A Numerical Simulation Method for the One-Step Compression-Stamping Process of Continuous Fiber Reinforced...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Manufacturing Engineering
• Computational Mechanics

Background:

• Continuous fiber reinforced thermoplastic (CFRTP) composites offer high performance but face mass production challenges.
• Simulations are crucial for understanding complex molding mechanisms in CFRTP manufacturing.
• Current simulation methods struggle with the coupled non-isothermal flow of polymers and composites.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel 3D simulation method for a one-step compression-stamping process.
• To accurately model the coupled thermoplastic compression molding and composite stamping.
• To address the challenges of non-isothermal moving boundaries between polymer and composite phases.

Main Methods:

• Employed arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) based Navier-Stokes equations for thermoplastic compression.
• Utilized a fiber rotation objective stress rate model for composite stamping.
• Developed a strongly coupled fluid-structure interaction framework with dual mesh technology.

Main Results:

• Simulation accurately predicted polymer flow fronts with <3.5% error compared to experiments.
• In-plane deformation of final composites showed <2.5% error.
• The proposed simulation method demonstrated high fidelity in replicating the actual molding process.

Conclusions:

• The developed 3D simulation method effectively captures the complex physics of one-step CFRTP compression-stamping.
• This approach provides a reliable tool for optimizing CFRTP manufacturing processes.
• Accurate simulation can accelerate the industrial adoption and mass production of CFRTP components.