Using a Finite Volume Approach to Simulate the Mould Filling in Compression Moulding

Abstract

A mould filling simulation of an automotive hood geometry was performed using a general purpose finite volume computational fluid dynamics (CFD)code. The simulation was performed as a homogenous multi-phase model using mass sinks to remove excess air from the computational domain and performed in three-dimensions. The kinematic boundary condition was modelled using a hydrodynamic friction at the mould boundaries corresponding to that in the Barone and Caulk approximation. The fibre orientation distribution was simulated through-out the closure phase using the Folgar Tucker equation for the reorientation of the fibres and orientation tensors to describe the local orientation for each element. The paper presents the methodology for, and the possibilities of, using a general purpose CFD code for these kinds of simulations. Both mould filling simulations in general can be performed and special cases where the standard simplifications of the governing equations are not valid can be investigated.

Multiscale Simulation of Injection Molding of Parts with Low Aspect Ratio Microfeatures

“…A general fluid dynamics (CFD) solver was used (ANSYS CFX-11.0, 2007) to solve the microscale problem. The code is based on the finite volume method and has previously been used for 3D mold filling simulations (Vahlund, 2003).…”

Simulation analysis of influence factors for preparation of dispersed cap-open carbon nanotubes using CCVD

“…When species mixing or chemical reaction are present, species conservation equations also must be solved. According to the description above, four main equations are expressed as below: 10,11,12 1. Continuity equation:…”

Global Stiffness of a SMC Panel Considering Process Induced Fiber Orientation

“…The fiber orientation induced during the compression moulding of this geometry has been calculated by Vahlund [1] for a realistic material charge in a hypothetical tool. The fiber orientation distribution function is given by ÉðÞ that describes the probability of finding a fiber with orientation between and þ d relative to a reference axis [3], here chosen to be the global x-axis of the geometry.…”

“…The fiber orientation distribution is obtained in 2500 calculation points and since only one half of the structure was used in the mould filling analysis, it means there is data for 5000 points on the complete outer hood structure. The 1-2 axes of the fiber orientation tensor coincide with the global coordinate system (x-y) of the mesh used in the mould filling simulation [1]. The local axes of the shell elements in the structural mechanics mesh are set to be projections of the global coordinate system for the structural mechanics mesh.…”

“…This paper includes calculation of the global stiffness for a hypothetical exterior hood structure considering the process induced fiber orientation distribution. The fiber orientation distribution of the hood has been simulated through mould filling analysis in a separate project [1]. The use of mould filling simulation for determination of fiber orientation for a compression-moulded structure is well established.…”