A Rectilinear Flow Model Approach to the Simulation of Injection Molding Process

This research uses a 3D rectilinear flow model to study the thermomechanical characteristics in the injection molding of a small dumbbell sample. The target material is a slowly crystallizing polymer-syndiotactic polystyrene. Three dimensional temperature, velocity, and stress distributions within the molded parts were calculated. Special attention was focused on the "neck" region of the small dumbbell sample where drastic changes in the thermomechanical characteristics were expected. Stress induced crystallization was shown to play a major role in the formation of the crystalline microstructure in these injection molded samples.