Finite element formulation, polymer

Once a finite element formulation has been implemented in conjunction with a specific element type — either 1D, 2D or 3D — the task left is to numerically implement the technique and develop the computer program to solve for the unknown primary variables — in this case temperature. Equation (9.19) is a form that becomes very familiar to the person developing finite element models. In fact, for most problems that are governed by Poisson s equation, problems solving displacement fields in stress-strain problems and flow problems such as those encountered in polymer processing, the finite element equation system takes the form presented in eqn. (9.19). This equation is always re-written in the form... 

In this section, we will proceed to develop a finite element formulation for the two-dimensional Poisson s equation using a linear displacement, constant strain triangle. Poisson s equation has many applications in polymer processing, such as injection and compression mold filling, die flow, potential problems, heat transfer, etc. The general form of Poisson s equation in two-dimensions is... 

This paper describes a finite element formulation designed to simulate polymer melt flows in which both conductive and convective heat transfer may be important, and illustrates the numerical model by means of computer experiments using Newtonian extruder drag flow and entry flow as trial problems. Fluid incompressibility is enforced by a penalty treatment of the element pressures, and the thermal convective transport is modeled by conventional Galerkin and optimal upwind treatments. 

The majority of polymer flow processes are characterized as low Reynolds number Stokes (i.e. creeping) flow regimes. Therefore in the formulation of finite element models for polymeric flow systems the inertia terms in the equation of motion are usually neglected. In addition, highly viscous polymer flow systems are, in general, dominated by stress and pressure variations and in comparison the body forces acting upon them are small and can be safely ignored. 

Minimizing the cycle time in filament wound composites can be critical to the economic success of the process. The process parameters that influence the cycle time are winding speed, molding temperature and polymer formulation. To optimize the process, a finite element analysis (FEA) was used to characterize the effect of each process parameter on the cycle time. The FEA simultaneously solved equations of mass and energy which were coupled through the temperature and conversion dependent reaction rate. The rate expression accounting for polymer cure rate was derived from a mechanistic kinetic model. 

The analysis of polymer processing is reduced to the balance equations, mass or continuity, energy, momentum and species and to some constitutive equations such as viscosity models, thermal conductivity models, etc. Our main interest is to solve this coupled nonlinear system of equations as accurately as possible with the least amount of computational effort. In order to do this, we simplify the geometry, we apply boundary and initial conditions, we make some physical simplifications and finally we chose an appropriate constitutive equations for the problem. At the end, we will arrive at a mathematical formulation for the problem represented by a certain function, say / (x, T, p, u,...), valid for a domain V. Due to the fact that it is impossible to obtain an exact solution over the entire domain, we must introduce discretization, for example, a grid. The grid is just a domain partition, such as points for finite difference methods, or elements for finite elements. Independent of whether the domain is divided into elements or points, the solution of the problem is always reduced to a discreet solution of the problem variables at the points or nodal pointsinxxnodes. The choice of grid, i.e., type of element, number of points or nodes, directly affects the solution of the problem. 

Keywords Ionic polymer gels Modelling Numerical simulation Chemical stimulation Electrical stimulation Multi-field formulation Finite elements Discrete elements... 

Figure 4.5 A 9-node Lagrangian isoparametric finite element used in the u-v-p-T formulation of 2D polymer melt flows [14, 37].

This paper presents a mathematical model and numerical analysis of momentum transport and heat transfer of polymer melt flow in a standard cooling extruder. The finite element method is used to solve the three-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations based on a moving barrel formulation a semi-Lagrangian approach based on an operator-splitting technique is used to solve the heat transfer advection-diffusion equation. A periodic boundary condition is applied to model fully developed flow. The effects of polymer properties on melt flow behavior, and the additional effects of considering heat transfer, are presented. 

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