Prediction of flow–induced process variables based on similarity analysis in the liquid molding process

Abstract In general, a numerical scheme is a widely accepted technique for estimating resin flow in the liquid molding process. A numerical mold filling analysis is essential to optimize the manufacturing process of a composite. However, finding an optimal condition from the numerical analysis requires many numerical calculations. The efforts can be greatly reduced if a similarity solution replaces the repeated numerical calculations. In this study, similarity relations are proposed to predict the flow‐induced process variables. such as resin pressure, resin velocity, and flow front evolution time, during mold filling. Numerical simulations are performed for two cases where a material property, an injection condition or a part shape is different. The model is verified by applying the similarity relation for two numerical results obtained from the thin shell structure.