We studied the nonisothermal flow of Carreau fluid in a coat hanger die. A general three-dimensional finite volume code was developed for the purpose of flow analysis. The pressure distribution and velocity distribution were obtained in addition to the temperature distribution. The results illustrated that the highest temperature occurred more by the center of manifold than by the die-lip region. In the regions where the die gap was small relatively, the wall temperature played a key role in the determination of the temperature distribution in the melt. However, in the manifold, the viscous dissipation was the key factor that determined the temperature distribution in the melt where the heat conduction was relatively poor because of the thicker gap. (c) 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.