Prediction of crystallinity profile and eject time of injection molded parts using finite element method (FEM)
AbstractQuality of injection molded parts of semi-crystalline polymers has been the subject of intense interest from both analytical and industrial points of view. Crystallinity profile plays an important role in determining mechanical properties of a part and its quality. Therefore it is important to analyze the effect of injection molding parameters on the crystallinity profile of the molded parts. In this study, finite element analysis has been used to solve the equations of mass, momentum, and energy conservation simultaneously with the equation of crystallization kinetics to predict melt front, its solidification and crystallinity profile. The results from our numerical analysis have been compared with the reported experimental results. Furthermore, progress of the crystallization is proposed to be a proper criterion for estimation of the eject time. Finally, the effects of mold and melt temperature on the eject time; part temperature and average degree of crystallinity, for a specific compound are also presented.