitable for
use in shrink film on their own. The wider die gaps and
the faster relaxation of the melt result in a lower MD
orientation level for a given film thickness. However blends
of Alkathene LDPE with either Alkatuff LLDPE, Alkamax
mLLDPE or Alkatane HDPE polymers can be used to obtain
improved toughness and puncture resistance, leading to
the possibilities for down gauging.
Blends containing LLDPE or HDPE polymers will have
significantly reduced shrink properties compared to pure
LDPE films. If high shrinkage is required, then the extrusion
conditions must be altered as described above, i.e. a higher
blow-up ratio or a narrower die gap may be required.
42
The optical properties and aesthetic appearance of

polyethylene films are largely dependent on the nature
of the surface, and this has been discussed earlier in the
section Optical Properties of Polyethylene Film. The
receptivity of the film surface to printing inks and
adhesives has been discussed earlier under Treatment of
Polyethylene Film.
Coefficient of Friction
The coefficient of friction (COF) is a measure of the ease
with which the surface of one material will slide over
another. Films which are slippery and move easily over other
surfaces have a low coefficient of friction or high slip.
The frictional properties of polyethylene film are important
for a number of reasons, e.g. good roll formation during
film extrusion, ease of passing over rollers and between
surfaces in printing, bag-making and packaging machines,
and ease of handling packages in transit and by retailers
and consumers. Reasonably high slip is required for ready
conversion by these processes. However, too much slip will
cause telescoping of film rolls during handling. For heavy
duty sacks, low slip properties are required in order to
prevent any tendency for stacked sacks to slip.
The coefficient of friction of polyethylene film is measured
from the force required to slide a sled covered with
film across another piece of flat film at a constant rate
(ASTM D1894).
Addition of Slip-Promoting Additives
Factors Affecting COF
Polyethylene film which does not contain any additives

has a high coefficient of friction, above about 0.8. Small
quantities of slip-promoting additives such as oleamide
and erucamide are normally incorporated into film
formulations at levels between 300 ppm and 1,000 ppm,
to achieve coefficients of friction of less than 0.35. Medium
slip films have a coefficient of friction of about 0.25, high
slip films about 0.10 to 0.20.
The film thickness is an important parameter to consider

when designing a film to achieve a desired COF. An example
of this is shown in Figure 40. It can be seen that thinner
films require a higher concentration of slip additive to
achieve low COFs. This occurs because thinner films
contain less slip additive available to migrate to the surface.
Alkathene LDPE, Alkatuff LLDPE and Alkamax mLLDPE

polyethylene film grades incorporate a slip additive to give
the most useful slip level for the intended application. If a
higher slip level is desired, then additional additive can be
incorporated by blending a slip additive masterbatch into
the film polymer at the time of film extrusion.
Mode of Action of Slip Additives

Slip additives act by migrating, or blooming, to the
surface of the film after extrusion and forming a layer
which gives the desired slip characteristics. A considerable
amount of the additive has migrated to the surface in the
first hour; normally the migration is complete and the
equilibrium slip level reached about 24 hours after
extrusion (see Figure 39). However there are some factors
that can alter the rate of migration and the time required
to reach the equilibrium COF. Some examples are ambient
temperature, film formulation and winding tension.
This layer of additive has a severe inhibiting effect on
corona treatment and for this reason treatment should
be performed in-line when much less additive is present
on the surface. High levels of slip additive can have other
deleterious effects, namely, the need for extra treatment
power, poor printability and inferior heat sealing.
Figure 40: Effect of Slip Additive Concentration and

Film Gauge on COF. (LLDPE/LDPE Blend)
Other factors that may have significant effects on the COF
include the following:
The type of slip additive. For example, oleamide typically
results in a higher COF than erucamide
Antiblocking additives (see next section) also act to
reduce the COF
In general, HDPE will have a lower COF than LDPE or LLDPE
Grades with lower melt index will typically have a lower COF
Excessive corona treatment can increase the COF
Blocking
Blocking is the tendency for the opposite faces of films in
intimate contact to stick or adhere to each other, making
separation difficult during subsequent handling operations.
The use of blocked films in some automatic packaging
machinery is virtually impossible.
Figure 39: Kinetic Coefficient of Friction at Various

Time after Film Extrusion with 900 ppm Erucamide
Blocking is caused by the presence of low molecular weight

components in the polymer which exude to the surface of the
film immediately after extrusion. When the film is flattened
in the nip rolls, wound tightly on the reel, or under pressure
in any way, these low molecular weight materials on the two
surfaces are forced into contact and blocking is likely to occur.
Blocking can be measured as the force required to separate
a given area of blocked film in the direction normal to the film.
43
Factors Affecting Blocking
Antistatic Performance
The extent of blocking for any film formulation depends

on a number of factors which relate to the extrusion of
the film. It is a function of the nip roll pressure and the
temperature of the film at the nip rolls. Hence blocking
will become worse with increased nip roll pressure, higher
extrusion temperature, higher output rate or linear film
speed, higher ambient temperature, and insufficient air
cooling applied to the bubble, e.g. from a high freeze line
distance and low nip roll height.
Polyethylene films have a very high surface resistivity and

are hence non-conductors of electric currents. With the
continual passage of polyethylene films over rollers during
the fabrication and conversion processes, considerable
static charges build up and these charges tend to
accumulate on the film because of its poor conductivity.
During use of polyethylene film, friction between the film
and other surfaces will also generate static charges. These
electrostatic charges can create considerable problems,
such as sparking in hazardous environments, possible
discomfort to operators, poor bag stacking in bag-making
operations, and dust pick-up during end use.
High winding tension can exacerbate the blocking on the

film roll, especially at high ambient temperatures or in an
unfavourable storage environment. Excessive or reverseside corona discharge treatment often contributes to
blocking, especially with high gloss films under pressure.
Films which have a very smooth, high gloss surface show
a greater tendency towards blocking. Typically, films
produced from metallocene LLDPE have a lower tendency
to block than films produced from LLDPE, which in turn
have a lower tendency to block than films produced from
LDPE. Films with higher stiffness (higher density) show a
lower tendency to block.
Excessive corona treatment can increase the adhesion
between film layers, increasing the tendency to block.
Use of Antiblocking Additives

