Effects of fiber length distribution on flow property and internal microstructure of an injection molded part

• Published in: Macromolecular research Vol. 23; no. 9; pp. 844 - 849
• Main Authors: Hwang, Soon Hyoung, Lee, Doo Jin, Youn, Hye Rim, Song, Young Seok, Youn, Jae Ryoun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Seoul The Polymer Society of Korea 01.09.2015; 한국고분자학회
• Subjects: Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Complex Fluids and Microfluidics; Nanochemistry; Nanotechnology; Physical Chemistry; Polymer Sciences; Soft and Granular Matter; 고분자공학; flowability; micro-CT; numerical analysis; fiber length distribution
• ISSN: 1598-5032; 2092-7673
• DOI: 10.1007/s13233-015-3108-z

Internal microstructures of micro-injection molded connectors were investigated to figure out the relationship between flow properties in the micro-channel and fiber length distributions (FLD). Micro-CT and image processing techniques were performed to convert the images obtained by Micro-CT into 3D structures and visualize the fiber length distributions. It was verified by both experimental and numerical analyses that the fiber length distribution affects significantly the processability and flowability of the composite melt for injection molding of microconnectors since a large amount of glass fibers within the material worsen the rheological properties and long fibers hinder flowability at narrow junctions and micro scale channels.