The key to finding relevant process parameters in manufacturing of thermoplastic sandwich panels is an accurate prediction of the temperature at the interface between core and face during manufacturing, as this temperature is critical for the bond between the constituents. In this paper a model for prediction of the temperature distribution within a sandwich panel during manufacturing is presented. The process of face manufacturing by compression molding also is modeled, both for a one-dimensional case using finite difference methods to investigate effects of varying thermal contact conductances, and for a three-dimensional (3D) case using finite element methods to study temperature edge effects. The models are verified by experiments, in which a preconsolidated glass fiber/polyamide 12 laminate is used, partly as a ply in a thicker laminate, partly as face sheet for a sandwich panel. The core material used is polymethacrylimide foam.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.