It is normal practice to incorporate finely-divided inorganic
fillers such as silica as antiblocking additives in
polyethylene film formulations, at levels generally between
0.15% and 0.3%. These additives act by imparting a microroughness to the film surface, thereby decreasing the area
of contact that is possible. Unlike slip additives, these
additives do not migrate to the film surface; they are
dispersed throughout the film, with a proportion present on
the surface.
These additives are very effective in reducing the blocking
tendency. However they also cause a worsening of the
optical properties (higher haze value), and may reduce the
mechanical performance of the film.
As these additives are not migratory, the thickness of the
film has limited influence on the blocking tendency. In some
film formulations, slip additives can assist with reducing
the blocking tendency of the film. However, for sensitive
applications, antiblocking additives will be necessary.
44
Every endeavour should be made during processing and

conversion of the films to remove the static charges, by
earthing all rotating machine parts, increasing the relative
humidity of the surrounding air, ionising the air or using
tinsel conductors in immediate proximity to the film (see
Australian Standard AS1020: The Control of Undesirable
Static Electricity).
Use of Antistatic Additives

Antistatic additives can be incorporated into the film
formulation to help reduce the static problem. These
additives act by migrating to the surface of the film where
they absorb moisture from the air and so form a conducting
layer. This layer tends to dissipate the electrostatic charge
once it is formed. Because of the important effect of
moisture, antistatic additives are most effective in high
humidity environments.
It should be noted that in effective antistatic films the
surface resistivity is only reduced from above 1016 ohms
to the order of 108 to 1011 ohms. In critical areas such as the
wrapping of electronic components and the mattress
covering sheets for operating theatres, antistatic films are
not satisfactory; semi-conducting films should be used in
these applications.
Alkathene LDJ226 is formulated with an antistatic additive,
to give static protection where required by the end use.
Film manufacturers can also incorporate an additive via
an antistatic masterbatch blended with the polymer at the
time of extrusion.
At high addition levels above about 1,000 ppm, antistatic
additives because of their migratory nature can cause
problems with heat sealing by raising the minimum seal
temperature, and this is especially a problem if the film
surface to be sealed has been corona discharge treated.
They can also interfere with the corona treatment process
when used at these high levels.
The measurement of the surface resistivity of the film is

often used to assess its antistatic performance (ASTM
D257). However a more effective procedure is to measure
the rate of decay of the static charge on a charged film;
decay in a few seconds is indicative of a very effective
antistatic film, negligible decay after 10 minutes indicates
a non-antistatic film.
PERMEABILITY OF POLYETHYLENE FILMS

A key requirement in many polyethylene film packaging
applications is for the film to provide a barrier against the
transmission of various gases, vapours and liquids. This
especially applies in food packaging where the package
must prevent food components from escaping but must also
protect the contents from contamination. In special cases,
the film may have special transmission characteristics to
help prolong the shelf-life of the food product.
Polyethylene is an excellent barrier to most liquids,
although there are some organic chemicals such as ethers,
hydrocarbons and chlorinated hydrocarbons which
permeate through polyethylene film very rapidly. In addition,
some essential oils diffuse through the film and evaporate
from the surface.
The permeability of polyethylene to water vapour is very
low; however the transmission rate is very dependent on
both temperature and relative humidity, as is illustrated
for 25 micron Alkathene LDPE film (MFI 7, density
0.917 g/cm3) in Figure 41. The effect of film thickness on the
water vapour transmission rate of polyethylene film is
shown in Figure 42.
Figure 42: Effect of Film Thickness on Water Vapour

Transmission Rate of Polyethylene Film (at 38C,
90% R.H.)
The permeability of polyethylene film to gases and water
vapour is chiefly a function of the density of the film,
with higher crystallinity providing higher barrier properties
and lower permeability. For applications requiring low
transmission rates, the highest density HDPE is
recommended. Lower permeability is also obtained with
increased film thickness and at lower temperatures. Films
made from Alkatuff LLDPE are expected to give gas and
water vapour permeabilities about 15 to 20% lower than
Alkathene LDPE films of the same density.
Typical transmission rates of several gases through
polyethylene film compared with those through a number
of other polymer films commonly used in packaging
applications are shown in Table 5. Further details on the
permeability of polyethylene are given in the publication
General Properties.
Figure 41: Water Vapour Transmission Rate of

Polyethylene Film of MFI 7.0, Density 0.917 g/cm3
45
Table 5: Typical Gas and Water Vapour Transmission Rates of Polyethylene and Other Packaging Films
Gas Transmission Rate
(for 25 micron film at 20C, 1 atm)
(cm3/m2, 24 h)
O2
N2
CO2
Water Vapour
Transmission Rate
(for 25 micron film
at 38C, 90% RH.)
(g /m2, 24 h)
Polyethylene
LDPE (0.920 g/cm3)
8500
3000
38000
18
Polyethylene
HDPE (0.960 g/cm3)
3000
650
9000
12000
6200
45000
70
Ionomer
6500
6500
30
Polypropylene Biaxially oriented (BOPP)
1900
500
5500
16
30
Polypropylene, cast
4200
750
10000
12
Polystyrene
3500
1000
17000
130
Cellulose Acetate
2500
16000
200
660
1000
10
2000+
15000
27
250
750
50
Polyethylene Terephthalate PET
60
15
250
25
PA barrier resin
30
475
Polyvinylidene Chloride PVDC
15
50
3.5
Ethylene Vinyl Alcohol* (EVOH)
1.8
0.15
Film
Ethylene Vinyl Acetate

EVA Copolymer (18% VA)
Polypropylene PVdC coated BOPP
Regenerated cellulose*
Polyvinylchloride, Plasticised PVC*
Polyvinylchloride, Rigid PVC
*Moisture dependent
BLENDS OF LLDPE AND LDPE FOR FILM

