Plastics Extrusion - Pipe, Film & Profile worked example

Breaker Plate Pressure Drop with baseline melt pressure of 900 psi: a worked example

This worked example runs the breaker plate pressure drop numbers for a tougher week than the baseline: baseline melt pressure of 900 psi instead of the typical 1,800 psi. Estimate pressure drop across a breaker plate or screen pack from baseline pressure, restriction factor, and run time.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Baseline melt pressure: 900 psi (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 1,800)
  • Screen or breaker restriction factor: 1.18 x (held at the documented default)
  • Operating time at condition: 8 hr (held at the documented default)

Working through the calculation

  • The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Breaker Plate Pressure Drop = baseline melt pressure × screen or breaker restriction factor.
  • Estimated pressure drop load works out to 1,062 psi at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • Pressure load per hour works out to 133 psi / hr at these inputs.
  • Baseline melt pressure works out to 900 psi at these inputs.
  • Restriction factor works out to 1.18 x at these inputs.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where baseline melt pressure sits at 1,800 psi and the headline result is 2,124 psi, this scenario comes in 50% below the baseline at 1,062 psi.
  • Use it to project screen-pack pressure rise during a run, size a pressure alarm setpoint, or compare restriction between clean and fouled screen packs. A result at this level usually justifies acting on the stressed input before touching anything else, because every other figure in the table is downstream of it.

Results at a glance

  • Estimated pressure drop load: 1,062 psi (headline result)
  • Pressure load per hour: 133 psi / hr
  • Baseline melt pressure: 900 psi
  • Restriction factor: 1.18 x

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Breaker Plate Pressure Drop calculator, set baseline melt pressure to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.