Numerical Simulation of Fiber Orientation and Resulting Thermo-Elastic Behavior in Reinforced Thermo-Plastics

Houssem Miled (1) , Luisa Silva (1) , Jean-François Agassant (1) , Thierry Coupez (1)

1 CEMEF - Centre de Mise en Forme des Matériaux

In this work, we describe a numerical technique to predict fiber orientation during injection moulding of fiber reinforced polymers, and how the resulting part behaves regarding this process induced orientation. The orientation state of a set of fibers is described by a second order tensor. Its evolution is given by the Folgar and Tucker tensorial hyperbolic equation. Even if this equation contains a fourth order term, it may be expressed as a function of the second order tensor using a closure approximation. The resolution of Folgar and Tucker's equation is carried out by a continuous approach based on the Standard Galerkin method, with stabilisation. The results are compared with experimental orientation measurements on an injected plate. Once the part solidifies it is considered as a biphasic material, composed by the fibers and the polymer matrix, where each phase has a linear elastic behaviour. The fhermo-elastic properties of the composite material are linked to the fiber orientation and the properties of each phase using a homogenisation technique. Finally, to validate the previous study on the prediction of the thermo-elastic properties at the solid state, a three-dimensional industrial case is deeply analysed.

Domaines: Matériaux

Houssem Miled, Luisa Silva, Jean-François Agassant, Thierry Coupez. Numerical Simulation of Fiber Orientation and Resulting Thermo-Elastic Behavior in Reinforced Thermo-Plastics. Pedro P. Camanho, Carlos G. Dávila, Silvestre T. Pinho, Joris J. C. Remmers. Mechanical Response of Composites, Springer, pp.Pages 293-313, 2008, Computational Methods in Applied Sciences : volum 10, 978-1-4020-8583-3. ⟨10.1007/978-1-4020-8584-0_15⟩. ⟨hal-00846522⟩