Introduction
Important benefits can be achieved with the processability
and end use properties of LDPE and LLDPE (including
metallocene LLDPE) by blending the polymers together in
various proportions. Such blends are widely used for the
extrusion of polyethylene film for a range of applications.
Small quantities of LLDPE (less than 40%) blended
into Alkathene LDPE give improved drawdown and similar
processability to that of Alkathene LDPE when processed
on conventional LDPE extrusion equipment; in addition,
tensile properties, stiffness, puncture resistance and
sealing properties of the film are enhanced.
With blends of LLDPE and a small amount (5 to 20%) of
LDPE (linear-rich blends), processability of the LLDPE is
considerably enhanced, optical properties are improved
significantly and mechanical properties are modified
slightly, including higher tear strength in the transverse
direction.
46
Blends of LDPE and LLDPE show two major melting peaks

when tested using the Differential Scanning Calorimeter
(DSC). This indicates that the two polymers exist as
separate phases within the blend. The relative sizes of the
two peaks can often be used to estimate the composition
of the blend.
Processing Properties
Blends of LDPE and LLDPE have shear viscosities
intermediate between those of the two component
polymers. This is illustrated in Figure 43 for blends of an
MFI 2.5 Alkathene LDPE and an MFI 1.0 Alkatuff LLDPE. The
blends have a lower shear viscosity at any shear rate than
the base LLDPE polymer, and the log shear viscosity
is approximately a linear function of the blend composition.
a butene-based copolymer made by the gas-phase process

(MFI 1.0, density 0.920 g/cm3), a hexene-based (Alkatuff
type) copolymer made by the gas-phase process (MFI 1.0,
density 0.920 g/cm3) and an octene-based copolymer made
by a solution process (MFI 1.0, density 0.921 g/cm3).
The effects of blending of these LLDPEs with the Alkathene
LDPE on the mechanical properties of nominally 50 micron
film were determined and these results are presented
graphically in Figures 44 to 49. In general, the film properties
of the blends with the higher alpha-olefin copolymer
LLDPEs (hexene- and octene based) were quite similar and
much superior to those obtained with the butene-based
LLDPE blends.
Figure 43: Shear Viscosity vs. Shear Rate for Blends of

Alkathene LDPE (MFI 2.5, Density 0.922 g/cm3) and
Alkatuff LLDPE (MFI 1.0, Density 0.920 g/cm3) at 190C
This means that these blends will require less power
to extrude than straight LLDPE, will give lower melt
temperatures and lower pressure and, as a consequence,
the output rate from any extruder will be less restricted.
Extrusion may be possible without resorting to wide die gaps.
Addition of small amounts of LDPE to LLDPE gives
significant increases in the extensional viscosity and
imparts some strain-hardening characteristics. Such
blends are less sensitive to disturbances than straight
LLDPE and hence significantly decrease the tendency for
bubble instability. LLDPE containing a small amount of
LDPE will be less prone to show surface melt fracture
effects than the straight polymer. This is one solution
used in overcoming this extrusion problem.
Figure 44: Yield Strength in Machine Direction for

LDPE/LLDPE Film Blends, based on MFI 0.45, Density
0.923 g/cm3 (Film Thickness 50 micron)
In summary, significant processability benefits can be

readily achieved with LLDPE or mLLDPE by using linear-rich
blends containing, for example, 5 to 20% LDPE.
Physical Properties
The physical properties of a series of LDPE/LLDPE
blends for blown film have been investigated. The
blends evaluated were based on an MFI 0.45, density
0.922 g/cm3 Alkathene LDPE and contained various
levels (20%, 40%, 60%, and 80%) of LLDPE. Three
LLDPEs were used:
Figure 45: Elongation in Machine Direction for

LDPE/LLDPE Film Blends (based on MFI 0.45,
47
Figure 46: 2% Secant Modulus for LDPE/LLDPE Film

Blends (based on MFI 0.45, Density 0.923 g/cm3 (Film
Thickness 50 micron)
Figure 49: Transverse Direction Tear Strength for


Tensile Properties: Yield strength in both the machine
and transverse directions was relatively unaffected by the
blending, as shown in Figure 44. There was a small yield
strength benefit by adding about 20% LDPE to the LLDPE.
Yield strength is essentially influenced by density and
all the polymers used in this investigation had very similar
densities.
Ultimate strength increased approximately linearly with the
LLDPE content in the blends. The ultimate strength results
demonstrated the poorer properties of the blends with the
butene-based LLDPE.
Figure 47: Impact Strength of LDPE/LLDPE Film

Blends (based on MFI 0.45, Density 0.923 g/cm3
Elongation increased roughly linearly with the LLDPE

content, the increase being much greater (double) in the
machine direction (see Figure 45) than in the transverse
direction.
Film stiffness was assessed by measuring the 2% secant
modulus. This property increased with increasing LLDPE
content (see Figure 46).
Falling Dart Impact Strength: Addition of the LLDPE to the
Alkathene LDPE grade significantly improved the impact
strength of the film (see Figure 47).
Elmendorf Tear Strength: Small additions of LLDPE (about
20%) to the Alkathene LDPE grade gave small decreases in
the MD tear strength but increases in the TD tear strength
(see Figures 48 and 49).
Figure 48: Machine Direction Tear Strength for

48
Optical Properties: Addition of 20 to 40% Alkathene LDPE

to the LLDPEs significantly improved their haze and gloss
results.
Heat Sealing: Hot tack sealing measurements on these film

blends using an IDM Hot Tack Tester (Figure 50) showed
that the hot tack strength increased as the LLDPE content
increased, with the linear-rich (80% LLDPE) blend
performing quite well, especially at higher sealing
temperatures.
Puncture Resistance: Blending LLDPE into conventional
LDPE polymer results in a significant increase in puncture
resistance.
Figure 50: Hot Tack Sealing of Alkathene LDPE/Alkatuff

LLDPE Blend Films (IDM Hot Tack Tester, Seal Pressure
275 kPa, Seal Time 0.5 sec, Delay Time 0.2 sec,
Peel Speed 250 mm/sec, Film Thickness 50 micron)
49
PART C. FILM CONVERSION

