Predicting Polyethylene Blown Film Properties from Processing Conditions and Polymer Morphology Webinar
Predicting Polyethylene Blown Film Properties from Processing Conditions and Polymer Morphology Webinar
Online
Tuesday, July 07, 2026 to Tuesday, July 07, 2026
12PM - 12:30PM (ET)
Accurately predicting properties of polyethylene (PE) films with reliable models can help accelerate innovation, reduce development and material costs, and optimize coex layer design. Yet, obtaining accurate predictions for blown films is challenging because many properties are sensitive to thermo-mechanical processing conditions. A PE film’s permeability, tear and impact properties for example are all impacted by changes in die gaps, blow up ratios, frost line heights, melt temperatures or other processing conditions, and models that predict these changes for any polyethylene are complex and limited in their applicability across processing conditions.
NOVA Chemicals has developed a streamlined, two-step approach to predict permeability and machine direction tear in PE blown films run under different process conditions. The approach involves first predicting the polymer’s 3D morphology from rheological and orientation forces between the die exit and frost line. Then, it estimates permeability from the average crystalline orientation in the machine. This approach is now being used to build a new predictive model for NOVA’s BONFIRE® film development platform, bringing greater accuracy and simplicity to PE film design.
Dan Ward
