Fiber orientation in simple injection moldings. Part II: Experimental results

Abstract

AbstractExperimental measurements of fiber orientation are reported for two parts injection molded from nylon 6/6 reinforced with 43 wt% of glass fibers. The parts are a center‐gated disk and a film‐gated strip. Orientation is measured from polished cross sections and reported as a function of position, both across the thickness and in the flow direction. Both parts have a layered structure, with outer shell layers of flow‐aligned fibers surrounding a central core of either random‐in‐plane (strip) or transversely aligned fibers (disk). The disk also has surface skins with less alignment. The experiments are compared with predictions of the simulation presented in Part I. The simulation predicts the presence, nature, and location of the layers very well. However, it overpredicts the small out‐of‐plane fiber orientation and places the core‐shell transition too close to the midplane. A comparison with selected experimental results suggests that the major source of error is the closure approximation used by the fiber orientation equation. The simulation is exercised for a variety of cases to show the importance of material and process parameters. A polymer matrix with a small power‐law index or a large heat of fusion gives a thicker core and is less likely to have a skin. Injection time is an important parameter, but injection temperature and mold temperature have little effect on fiber orientation.