Introduction
Polyethylene film, following its production by blown or cast
film extrusion, is either converted in-line, supplied as
film-on-the-roll to a converter for further processing, or
sold on-the-reel to the consumer for direct use. A number
of different processes are involved in converting the film
into a form required by the consumer. These converting
processes include:
Slitting
Perforating
Cutting
Hole punching
Embossing
Printing
Laminating
Heat sealing
Bag-making, wicketing
Wrapping and packaging
Some converting operations may involve several processes.
For example, form-fill-and-seal packaging involves forming
and heat sealing printed sheet film into
a tube, forming a bottom seal, filling the pouch or bag with
product, heat sealing the top of the bag and at the same
time cutting off the filled bag. In-line manufacture of openmouth fertiliser sacks involves printing on one or both outer
surfaces of layflat film, forming a bottom heat seal
for the sack, cutting the sack to length, and possibly
perforating or punching breather holes in the film.
Some converting characteristics depend on the
polymer type.
One difference in conversion performance occurs in
operations that require some type of cutting or tearing.
Because of the greater toughness and extensibility of
LLDPE films, clean-cut edges during slitting and cutting
are often more difficult to obtain than with LDPE films,
unless tool sharpness is rigorously maintained.
LLDPE films have inherently greater extensibility than
conventional LDPE films. This means that careful
attention must be given to avoid stretching the film at
high web tensions during the conversion operation,
especially if the film has been down-gauged.
50
Stiffness is an important property for handling films in

printing, bag-making and collating equipment. HDPE
films have the greatest stiffness, followed by LLDPE then
LDPE. Film gauge also influences the handling properties
thinner films will be more difficult to handle unless
higher density polymers are used to compensate. HDPE
and LLDPE films have higher melting points than LDPE
films. In heat sealing processes higher sealing
temperatures may be required.
Despite this, the lower zero shear viscosity of LLDPE
(particularly mLLDPE) can mean that it is easier to seal.
Sealing pressure and dwell times can be reduced to
account for the lower melt strength of LLDPE and HDPE.
Slitting, Perforating and Hole Punching

For many applications, slitting of the film at points across
its width may be required to obtain narrower film webs.
Slitting is normally accomplished using very sharp blade,
or rotating cutters. Because of the greater toughness and
elongation of LLDPE films, they require a very sharp blade,
to ensure clean cutting and are not as tolerant to a blunt
blade as LDPE films.
Several techniques are used successfully to overcome this
cutting difficulty. Blades can be made of a hard metal or
coated with a titanium alloy, either all over or on the cutting
edge. In special circumstances a thin tungsten carbide
coating on one side of the blade can be used to increase
blade life significantly. Where the film can ride along the
edge of the slitting blade: a 30 degree angle between the
film and the cutting edge is desirable.
As with slitting, perforating and hole-punching operations
on LLDPE films also require very sharp cutting edges to
obtain clean cuts. This particularly applies to thin films. As
the cutting edge wears, the LLDPE film will not perforate
cleanly. Tools for punching holes or handle cut-outs in carry
bags should be kept sharp; coating the outside surface of
the male punch with tungsten carbide is effective for
maintaining sharpness and extending the cutter life.
Film Embossing
Embossing is a procedure that is used to alter physically
the surface structure of a film, by imprinting a geometrical
pattern into the film, under the action of heat and pressure.
The embossing is performed to improve the aesthetic
qualities, surface characteristics or final properties of the
film. With micro-embossing, softness and textile-like
characteristics can be created.
During the embossing process, heat and pressure are

applied to the film. The simplest method is to pass the
film through a heated nip system which incorporates
a hot roller carrying the embossing pattern. An alternative
technique is to feed a hot film into the nip of a cold
embossing roller system. The film is preheated to a
temperature close to the melting point, and then passed
between the nips of an engraved steel roll and a rubber
covered roll to impress the pattern in the film. The
processes can be carried out in-line or out-of-line.
Printing of Polyethylene Films

In many packaging applications, polyethylene film is
printed, often in several colours, as a means of either brand
identification, enhancing sales appeal, imparting details
about the contents of the package, or providing
instructions regarding their use.
The surface of polyethylene film is highly non-polar and
inert and consequently is not receptive to the printing of
inks, lacquers, coatings, etc. For this reason, all film
surfaces which are to be subsequently printed are treated
by electrical corona discharge treatment (see the section
Treatment of Polyethylene Film). This treatment oxidises
the surface, increases the polarity, and allows the printing
ink to bond to the surface with good adhesion.
It is accepted practice that films for normal printing
applications with solvent-based inks should be treated
to a dynes ink level of at least 38 to 40mN/m (dynes/cm).
Printing Inks
Information regarding inks for a particular printing application
can best be supplied by the printing ink suppliers.
For flexographic and rotogravure printing the ink comprises
essentially a pigment, a polymeric binder and an organic
solvent. The pigment particles surrounded by the binder are
dispersed in the solvent which spreads over the film surface
on application. As the solvent evaporates, generally within
a drying oven, it leaves a thin continuous coloured layer of
pigment particles adhering to the surface of the polyethylene.
In flexography the choice of solvents is somewhat limited
as they must not affect the rubber stereos; alcohols,
alcohol/ketone mixtures and esters are normally used, but
hydrocarbons are unsuitable. Because of environmental
considerations, water-based inks are increasingly being
used in place of the solvent-based systems.
Printing inks used with plastics films should provide a

