AbstractThe flow of viscoplastic materials through extrusion dies has been studied numerically using the finite element method. Rheological data for viscoplastic doughs have been fitted by the Herschel‐Bulkley model, which incorporates a yield stress into the power‐law model. Non‐isothermal simulations show the extent and shape of yielded/unyielded regions and the development of temperature field assuming different modes of heat transfer at the boundaries. The results reveal that viscous dissipation causes appreciable temperature rises in the extrudate in agreement with measured values at the extruded material surface. The extrudate swell results show a maximum for a certain range of apparent shear rates also observed experimentally. However, the inelastic simulations based on the Herschel‐Bulkley model always under‐predict the experimental swelling values. A heuristic approach is also used to determine the level of elasticity required to produce the experiment