Cooling channel optimization for injection molding

Nicolas Pirc (1) , Florian Bugarin (1) , Fabrice Schmidt (1) , Marcel Mongeau (2, 3)

1 CROMeP - Centre de Recherche Outillages, Matériaux et Procédés
2 LAAS - Laboratoire d'analyse et d'architecture des systèmes
3 LAAS-MOGISA

In injection molding process, heat transfer during the cooling step plays an important role. This step has a great influence on the quality of the final parts that are produced, as well as on the molding cycle time. We introduce an optimization procedure in order to locate automatically the cooling channels in 3D injection molds. The temperature distribution is computed using the Boundary Elements Method (BEM) that allows reducing the computation space from 3D to 2D, (avoiding full 3D remeshing). In our study, BEM is used to solve the stationary heat conduction problem. The BEM heat transfer solver is coupled with the non-linear optimization algorithm SQP (Sequential Quadratic Programming). The SQP algorithm permits to calculate the best set of cooling parameters, for a given cost function. For example, one such cost function involves minimizing the temperature variations at the interface between the mold cavity and the polymer. We present preliminary 3D computational results.

Mots clés: BEM; mold-cooling simulation; heat transfer; optimization; injection molding; SQP PACS: 0270Pt

Domaines: Mathématiques [math]

Nicolas Pirc, Florian Bugarin, Fabrice Schmidt, Marcel Mongeau. Cooling channel optimization for injection molding. NUMIFORM 07: Materials Processing and Design: Modeling, Simulation and Applications, Jun 2007, Porto, Portugal. p.525-530, ⟨10.1063/1.2740864⟩. ⟨hal-01354303⟩