tough tenacious ink layer which is resistant to scuffing and
flexing, does not affect the contents of the package, and is
not itself affected by the package contents or the additives
in the film. It is important that the ink is flexible as this is
dictated by the film itself being flexible.
Lamination
Lamination Processes
Polyethylene films are frequently used as part of a multilayer
film structure. The excellent sealing characteristics of
polyethylene make it the most common sealing layer. These
multilayer film structures can be produced by several
different processes:
By adhesive lamination, where individual films or layers
are adhered together with adhesives
By extrusion coating, where a single thin polymer web
is extruded onto a substrate such as paper, aluminium
foil or another polymeric film or laminate
By thermal lamination, where heat and pressure are
used to fuse the polymer surfaces of two films or
laminates (without in-line adhesive application)
By coating, with for example an emulsion, solution
or lacquer
By vapour metallisation, e.g. Aluminium coating onto
polypropylene film
Adhesive lamination and extrusion coating are the two
most common processes. Extrusion coating is described
in the Extrusion Coating publication.
Adhesive Lamination
In the lamination process two or more dissimilar films or
substrates are combined to create a composite laminated
film structure. In most applications an aqueous or solvent
based adhesive is used, either in a wet-bonding or a dry
bonding process.
Wet-bonding is only applicable when one of the films is
permeable to the water or solvent used in the adhesive,
andis generally not successful with plastic films. In the
dry-bonding process, the laminating film is treated with the
adhesive and the solvent is driven off by heat before the
film is bonded to the substrate by passing it through a nip
roll (see Figure 51). Other bonding methods are hot melt
bonding using a molten low melting point wax or copolymer
as the adhesive, or thermal bonding in which a heatsensitive laminating film and the substrate are combined
in a heated nip.
51
The Heat Sealing Process

The heat sealing process is illustrated diagrammatically in
Figure 52. The two films to be sealed are clamped between
two heated jaws or sealing bars for a fixed (dwell) time.
Heat is conducted into the films, causing the polymer to
melt and the molecules at the interface between the two
films to become entangled. Once this fusion is completed
the jaws are opened and the seal is cooled to below its
melting point.
Figure 51: Adhesive Lamination Process

The substrate can be a non-polymer such as paper,
aluminium foil or cardboard, or a polymer film such as
biaxially-oriented polypropylene, polyester or polyamide.
The requirements for a lamination film are:
High clarity, high gloss
A low gel level
Good roll geometry and uniform gauge
Good sealing properties
High level of corona treatment, about 42 mN/m (dynes/cm)
Figure 52: Diagram of Heat Sealing Process
Low additive level (since migrating slip additives tend to

reduce adhesion with the substrate)
Food contact approval
HEAT SEALING OF POLYETHYLENE FILMS

Introduction
One of the special advantages of polyethylene films is their
ability to be heat sealed, i.e. to be fused together in narrow
bands to form strong bags and packages. When two films
are placed together and subjected to heat and pressure,
a fusion bond is formed between them with a strength
approaching that of the film itself.
Heat sealing is an important process in converting film to
form a bag, package or sachet, and bag production rates
depend largely on the sealability of the film. Polyethylene
films are easier to heat seal and give much stronger seal
strength than most other packaging materials.
52
Figure 53: Relationships Between Required Dwell Time

and Heat Sealing Temperature for LDPE Film of Various
Thicknesses (Sealing Pressure 0.25 MPa)
The main sealing variables are temperature, dwell time and

jaw pressure. Time and temperature are inter-related, as
shown in Figure 53, since it is the amount of heat to fuse
the films at their interface which is the critical requirement.
Types of Heat Sealing

There are several different methods of heat sealing.
These are:
Hot jaw sealing: The film is clamped between two heated
sealing jaws, the upper jaw being moveable. Either the
top or both sealing bands are temperature-controlled at
the required set point. The sealing bands are covered
with a thin non-stick tape to prevent the hot film sticking
to the jaws. The pressure and the dwell time are
controlled. This method is used for the formation of
bottom (end) seals but can suffer from softening and
thinning of the polymer adjacent to the seal.
Thermal impulse sealing: In this method the electrical
current to the sealing band only flows during the sealing
dwell time and the film rapidly heats up above its melting
point to form the seal. After a fixed time the current
impulse ceases and the seal cools under pressure. This
method overcomes some of the thinning problems with
hot jaw sealing.
Hot wire or hot knife sealing: A wire or thin wedgeshaped blade heated to 300 to 500C is forced down onto
the films to be joined, heating them very rapidly and
cutting through them. The molten polymer on either side
of the sealing element contracts to form a sealed bead.
This method is widely used in many bag-making
machines, including side-sealing machines, because of
its high sealing speeds.
Determining the Seal Strength

Seal strength is calculated from the tensile force required
to separate the two layers and break the seal, measured at
ambient temperature. Seal energy which is the area under
the tensile force vs. elongation graph is sometimes used.
When assessing the sealability of a film, the normal
practice is to make seals over a range of temperatures
covering the sealing range, for a fixed jaw pressure and
sealing time. Each seal is then peeled apart on a tensile
tester using 25 mm wide strips, and the sealing curve
of seal strength vs. temperature plotted as shown in
Figure 54.
Figure 54: Heat Sealing Curves for Alkathene LDPE

and Alkatuff LLDPE Films (Otto Brugger Heat Sealer,
Dwell Time 0.5 sec, Pressure 0.2MPa, Film Thickness
50 micron)
This figure shows that at low temperatures below the melting
point, no seal is formed. As the temperature is increased,
a little melting occurs but the seal is easily delaminated or
peeled apart (peel seal). Above the melting temperature of
the polymer, effective fusion seals are made and good seal
strengths obtained. At high temperatures or long sealing
times, the seal may become distorted or wrinkled; eventually
holes will occur in the seal area (burn-through), resulting in
poor seals. The range of temperatures between that required
to make a good fusion seal (the minimum seal temperature)
and the burn through temperature is the sealing range.
Another useful measure is to compare the seal strength
with the tensile strength of the film measured in the same
direction, and expressed as a percentage or relative seal
strength.
A comparison of the sealing curves for various polymers will
indicate their comparative minimum sealing temperatures,
seal strengths and sealing ranges. For good sealability, a
high seal strength, a low minimum seal temperature and a
wide sealing range are desirable. These properties lead to
flexibility and short cycle times during the sealing operation.
Hot Tack
Another aspect of heat sealability is the hot tack
performance. This is defined as the ability of the molten
seal to withstand a load immediately after the sealing
cycle. It is a critical property in vertical form-fill-and-seal
packaging lines, when the bag is filled with its contents
immediately after the bottom seal of the bag has been
formed, while the seal is still hot. Since the contents can
be heavy and line speeds high, excellent hot tack strength
is required to withstand the load.
53
Brittle heat seals, i.e. seals which fail in the film adjacent to
the seal, can result because of the annealing effect on this
portion of the film during the sealing operation.
Hot tack properties are determined by forming a seal on

