Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

A finite volume approach to simulation of polymer melt flow in channels

A finite volume approach to simulation of polymer melt flow in channels Purpose – Numerical simulation of polymer injection processes has become increasingly common in mould design. In industry, such a task is accomplished mainly by using commercial packages. Owing to the complexities inherent of this class of problems, most commercial codes attempt to combine realistic rheological descriptions with simplified numerical models. In spite of the apparent success, such approaches are not able to capture important aspects of the flow topology. The present work aims to describe a more elaborate mathematical model based on finite volumes which is able to provide both accurate solutions and further insights on the physics of the polymer flow. Design/methodology/approach – The mathematical model comprises the momentum and energy equations and a Poisson equation for pressure to impose the incompressibility constraint. The governing equations are discretized using the finite volume method based on central, second‐order accurate formulas for both convection and diffusion terms. Artificial dissipation terms are added externally in order to control the odd‐even decoupling problem. Findings – The numerical model was conceived within the framework of a generalized Newtonian formulation. The capability of the numerical scheme is illustrated by simulations using three distinct constitutive relations to approach the non‐Newtonian behaviour of the polymer melt: isothermal power‐law, modified Arrhenius power‐law and cross models. Originality/value – This paper extends the computational strategies previously developed to Newtonian fluids to account for more complex constitutive relations. The velocity and temperature coupled solution for polymer melts using only second‐order accurate formulas constitute also a relevant contribution. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Engineering Computations: International Journal for Computer-Aided Engineering and Software Emerald Publishing

A finite volume approach to simulation of polymer melt flow in channels

Download PDF
18 pages

Loading next page...
 
/lp/emerald-publishing/a-finite-volume-approach-to-simulation-of-polymer-melt-flow-in-0coZJ0RtCK

References (13)

Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
Copyright © 2008 Emerald Group Publishing Limited. All rights reserved.
ISSN
0264-4401
DOI
10.1108/02644400810857074
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Purpose – Numerical simulation of polymer injection processes has become increasingly common in mould design. In industry, such a task is accomplished mainly by using commercial packages. Owing to the complexities inherent of this class of problems, most commercial codes attempt to combine realistic rheological descriptions with simplified numerical models. In spite of the apparent success, such approaches are not able to capture important aspects of the flow topology. The present work aims to describe a more elaborate mathematical model based on finite volumes which is able to provide both accurate solutions and further insights on the physics of the polymer flow. Design/methodology/approach – The mathematical model comprises the momentum and energy equations and a Poisson equation for pressure to impose the incompressibility constraint. The governing equations are discretized using the finite volume method based on central, second‐order accurate formulas for both convection and diffusion terms. Artificial dissipation terms are added externally in order to control the odd‐even decoupling problem. Findings – The numerical model was conceived within the framework of a generalized Newtonian formulation. The capability of the numerical scheme is illustrated by simulations using three distinct constitutive relations to approach the non‐Newtonian behaviour of the polymer melt: isothermal power‐law, modified Arrhenius power‐law and cross models. Originality/value – This paper extends the computational strategies previously developed to Newtonian fluids to account for more complex constitutive relations. The velocity and temperature coupled solution for polymer melts using only second‐order accurate formulas constitute also a relevant contribution.

Journal

Engineering Computations: International Journal for Computer-Aided Engineering and Software – Emerald Publishing

Published: Apr 4, 2008

Keywords: Finite volume methods; Flow; Polymers

There are no references for this article.