tech.

topic
LyondellBasell
Technical Tip

Sharkskin
At one time or another, you may have found
bottles coming off your blow molding machine
with a "sharkskin" inner surface — wide,
alternating bands of thick and thin wall
sections.
! What causes sharkskin and how can it
be prevented?
The answers are fairly straightforward.
If you are running a continuous-extrusion blow
molder, sharkskin results from extruding the
resin too fast. Simply slow the extruder RPM
and the problem disappears.
If you are running a reciprocating-screw blow
molder — and most dairy operations use this
type of machine — you are not extruding the
resin fast enough. Increasing the shot-pressure
should get rid of the sharkskin defect in the
bottles.
However, with HDPE, this plot is not entirely
accurate. When the actual extrusion rate of
HDPE is plotted against extrusion pressure, the
curve formed looks like that shown in Figure 2.
Starting at some low value, as pressure
gradually increases, a correspondingly smooth
increase in extrusion rate occurs for a time.
Through the lower region of the curve, melt flow
is steady and bottle surfaces are smooth. This
region of the curve corresponds to the normal
operation of a continuous-extrusion, blow
molding machine, i.e., relatively slow extrusion
of the parison or a long drop time.
As melt pressure continues to increase,
suddenly sharkskin occurs. On the flow curve in
Figure 2, this region is described as the
"pressure plateau."

While these may seem like conflicting solutions

to the same problem, the reasons are
understandable if we look at the complex
behavior of a high density polyethylene (HDPE)
melt as it is pushed through a die. In general,
as extrusion pressure is increased, the
extrusion rate increases (or drop time
decreases).

A plot of extrusion rate versus pressure under

Fig. 2: HDPE Melt Flow in Real Life
these circumstances resembles Figure 1.
However, if extrusion pressure is raised still
further, the sharkskin disappears. Actually,
neither the parison nor the bottle is quite as
smooth as one produced in the steady-flow
region. A very close examination of the inner
bottle surface discloses a micro-fine roughness
that does not detract from either the
appearance or the performance of the bottle.
This region of micro-roughness continues over
a wide range of increasing extrusion pressures
and encompasses the operational range of
most reciprocating-screw, blow molding
Fig. 1: Melt Flow as Expected (Continued on Page 2)

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 tech.topic
LyondellBasell
Technical Tip

Sharkskin (Continued)
machines. If the extrusion rate continues to
increase to very high levels, melt fracture occurs
and the parisons are very rough and
unmanageable and the resulting bottles are
unacceptable.
The inset photographs in Figure 2 are
enlargements of the extrudate from a capillary
rheometer, an instrument enabling fine control of
extrusion rates. The photos show the condition of
the parison when extruded in different regions of
the flow curve, i.e., at various rates of extrusion.
In continuous-extrusion, blow-molding machines,
the extrusion of the parison takes place in the
region of steady flow. The rapid extrusion of the
parison in a reciprocating-screw, blow molding
machine takes place at rates above the pressure
plateau. These facts explain the seemingly
contradictory solutions stated earlier to the
sharkskin problem.
Figure 3 takes a closer look at what happens in
the pressure plateau. Within the plateau, very
small increases in extrusion pressure cause the
extrusion rate to nearly double. Conversely, a
small pressure drop causes the extrusion rate to
fall dramatically.
After such a drop, pressure starts to build again
and the cycle repeats. Each of these rapidly
occurring cycles produces a thin and thick section
in the parison, which translates into sharkskin in
the bottle.
All HDPE resins used for blow molding exhibit the
phenomenon described above. HDPE resins from
Equistar are designed to minimize the width of
the plateau and to enable the operator to control
sharkskin while maintaining high extrusion rates.

For more information about polyethylene for high-

speed blow molding, contact your LyondellBasell
sales or technical service representative.

Fig. 3: Pressure and Extrusion Rate Oscillations in the

Pressure Plateau Regions Produce Sharksin

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6892B/0715
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