Validation of a low inertia mold with rectangular heating channels for injection process

Jean Collomb (1) , Pascale Balland (1) , Pascal Francescato (1) , Yves Gardet (2) , David Leh (2) , Philippe Saffré (1)

1 SYMME - Laboratoire SYstèmes et Matériaux pour la MEcatronique
2 CT1

Current molding processes for high performance composite materials do not meet future expectations of composite manufacturers in terms of cadence, particularly for aeronautics and automotive [1]. Researches are currently being carried out on resin, reinforcements and process automation, with the aim of increasing composite production line productivity for being competitive in terms of cost-quality-cadence. However, current molds are designed according to rules from the field of plastic injection, which leads to massive structures and low thermal performances [2]. For efficiency on the complete production line, it is essential to conduct research on molds to increase their thermomechanical responses. In a previous study [3], it was demonstrated that the transition from circular to rectangular heating channels, with consideration of technological aspects (pump and pressure drops) could significantly increase heating rates of the structure. The main purpose of this study is to experimentally validate thermal performances of an innovative low inertia mold with rectangular channels compared to a massive reference RTM mold as presented in Figure 1.

Mots clés: Heat transfer; Injection molding; Rapid molding; Rapid Heat Cycle Molding (RHCM); Conformal channels; Profiled channels

Domaines: Génie des procédés; Matériaux; Mécanique des solides [physics.class-ph]; Matériaux et structures en mécanique [physics.class-ph]; Mécanique des matériaux [physics.class-ph]; Mécanique des fluides [physics.class-ph]; Génie mécanique [physics.class-ph]; Ingénierie assistée par ordinateur; Modélisation et simulation; Analyse numérique [cs.NA]; Thermique [physics.class-ph]; Mécanique des structures [physics.class-ph]

Jean Collomb, Pascale Balland, Pascal Francescato, Yves Gardet, David Leh, et al.. Validation of a low inertia mold with rectangular heating channels for injection process. 14th International Conference on Flow Processes in Composite Materials,, May 2018, Lulea, Sweden. ⟨hal-01808378⟩