Study on the flow-fiber coupling effect and its influence on the shrinkage of fiber-reinforced plastic (frp) injection parts

Cheng Hong Lai, Chao Tsai Huang, Jia Hao Chu, Wei Wen Fu, Sheng Jye Hwang, Hsin Shu Peng, Chih Che Wu, Chun I. Tu

Research output: Contribution to conferencePaperpeer-review

Abstract

The fiber-reinforced plastics (FRP) material has been applied into industry as one of the major lightweight technologies, especially for automotive or aerospace products. The reason why fibers can enhance plastics is because of their microstructures. One of those microstructures is fiber orientation distribution. Since the fiber orientations inside plastic matrix are very complex, they are not easy to be visualized and managed. In addition, there might be some interaction between flow and fiber during the injection molding processing, but not fully understood yet. In this study, the flow-fiber coupling effect on FRP injection parts has been investigated using a geometry system with three ASTM D638 specimens. The study methods include both numerical simulation and experimental observation. Results showed that in the presence of flow-fiber coupling the melt flow front advancement presents some variation, specifically at the geometrical corners of the system. Furthermore, through the fiber orientation distribution (FOD) study, the flow-fiber coupling effect is not significantly at the near gate region (NRG). It might result from too strong shear force to hold down the appearance of the flow-fiber interaction. However, at the end of filling region (EFR), the flow-fiber coupling effect tries to diminish the flow direction orientation tensor component A11 and enhance the cross-flow orientation tensor component A22 simultaneously. It ends up with the cross-flow direction dominant at the EFR. This orientation distribution behavior variation has been verified using micro-computerized tomography (μ-CT) scan and images analysis by AVIZO software. Finally, the flow-fiber coupling effect also verified based on the tensile stress testing and the shrinkage of the injected parts through different flow domains.

Original languageEnglish
Publication statusPublished - 2021
Event2021 SPE Annual Technical Conference, ANTEC 2021 - Virtual, Online
Duration: 2021 May 102021 May 21

Conference

Conference2021 SPE Annual Technical Conference, ANTEC 2021
CityVirtual, Online
Period21-05-1021-05-21

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General Chemical Engineering
  • Polymers and Plastics

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