MOLD-FILLING SIMULATIONS FOR THE INJECTION-MOLDING OF CONTINUOUS FIBER-REINFORCED POLYMER

Injection molding can be used to fabricate fiber-reinforced polymer composites by impregnating a continuous fabric mat preplaced in a mold cavity with a polymer resin. The mold-filling time is dependent on the flow and heat transfer behavior in the mold. A model is proposed that considers the non-Newtonian flow through the porous fabric mat and the heat transfer between mold, fabric mat, and flowing fluid. The model was simulated for the mold filling of a carbon fiber mat with a pseudoplastic polymer solution. The results from the simulation provide information for optimizing mold-filling parameters through proper selection of inlet fluid pressure, heat source temperature, and type of polymer-solvent system.