a loop of film with one end clamped in a load cell and the
other to a piston system. After a fixed sealing dwell time
and a short delay time, the sealing jaws open and the hot
seal is immediately placed under load by the piston being
activated. The hot tack strength is measured by the load
cell. By repeating this test at different sealing
temperatures, hot tack sealing curves of hot tack strength
vs. temperature can be plotted (see Figure 55).
Polymer Parameters
Hot tack strength increases with temperature above a

minimum seal temperature and reaches a maximum as
shown in Figure 55. Above the maximum, the hot tack
strength decreases due to the decreasing melt strength
of the molten seal.
Comonomer type: In LLDPE, seal strength and hot tack

strength increase as the length of the side chains
increases. This means that the hexene- and octene
based LLDPEs have better sealing properties than
butene-based LLDPEs.
Heat sealability is affected by the polymer type, the MFI

and the density of the polymer, and the additives present.
The optimum polymer for an application will have the best
balance of properties under the conditions applied.
Polymer density: As the density increases, the melting

point and the heat of fusion also increase. Hence higher
temperatures and longer times are required to form the
seal, but seal strength will be higher. Hot tack strength
decreases as density increases.
Figure 55: Hot Tack of Alkathene LDPE and Alkatuff LLDPE

Films (IDM Hot Tack Testing, Seal Pressure 275 kPa, Seal
Time 0.5 sec, Delay Time 0.2 sec, Peel Speed
250 mm/sec, Film Thickness 50 micron)
Factors Affecting Heat Sealability

Sealing Parameters
The parameters of the sealing process which influence the
formation of a good seal are: sealing temperature, sealing
dwell time, jaw or clamp pressure and cooling conditions. The
inter-relationship between sealing temperature and dwell
time is shown in Figure 53. Above the minimum sealing
temperature, increasing the temperature has little effect on
seal strength, provided it is below the burn through point (see
Figure 53). Seal strength generally decreases as the pressure
is raised, because of the effect of the molten polymer being
squeezed away from the seal to give a thin section.
In production lines, sealing becomes more difficult at high
line speeds because of the reduced dwell times.
54
Polymer MFI: Because the sealing operation occurs at

very low shear rates of less than 1.0 sec-1, the viscosity in
this shear rate region (the zero shear viscosity) is a
significant factor in determining the flow behaviour
during sealing and hence the sealability. At any sealing
temperature, higher MFI polymers have lower zero shear
viscosities. The lower viscosities allow the polymer to
flow more easily, including into gaps and creases, and
thus they will be easier to seal. They will show a slightly
lower minimum seal temperature and lower seal
strengths. However, if the sealing pressure is too high,
higher MFI polymers may be squeezed too much away
from the seal, leading to thin sections that may fail.
Lower MFI polymers have higher melt strength. This
improves hot tack strength. The higher melt strength can
also reduce any thinning that may occur adjacent to the
seal if the film is loaded immediately after sealing.
Branching structure: In metallocene LLDPEs, the side
branches are distributed in a more controlled way. This
allows an improved balance of viscosity and melt
strength to be achieved. In particular, this improves the
hot tack performance of these polymers.
Film additives: At low additive levels, there is no effect
on heat sealability. However very high levels of the
migratory slip additives can have detrimental effects on
the minimum sealing temperature and the seal strength,
particularly in treated films.
Effect of Film Variables

Film thickness: Heavier gauge film requires a higher
sealing temperature or a longer sealing time than thinner
film (see Figure 53). In gusseted film where four layers are
to be sealed in part of the bag, higher temperatures are
required but burn-through of the two layer part must be
avoided. Film thickness has little effect on hot tack
strength but thicker films will require a higher minimum
seal temperature.
Corona treatment: Excessive corona treatment or
reverse-side treatment has a detrimental effect on heat
sealability because of the interference in the melt fusion
by the oxidised surface layer. The minimum sealing
temperature rises significantly as the level of treatment
increases (see Figure 56). This is particularly a problem in
the side-sealing or hot-wire sealing of bags. The presence
of slip additives can exacerbate this problem.
Film orientation: This is an important variable which is
not often recognised as having an influence on
sealability. When heated, the film naturally tries to return
to its original unstretched state in the vicinity of the heat
seal. In film with unbalanced orientation in the machine
and transverse directions, serious reductions in seal
strength can be obtained. This effect applies particularly
to side seals.
Film age: There is some evidence that the sealability
of film stored for long periods of time will deteriorate
because of surface oxidation.
Creases: These are the causes of many sealing
weaknesses and failures, as the additional layers of film
in a crease are much more difficult to seal. In general,
stiffer films are less prone to forming creases during
extrusion and converting; however the optimum stiffness
will depend on the equipment. In some cases, higher MFI
polymers will help seal through the creases, as they are
able to flow more easily.
Figure 56: Effect of Treatment on Sealing Properties of

