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Using openfoam for simulation of reactive injection molding as a non-isothermal compressible multiphase flow

Wittemann, Florian ORCID iD icon; Maertens, Robert ORCID iD icon; Kaerger, Luise; Henning, Frank

Abstract:

Reactive injection molding (RIM) is one of the most important processes for large-scale production of discontinuous fiber reinforced composites with thermoset matrices. The process conditions control the final part performance. To achieve the quality standards and the economic demands of automotive industry, it is crucial to thoroughly design the process by reliable process simulation. State of the art simulation software focusses on thermoplastic injection molding and uses the same models for thermoplastic and reactive injection molding. However, thermosets reveal a complex and different flow behavior during form filling, compared to thermoplastic composites. Therefore, the present study uses a new RIM-focused solver, which is based on the Finite Volume Method (FVM) and uses well-known viscosity and curing kinetic models for thermoset materials. Non-isothermal, compressible multiphase flows are simulated with phase-dependent boundary conditions, separating air and polymer, to enable mold filling and predicting the final fiber orientation distribution. The FVM simulations are conducted with the open source CFD toolbox OpenFOAM. The solver is compared to commercial FEM software and experimental pressure measurements at different points during mold filling. ... mehr


Zugehörige Institution(en) am KIT Institut für Fahrzeugsystemtechnik (FAST)
Publikationstyp Proceedingsbeitrag
Publikationsjahr 2018
Sprache Englisch
Identifikator KITopen-ID: 1000099314
Erschienen in 14th International Conference on Flow Processing in Composite Materials, Luleå, S, May 30 - June 01, 2018
Veranstaltung 14th International Conference on Flow Processes in Composite Materials (2018), Luleå, Schweden, 30.05.2018 – 01.06.2018
Vorab online veröffentlicht am 24.05.2018
Schlagwörter reactive injection molding; RIM; thermoset processing; process simulation; FVM; OpenFOAM.
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