Physical Modelling and Identification of Polymer Viscoelastic Behaviour above Glass Transition Temperature and Application to the Numerical Simulation of the Hot Embossing Process
The experimental processing parameters, such as applied pressure and forming temperature have been analysed during polymer hot embossing of micro-cavities. The viscoelastic characteristics of polymer above the glass transition temperature have been investigated with the classical viscoelastic models. Generalized Maxwell Model has been used to describe polymer behaviours in the glass transition temperature range. The parameters include relaxation time, storage modulus and loss modulus of the Generalized Maxwell Model that have been introduced. The identification of polymer characteristics has been carried out through Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA). The storage modulus, the loss modulus and the damping factor of the selected polymer have been obtained with different imposed frequencies. The master curve of complex modulus has been obtained by applying the time temperature superposition principle. The experimental data has been identified with optimized fitting parameters of Generalized Maxwell Model. A proper agreement between the experimental measurement and the identification of viscoelastic model is observed. The resulting constitutive equations have been implemented in finite element software in order to achieve the numerical simulation of the hot embossing process.