Injection Foaming Molding Analysis

Simulation of microcellular foaming injection molding like MuCell. It performs coupled analysis of supercritical CO2/N2 dissolution, nucleation, and bubble growth to predict foaming ratio and bubble size distribution.

Expressing this in mathematical formulas looks like this.

Bubble growth equation:

Simulation for injection foaming molding analysis is formulated as a coupled problem of thermodynamics, material mechanics, and fluid dynamics. Since the physical phenomena of the manufacturing process span multiple time and spatial scales, an appropriate combination of macro-scale continuum models and meso/micro-scale material models is required. The goal is to quantitatively predict the causal relationship between process parameters (temperature, velocity, load, etc.) and product quality (dimensional accuracy, defects, mechanical properties).

The accuracy of manufacturing process simulation heavily depends on the fidelity of the material model. It is necessary to properly define elastoplastic constitutive laws, creep laws, phase transformation models, etc., as functions of temperature and strain rate. Data obtained from material testing (tensile, compression, torsion) is fitted, and validity in extrapolation ranges is verified. Thermodynamic databases like JMatPro or Thermo-Calc are also utilized.

Manufacturing process simulation is formulated as a coupled problem of thermodynamics, fluid dynamics, and solid mechanics.

Here, $T$ is temperature, $\mathbf{v}$ is the material's velocity field, $k$ is thermal conductivity, and $Q$ is internal heat generation (Joule heating, latent heat, frictional heat, etc.).

During solidification, the release/absorption of latent heat significantly affects the temperature field. Formulation using the enthalpy method:

Expressing this in mathematical formulas looks like this.

Here, $L$ is latent heat, and $f_l(T)$ is the liquid fraction (taking a value between 0 and 1 in the solid-liquid coexistence region).

Plastic deformation of metals is described by constitutive laws like Johnson-Cook:

$A$: Initial yield stress, $B$: Hardening coefficient, $n$: Hardening exponent, $C$: Strain rate sensitivity, $m$: Thermal softening exponent.

The flow of molten metal or resin follows the Navier-Stokes equations, but high viscosity and non-Newtonian fluid characteristics must be considered. For injection molding, the Cross-WLF model is standard: