Published in the Proceedings of the International Composites Expo '97
January 27-29, 1997, Nashville, Tennessee
Session 11-F
AN
INVESTIGATION OF POST-FILL CURING BEHAVIOR OF COMPRESSION MOLDED SMC PARTS
H. U. Akay, O. Selcuk, O. Gurdogan, M. Revellino and L. Saggese
Abstract
Curing analysis of a
compression molded SMC part, performed using Technalysis' compression
molding simulation program PASSAGE®/Compression,
is presented in this paper. A truck panel is modeled with two different SMC
formulations. The curing behavior of the two formulations are compared.
Introduction
Fiber orientation and curing
characteristics of compression molded SMC parts are of interest for
determination of warpage and structural integrity of such parts. Studies
pertaining to mold filling and fiber orientation analysis of compression
molded parts using a computer program developed by Technalysis were
presented elsewhere, e.g., (Technalysis, 1996; Reifschneider and Akay, 1994
Reifschneider, et al., 1995).
In this paper, we summarize
our recent studies conducted for curing simulation of SMC parts. Since the
thermoset SMC undergoes chemical reactions when subjected to heat during
compression molded processes, a complete curing analysis of such materials
requires the solution of flow and heat transfer equations coupled with the
curing kinetics of the material during the molding process. The material
gains rigidity as the chemical reaction takes place with temperature. Hence,
the time needed for the molded material to reach the rigid state is of
importance in terms of deciding when to remove the part from the mold. In
the present work, coupled fluid flow and heat transfer equations are solved
during the filling stage, while coupled heat transfer and curing kinetics
equations are solved until the material reaches its gel point following the
filling stage.
H.U. Akay, O. Selcuk and O.
Gurdogan, Technalysis Inc., Indianapolis, IN - USA
M. Revellino and L.
Saggese, Iveco, SpA, Torino, ITALY