Instabilities in a Layer-Multiplying Device

The application of a layer‐multiplying device to coextrusion has resulted in a process, called microlayer coextrusion, producing films with ten to thousands of layers of two different polymers. It was shown that this device is quite versatile and can be used to produce new layered systems with improved mechanical, optical, electrical and barrier properties. However, instabilities may occur in the feedblock and/or the layer multiplying unit, affecting the uniformity and the continuity of the created layers. Those instabilities have been widely studied for classical systems with three to five layer structures, while very few studies deal with microlayer coextrusion process. The aim of this paper is to study the flow instabilities in multilayered films. In particular, the role of polymer properties and the effect of some parameters, such as the viscosity ratio, will be investigated.