MFI 2.5 LDPE Film (Otto Brugger Heat Sealer, Dwell Time
0.5 sec, Pressure 0.2 MPa, Film Thickness 37 micron)
Comparison of Alkathene LDPE, Alkatuff LLDPE

and Alkamax mLLDPE Films for Heat Sealing
LLDPE films possess superior sealability to conventional
LDPE films, having easier sealing, higher seal strengths and
hot tack strengths, and excellent sealability through
contaminated film surfaces. Typical sealing and hot tack
curves comparing the sealability of Alkathene LDPE and
Alkatuff LLDPE films are shown in Figures 54 and 55
respectively.
Alkatuff LLDPE and Alkamax mLLDPE films have about a
20C higher melting point, a lower melt strength, a lower
zero shear viscosity, a much lower film shrinkage and are
frequently of thinner gauge than Alkathene LDPE films of
similar MFI and density. These factors have a significant
influence on the sealability of the two polymers.
A slightly higher minimum sealing temperature is required
for Alkatuff LLDPE and Alkamax mLLDPE films. Because
of their narrower molecular weight distributions and their
flatter flow curves at low shear rates compared with
Alkathene LDPE (see Figure 5), Alkatuff LLDPE and Alkamax
mLLDPE have lower zero shear viscosities and
consequently better flow during sealing for a given MFI and
sealing temperature. This effect contributes to the easier
sealing of Alkatuff LLDPE and Alkamax mLLDPE films.
The zero shear viscosity decreases as the MFI and
temperature increase.
55
Seal strength is higher with Alkatuff LLDPE and Alkamax

mLLDPE films because of the inherently higher tensile
strength of the film itself (see Figure 54).
Figure 55 shows the superior hot tack strength of an
Alkatuff LLDPE film compared with an Alkathene LDPE film
with similar MFI and density. In addition, the good hot tack
performance of the LLDPE film is retained over a range of
temperatures, thus giving a wider operating window. Also,
good hot tack strength is maintained even when sealing
contaminated films. For Alkamax mLLDPE resins, the hot
tack performance is further improved. Figure 57 shows an
Alkamax mLLDPE resin has superior hot tack at lower
sealing temperatures than a comparable standard LLDPE.
In side-sealing operations under conditions normally

used for LDPE films, slightly more knife build-up and
some stringiness to the seals may occur with LLDPE films.
Increasing the temperature of the hot knife eliminates
build-up and gives better looking seals. Good seal integrity
equivalent to or exceeding that of LDPE films is obtained.
A sharper 0.4 mm radius knife, similar to those used for
sealing polypropylene and high density polyethylene films,
can provide better side-sealing performance.
Sealing through Contamination

In a number of applications, for example food packaging,
the sealing area of the film can become contaminated with
dust from the contents or coated with grease or liquid
before the seal is made. This contamination makes sealing
particularly difficult by interfering with the inter-fusion of
the two films; sealing properties then deteriorate and the
minimum sealing temperature is raised significantly.
LLDPE, including mLLDPE, films are less sensitive to
sealing through contamination than LDPE films and for this
reason LLDPE rich blends are widely used for applications
where sealing can be difficult. Higher MFI grades can also
help as the lower viscosity may allow the resin to flow
around contamination more easily.
Figure 57: Hot Tack of Alkamax mLLDPE and Alkatuff

LLDPE Films (IDM Hot Tack Testing, Seal Pressure
275 kPa, Seal Time 0.5 sec, Delay Time 0.2 sec,
Peel Speed 250 mm/sec, Film Thickness 50 micron)
Good heat seals can be obtained in hot jaw sealing with
LLDPE films by using a 10 to 20C higher sealing
temperature, but dwell time and jaw pressure can be
reduced to account for the lower melt strength of the
LLDPE. These conditions allow much faster cycling than
with LDPE films.
56
APPENDIX 1 FILM EXTRUSION TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE

Problem /Issue
Causes
Potential Solutions /Actions
Blocking
Insufficient bubble cooling
Optimise cooling air

Reduce output rate
Winding tension too high
Reduce winding tension
Nip roller pressure too high
Reduce nip roller pressure
Rolls exposed to excessive heat during

storage or transport
Minimise heat exposure
Antiblock level or type is not adequate
Increase level of antiblock

Consider a different type of antiblock
Formulation susceptible to blocking
Consider metallocene resins or higher density resins
Melt temperature too high
Reduce extruder temperatures
Die temperatures too high
Reduce die temperatures
Insufficient process aid
Add process aid masterbatch
Antiblock
Reduce level if possible. Check type of antiblock.
Die lips scratched or dented
Repair or replace lip set
Die lips misaligned
Ensure die lips are aligned and level
Oxidation of resin during shutdown or startup
Cool extruder rapidly when shutting down

(set temperatures to 100C)
Die lines or
Die lip buildup
Gels or dark
specks
Avoid long periods of heating while extruder idle

Leave extruder full when shutting down
Add antioxidant masterbatch when shutting down
Incorrect COF /slip
Extrusion temperatures not optimised
Optimise extrusion temperatures
Extruder speed too slow or too fast for

optimum extrusion
Alter formulation or equipment to achieve suitable

extruder speeds
Purging inadequate when changing formulations
Consider use of a purging compound
Faulty thermocouple, or other fault in heating

or cooling systems
Check heater controls, thermocouples,

and cooling system
Screenpack broken
Replace screenpack
Screens too coarse
Use finer screen(s)
Contamination
Eliminate sources of external contamination
Moisture
Ensure resins are dry
Buildup of oxidised material in equipment
Clean extruder screw and barrel. Clean die.
Incorrect level of slip additive
Check dosing
Consider type of slip additive
Slip additive has not migrated to surface
Allow adequate time for additive to migrate

Reduce winding tension
Slip levels in each layer not optimised
Alter slip levels in each layer
Slip additive absorbed by another layer
Consider non-migratory slip additive
57
Problem /Issue
Causes
Low output
Unstable bubble
Refer to Unstable bubble section
Extruder motor load too high
Increase extrusion temperatures

Consider higher melt index resin(s)
Regear extruder motor
Head pressure too high
Change screenpack
Increase extrusion temperatures
Consider higher melt index resin(s)
Increase die size or die gap
Melt fracture
Melt temperature too low
Increase extruder and/or die temperatures
Die gap too narrow
Change die insert to a larger gap
Insufficient process aid
Add or increase process aid masterbatch
Formulation not optimum
Add or increase level of LDPE

Consider a different grade of LLDPE
Poor optical
properties
Output rate too high
Reduce output rate
Melt temperature too low
Increase extruder and/or die temperatures
Frost line too high
Reduce frost line height
Output rate not optimum
Increase or reduce output rate
Melt fracture
Refer to Melt fracture section
Die gap too wide
Change die insert to a narrower gap
Excessive level of antiblock or other additives
Optimise additive levels
Formulation not optimum
Consider lower density resins

