Abstract
Its high-specific strength and stiffness with lower cost make discontinuous fiber-reinforced thermoplastic (FRT) materials an ideal choice for lightweight applications in the automotive industry. Compression molding is one of the preferred manufacturing processes for such materials as it offers the opportunity to maintain a longer fiber length and higher volume production. In the past, we have demonstrated that compression molding of FRT in bulk form can be simulated by treating melt flow as a continuum using the conservation of mass and momentum equations. However, the compression molding of such materials in sheet form using a similar approach does not work well. The assumption of melt flow as a continuum does not hold for such deformation processes. To address this challenge, we have developed a novel simulation approach. First, the draping of the sheet was simulated as a structural deformation using the explicit finite element approach. Next, the draped shape was compressed using fluid mechanics equations. The proposed method was verified by building a physical part and comparing the predicted fiber orientation and warpage measurements performed on the physical parts. The developed method and tools are expected to help in expediting the development of FRT parts, which will help achieve lightweight targets in the automotive industry.
Highlights
Fiber-reinforced composites offer exciting new possibilities for weight reduction due to their excellent mechanical properties, economical fuel consumption, and lower carbon footprint
Approach, i.e., when should the draping stop and how does a partially draped part affect the warpage? In production, the compression molding process occurs continually at the established cycle times, typically 2–3 min depending on the part size
The draping simulation was carried out to model the draping of a heated carbon thermoplastic sheet on the mold cavity with very little pressure
Summary
Fiber-reinforced composites offer exciting new possibilities for weight reduction due to their excellent mechanical properties, economical fuel consumption, and lower carbon footprint. For typical automotive components where large volume, low cost, and fast cycle time are desired, chopped reinforcing fibers with thermoplastic resin are increasing in popularity [1,2,3]. Such composite materials are made using injection molding, compression molding, or resin transfer molding processes [4,5]. The compression molding simulation approach developed for bulk materials does not work for the compression molding of sheet materials This is because, when heated fiber-reinforced thermoplastic sheets are placed in the mold cavity, the sheets have very little stiffness and drape in the mold cavity under very little compressive force. Material properties required to support the simulation, i.e., high temperature stiffness and strength for the draping simulation and material flows and other temperature properties, were measured experimentally
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