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Thermographic analysis of a long fiber–reinforced thermoplastic compression molding process

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Abstract

Temperature gradients across tooling surfaces and within parts during the compression molding process represent a major contributor to warpage patterns. The main objective of the current study was to analyze the limitations of thermography as a method to be used for the measurement of part surface temperature. Comparisons performed against simulation and thermocouple data revealed that while thermography is a relatively accurate method, reflectivity and environmental radiation could cause errors of up to 8%. Nonetheless, since thermography data remains precise with respect to the relative temperature distribution, it was used for the assessment of the effect of compression molding process parameters on part ejection temperatures. In this regard, it was found that mold temperature has an overwhelming influence on final part temperature, whereas hold time has a less significant, but still measurable influence. Other parameters such as pressure, charge temperature, and charge orientation exhibited no practical significance. It was also found that parts exhibited strong temperature nonuniformities and gradients of nearly 25 °C within patterns that were largely consistent among parts. Given that this study also suggested that simulation yields reasonable temperature field predictions in compression molding, these results are expected to guide future warpage reduction efforts with possible effects on a wider adoption of composite components in automotive industry.

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Acknowledgements

The work presented in this study is the result of the collaboration between Western University (London, Ontario, Canada) and General Motors of Canada. The authors would like to acknowledge the collective efforts of the entire team of Fraunhofer Project Centre for Composites Research for its assistance with the experimental trials as well as Dr. Andrew Hrymak — principal investigator for the grants supporting this work — for his insightful comments and leadership throughout the entire project.

Funding

Financial support was provided by Ontario Centers of Excellence (OCE), Natural Sciences, Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada, General Motors of Canada, and Western University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Western Engineering, London, Canada

    David Knezevic, O. Remus Tutunea-Fatan & Dominik Dörr

  2. General Motors Research and Development, Warren, USA

    Ryan Gergely & David A. Okonski

  3. Fraunhofer Project Centre for Composites Research, London, Canada

    Stanislav Ivanov

Authors
  1. David Knezevic
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  2. O. Remus Tutunea-Fatan
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  3. Ryan Gergely
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  4. David A. Okonski
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  5. Stanislav Ivanov
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  6. Dominik Dörr
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Correspondence to O. Remus Tutunea-Fatan.

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Knezevic, D., Tutunea-Fatan, O.R., Gergely, R. et al. Thermographic analysis of a long fiber–reinforced thermoplastic compression molding process. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 119, 6119–6133 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-021-08115-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-021-08115-x

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