Thermoforming simulation with FEA

Journal Article · Sun Sep 01 04:00:00 EDT 1996 · Mechanical Engineering

OSTI ID:382650

Luca, P de ^[1]; Pickett, A K ^[2]; Johnson, A F ^[3]

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1. Engineering Systems International SA, Rungis (France)
2. T. Queckboerner Engineering Systems International GmbH, Eschborn (Germany)
3. DLR, Stuttgart (Germany)

This article describes how the ability to produce high-quality, lightweight structural parts quickly with complex shapes promises to make thermoforming competitive with conventional metal-stamping methods. Thermoforming--the press-forming of continuous fiber-reinforced-thermoplastic (FRTP) sheets--is a promising option for fabricating lightweight structural composite components. Thermoplastic polymers offer improved mechanical and physical properties compared with thermoset polymers, and perhaps most important for industry, they make rapid part production possible using the press-forming process. Despite its promise, thermoforming has not been used to its full potential because tool designers generally rely on trial and error to obtain a detailed understanding of how well this process lends itself to producing a particular part. Because trial-and-error methods are costly and inefficient, tool designers typically cannot gain the sophisticated understanding of the process needed to optimize it for the particular part at hand. Recent advances in the finite-element method may make it easier for tool designers to obtain the insights that have typically come from trial and error. An explicit finite-element code has been developed to simulate the thermoforming process, thereby enabling tool designers to experiment on a computer. The codes use detailed temperature-dependent rheological models to account for intraply shearing, squeeze flow, fiber reorientation, and fiber buckling. They also rely on advanced friction laws--both temperature- and pressure-dependent--to account for the interply sliding mechanism between plies.

• OSTI ID: 382650
• Journal Information: Mechanical Engineering, Journal Name: Mechanical Engineering Journal Issue: 9 Vol. 118; ISSN MEENAH; ISSN 0025-6501
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
CAPACITY
ENERGY CONSERVATION
MATERIALS WORKING
PRODUCTION
REINFORCED PLASTICS