Consider higher melt index resins
Poor shrink
properties
Poor sealing
Incorrect blow-up ratio
Adjust die size or film width
Incorrect resin or formulation for application
Adjust level of LLDPE/HDPE or alter grade of LDPE
Poor gauge control
Minimise variation by centering die and optimising

chilled air flow
Frostline height not correct
Adjust chilled air flow or output rate
Bubble shape not correct
Adjust chilled air flow or output rate
Die lip gap not optimum
Replace die lip set
Faulty sealing equipment
Ensure sealing equipment is well maintained
Sealing temperature or dwell time too low
Increase sealing temperature or dwell time
Sealing temperature too high
Reduce sealing temperature
Sealing pressure too low or too high
Adjust sealing pressure

Consider different type of sealing jaw or wire
58
Gauge incorrect
Ensure target gauge is achieved
Gauge variation
Minimise variation by adjusting die gaps and

optimising chilled air flow
Incorrect formulation
Ensure no errors occur in feeding or blending resins
Excessive corona treatment
Reduce corona treatment level
Formulation not optimum for conditions
Adjust formulation (will depend on failure type)
Problem /Issue
Causes
Surging extruder
Feed throat cooling not working
Check cooling water flow
Bridging or blockage in feed throat
Check feed throat
Temperature profile not optimised
Optimise extruder temperatures
Inconsistent resin blend
Ensure blenders are operating correctly
Cooling air flowrate not optimised
Adjust cooling air
Unstable bubble
Ensure air ring type is suitable for formulation

Melt strength too low
Reduce melt temperature

Use material with lower MFI
Surging extruder
Refer to Surging extruder section
High blow-up ratio
Increase die size
Output rate too high
Reduce output rate
Disclaimer
The proposed solutions in this guide are based on conditions that are typically encountered in the manufacture of products from polyethylene.
Other variables or constraints may impact the ability of the user to apply these solutions. Qenos also refers the user to the disclaimer at the
beginning of this document.
59
BIBLIOGRAPHY/FURTHER READING
1. Levy, S.; Carley, J. F.; Plastics extrusion technology handbook, (2nd Ed.), Industrial Press, 1989.
2. Gregory, B. H.; Polyethylene Film Extrusion: A Process Manual, Trafford Publishing, 2009.
3. Wagner, J. R. Jr; Handbook of Troubleshooting Plastic Processes: A Practical Guide, John Wiley and Sons, 2012.
4. Butler, T.; Blown Film Tutorial, SPE ANTEC Conference Proceedings, 1999.
5. Xiao, K.; Troubleshooting Extrusion Problems in Coextrusion Film Applications, TAPPI PLACE CD-ROM Proceedings,
Cincinnati, OH, 2006.
6. Waller, P.; Troubleshooting Gauge Variation Problems in the Blown Film Industry, Flexible Packaging Conference
Proceedings, 2006.
7. Processing Metallocene Polyolefins Conference Proceedings, Germany, Smithers Rapra Publishing, 1999.
8. Butler, T. (ed.); Film Extrusion Manual, TAPPI Press, 2005.
Issued July 2015.
60
Polyethylene Technical Guide Series
01
GENERAL
PROPERTIES
05
INJECTION
MOULDING
TECHNICAL GUIDE
TECHNICAL GUIDE
02
06
EXTRUSION
TECHNICAL GUIDE
ROTATIONAL
MOULDING
TECHNICAL GUIDE
03
FILM EXTRUSION
AND CONVERSION
07
PIPE AND TUBING

EXTRUSION
TECHNICAL GUIDE
TECHNICAL GUIDE
04
EXTRUSION COATING
& LAMINATION
08
POLYETHYLENE
BLOW MOULDING
TECHNICAL GUIDE
TECHNICAL GUIDE
Qenos Pty Ltd

471 Kororoit Creek Rd
Altona Victoria 3018 Australia
Phone 1800 063 573
Fax 1800 638 981
ABN 62 054 196 771
qenos.com

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03

3 FILM EXTRUSION AND CONVERSION

GRADE SELECTION FOR FILM EXTRUSION

Comparison of Product Types and Classes

Blending of LLDPE, mLLDPE and LDPE

Blending of HDPE with LLDPE and LDPE

Blown Film Parameters

Surface Melt Fracture

THE EXTRUSION PROCESS

Extruder Drive System

Heating and Cooling the Barrel

Conventional Screw Design

Modified and High Performance Screws

Barrier Flighted Screws

Grooved Feed Section

FILM EXTRUSION DIES

Types of Film Die

Spiral Mandrel Dies

Coextrusion Film Dies

Die Design Principles for LDPE Polymers

Die Design Principles for LLDPE and mLLDPE Polymers

Wide Die Gap Extrusion

Narrow Die Gap Extrusion

Die Design Principles for HDPE Polymers

Use of Processing Aids

Air Ring Design Principles for LDPE

Air Ring Design Principles for LLDPE

Qenos Technical Guides

FILM EXTRUSION AND CONVERSION 3

Air Ring Design Principles for HDPE

COLLAPSING THE BUBBLE

SUMMARY OF DIFFERENCES IN EXTRUSION EQUIPMENT FOR LDPE AND LLDPE

TREATMENT OF POLYETHYLENE FILM

Electrical Discharge Treatment

Effect of Film Additives on Treatment

Common Dangers and Difficulties

Wetting Tension (Dynes Ink) Test

Tape Adhesion Test

CAST FILM EXTRUSION TECHNOLOGY

Properties of Chill Roll Cast Film

PART B. FILM PROPERTIES

General Packaging Applications

Industrial Film Applications

Dependence of Film Quality on Polymer Properties

OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF POLYETHYLENE FILM

Other Optical Defects

Origin of Optical Irregularities

Effect of Processing Conditions on Optical Properties

Qenos Technical Guides

3 FILM EXTRUSION AND CONVERSION

Combined Effect of Extrusion Variables

Surface Melt Fracture (Sharkskin)

EFFECT OF PROCESSING CONDITIONS ON MECHANICAL PROPERTIES

Effect of Orientation on Tensile and Tear Properties