A Novel Multiscale Methodology for Simulating Droplet Morphology Evolution during Injection Molding of Polymer Blends
The morphology of polymer blends plays a critical role in determining the properties of the blends and performance of resulting injection-molded parts. However, it is currently impossible to predict the morphology evolution during injection molding and the final micro-structure of the molded parts,...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-12-01
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| Series: | Polymers |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/13/1/133 |
| _version_ | 1797543014175866880 |
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| author | Lin Deng Suo Fan Yun Zhang Zhigao Huang Shaofei Jiang Jiquan Li Huamin Zhou |
| author_facet | Lin Deng Suo Fan Yun Zhang Zhigao Huang Shaofei Jiang Jiquan Li Huamin Zhou |
| author_sort | Lin Deng |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The morphology of polymer blends plays a critical role in determining the properties of the blends and performance of resulting injection-molded parts. However, it is currently impossible to predict the morphology evolution during injection molding and the final micro-structure of the molded parts, as the existing models for the morphology evolution of polymer blends are still limited to a few simple flow fields. To fill this gap, this paper proposed a novel model for droplet morphology evolution during the mold filling process of polymer blends by coupling the models on macro- and meso-scales. The proposed model was verified by the injection molding experiment of PP/POE blends. The predicted curve of mold cavity pressure during filling process agreed precisely with the data of the corresponding pressure sensors. On the other hand, the model successfully tracked the moving trajectory and simulated morphology evolution of the droplets during the mold-filling process. After mold-filling ended, the simulation results of the final morphology of the droplets were consistent with the observations of the scanning electron microscope (SEM) experiment. Moreover, this study revealed the underlying mechanism of the droplet morphology evolution through the force analysis on the droplet. It is validated that the present model is a qualified tool for simulating the morphology evolution of polymer blends during injection molding and predicting the final microstructure of the products. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T13:38:42Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-641e59b86bf449df8503de33cc2d68ba |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4360 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T13:38:42Z |
| publishDate | 2020-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Polymers |
| spelling | doaj.art-641e59b86bf449df8503de33cc2d68ba2023-11-21T03:12:09ZengMDPI AGPolymers2073-43602020-12-0113113310.3390/polym13010133A Novel Multiscale Methodology for Simulating Droplet Morphology Evolution during Injection Molding of Polymer BlendsLin Deng0Suo Fan1Yun Zhang2Zhigao Huang3Shaofei Jiang4Jiquan Li5Huamin Zhou6College of Mechanical Engineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, ChinaSchool of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Wuhan Institute of Technology, Wuhan 430074, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Material Processing and Die & Mold Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Material Processing and Die & Mold Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, ChinaCollege of Mechanical Engineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, ChinaCollege of Mechanical Engineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Material Processing and Die & Mold Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, ChinaThe morphology of polymer blends plays a critical role in determining the properties of the blends and performance of resulting injection-molded parts. However, it is currently impossible to predict the morphology evolution during injection molding and the final micro-structure of the molded parts, as the existing models for the morphology evolution of polymer blends are still limited to a few simple flow fields. To fill this gap, this paper proposed a novel model for droplet morphology evolution during the mold filling process of polymer blends by coupling the models on macro- and meso-scales. The proposed model was verified by the injection molding experiment of PP/POE blends. The predicted curve of mold cavity pressure during filling process agreed precisely with the data of the corresponding pressure sensors. On the other hand, the model successfully tracked the moving trajectory and simulated morphology evolution of the droplets during the mold-filling process. After mold-filling ended, the simulation results of the final morphology of the droplets were consistent with the observations of the scanning electron microscope (SEM) experiment. Moreover, this study revealed the underlying mechanism of the droplet morphology evolution through the force analysis on the droplet. It is validated that the present model is a qualified tool for simulating the morphology evolution of polymer blends during injection molding and predicting the final microstructure of the products.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/13/1/133polymer blendsinjection moldingdroplet morphologylattice Boltzmann methodmulti-scale modeling |
| spellingShingle | Lin Deng Suo Fan Yun Zhang Zhigao Huang Shaofei Jiang Jiquan Li Huamin Zhou A Novel Multiscale Methodology for Simulating Droplet Morphology Evolution during Injection Molding of Polymer Blends Polymers polymer blends injection molding droplet morphology lattice Boltzmann method multi-scale modeling |
| title | A Novel Multiscale Methodology for Simulating Droplet Morphology Evolution during Injection Molding of Polymer Blends |
| title_full | A Novel Multiscale Methodology for Simulating Droplet Morphology Evolution during Injection Molding of Polymer Blends |
| title_fullStr | A Novel Multiscale Methodology for Simulating Droplet Morphology Evolution during Injection Molding of Polymer Blends |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Novel Multiscale Methodology for Simulating Droplet Morphology Evolution during Injection Molding of Polymer Blends |
| title_short | A Novel Multiscale Methodology for Simulating Droplet Morphology Evolution during Injection Molding of Polymer Blends |
| title_sort | novel multiscale methodology for simulating droplet morphology evolution during injection molding of polymer blends |
| topic | polymer blends injection molding droplet morphology lattice Boltzmann method multi-scale modeling |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/13/1/133 |
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