This work presents the results of modeling, numerical simulation, and experimental study of resin flow and heat transfer in the resin injection pultrusion (RIP) process. A control volume/finite element method (CV/FEM) was used to solve the flow governing equations, together with heat transfer and chemical reaction models. Resin viscosity, degree of cure, and fiber stack compressibility and permeability were measured in order to understand their influences on the process. An analytical flow model has also been develped based on the one‐dimensional flow approximation for the resin flow in the injection die. A high‐pressure small‐taper injection die was tested with different line speeds. Experimental data were used to verify the simulation results and the analytical solutions.
Pulling force is the summation of resistance forces along a pultrusion die. Its mechanism is complicated because the impregnated resin inside the compressed fiber reinforcement changes from a liquid to a gel, and finally to a solid in the die. Two methods, a ‘mat tracer’method and a ‘short die length’ method, were used to determine the pulling force distribution. Results show that the downstream part of the die contributes little to the pulling force. In order to predict the resistance force in both the injection die and the heating die, two models were developed in this study. A friction measurement device was designed to measure the friction coefficient between the composite and the mold surface. The effect of process variables, such as temperature, resin conversion, normal force, and line speed, on the friction coefficient was investigated and a friction coefficient model was proposed based on the experimental results. A volume change model of vinylester resin was also developed to predict the thermal expansion–polymerization shrinkage during curing. The parameters of the model were determined by dilatometry, thermomechanical analysis (TMA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC).
In this study, a computer simulation code is developed to predict the dynamics of heat transfer in the pultrusion process. The die block and heater arrangement are included in the heat transfer analysis so that the simulation can provide the temperature profile at the interface between the die and the composite. The measured interface temperature profiles are then used to validate the simulation code. Energy management, i.e. heater power control along the heating die, is also considered in the simulation code. The code is capable of carrying out transient thermal analysis for both start‐up and steady‐state operation of the pultrusion process. From the experimental observations on the part quality in terms of blister formation, a processing window was obtained by showing the relation of the die length and the line speed to the part quality. The processing window is then generated numerically using the computer code based on the definition of a critical die length proposed in this work, and the result shows good agreement with the experimental data.
Pulling force modeling and analysis in conventional pultrusion and Resin Injection Pultrusion (RIP) of vinylester resin were carried out in this study. Based on the friction coefficient value of the liquid resin, an analytical model was developed to predict the resistance force in the injection die. A thermal expansion– polymerization shrinkage model and a friction coefficient model, combined with the temperature and resin conversion profiles along the die, were used to predict the resistance stress in the heating die, and to determine the composite separation point from the die wall. The simulation results were verified by the experimental data in the conventional pultrusion and RIP processes. The comparison shows that the models and the simulation tool developed in this study are capable of predicting the pulling force in the entire die with good agreement.
The dynamic response of a 2.5 inch plasticating extruder and the extrusion line are modeled using high density polyethylene and acrylics us extrudate. Screw speed, back pressure valve position, and material changes are used as forcing functions. Three fundamental transfer functions in the Laplace domain: a first order, a second order, and a lead‐lag, are developed to simulate the short term and long term responses of temperatures, pressures, and extrudate thickness. A kinetic‐elastic model which can predict rheological properties of non‐Newtonian, viscoelastic materials is also applied to the pressure responses of the extrusion process. This model can fit the experimental data well but due to the complexity involved in its parameter setting, more modifications are required before it can be applied for the control of extrusion process.
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