WOOD: Process Simulation of Injection Moulding Plasticizing Units (S4-Project)

The plasticizing process in general and single screw plasticizing process in particular are the most important polymer processing techniques. In addition, a self-optimizing control system of an injection moulding plasticizing unit will be an important step in future development and therefore a main focus of this project. Hence, optimizing the previous developed screw simulation software (S3) to become more process-oriented will be a basic requirement. Focus for the project is to extend the existing S3 code base with optimization capabilities. Target parameters for the optimization are minimum dosing time, maximum specific throughput, minimum residence time, maximum melt temperature, minimum shear rate, minimum plasticizing rate as well as the melt flow at a certain axial position These are to be calculated as functions of rotational speed, dynamic pressure, metering stroke, cycle time, heating zone and general screw geometry. With the current implementation, such optimizations are only feasible to a very limited extent. The optimization process will therefore become an integral part of the envisaged software package. This will not only drastically reduce calculation times, but will also significantly simplify the implementation of different optimization methods.